Chris Stokes Tells it Like it Possibly Could Potentially Might Be

This lady with a leaflet certainly knows how to pose on cobbles!  Her lightning fast moves from gentle banter stance to action paused pose were stunning.  Her fantastic antics are worth the ticket price!  The High Street in Edinburgh throughout August plays host to great performances and wonderful scenes and some of these are there just to advertise the shows.

Honesty is a virtue and widely perceived to be the best policy. So why do so many people seem to use it as an excuse to be rude? Tired of being told it like it is? Chris Stokes from Dave's One Night Stand and Radio 4 tells you how it possibly could potentially might be, he thinks.

Chris Stokes is a stand-up comedian and star of his second solo show, ‘Chris Stokes Tells it Like it Possibly Could Potentially Might Be’, appearing at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. He has appeared on Dave’s One Night Stand and Radio 4, and is the winner of Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival’s Best Show 2012.

19.00 11-25 August 2013

Pleasance Courtyard Venue 33

0131 556 6550

Photographs ©2013 PHH Sykes

http://www.flickr.com/photos/phhsykes/sets/72157634803223764/

www.phhsykes.co.uk

phhsykes@googlemail.com

Insects Crossroads Dodworth

These sparkling steel bugs weather out the year in Dodworth in South Yorkshire.  The pictures were taken on a snowy March day.  The simple effective designs have caught my eye on several occasions and taunted me when I have not had a camera to hand.  Whilst taking pictures of the War Memorial and the site to be used for the Mining Memorial I was happy to cross the road to capture something of the shinning insects.  I believe that these steel winged railing adornments with extended feelers are bees due the hexagonal cells that they are figured with. 

Photographs ©2013 PHH Sykes

http://www.flickr.com/photos/phhsykes/sets/72157634803223764/

www.phhsykes.co.uk

phhsykes@googlemail.com

Inez Charlesworth Photographs from around Dodworth South Yorkshire

These photographs record an album and some loose photographs of Inez and Kathleen Charlesworth. Further information relating to the original pictures is most welcome. The scenes record details of the village Dodworth in South Yorkshire. The Charlesworth blacksmithing business was located in the village. Walter Charlesworth ran a motorbike and cycle business at the crossroads as well continuing the family business as an Engineer, General and Engine Smith and Pit Corf Manufacturer at Albion Forge and Engineering Works at Dodworth near Barnsley.  Several Charlesworth patented items were constructed at Hadfield’s Ltd Sheffield, the East Helca Works was cleared to make way for the Meadowhall shopping centre.

Photographs ©2013 PHH Sykes

http://www.flickr.com/photos/phhsykes/sets/72157634643194795/

www.phhsykes.co.uk
phhsykes@googlemail.com

Please Don’t Stare

A lot of my test shots would satisfy the requirements of a podophiliac.  My feet are often the subject of shots taken to determine the setup of the camera.   Picturing feet can easily answer questions such as, is the flash working and if so at what intensity?  My toes may not hold the answers but usually a picture or three of them will show how everything is working with the camera.  Every now and again a test shot of an unchosen subject brings about strange results.  Here I was testing wireless flash after making adjustments and I did not look through the camera lens to choose the subject area.  To my mind there is a natural shape or two here evoking the art work of H. R. Giger.  If you don’t see it then all the better for you.  Sometimes the eye of the beholder does reveal the mindscape that only they create.  I am not a great fan of the grotesque in art but I do think that some of the best examples in that genre build on direct inspiration even reflection from nature. 

In the natural world around us we can find so much to sumptuously enjoy as well as some delicate intricacies that can tickle our innate responses into subtle disturbing reactions.  To my eye there is at least one peculiar monstrous shape in this image.  It is created by angle, perspective, lights and focus on a thoroughly non monstrous subject.  If seen by the eye there would be nothing to a second glance more than a natural plant form.  It is possible that there would be a lingering strange memory of a shape that triggered an automatic response.  Once you have seen and identified the strange shape it loses any ability to create an intense response at least for a while.  With the use of a single lens to record a still image the prevailing conditions have created a monster and I feel that I have unwittingly become a photographic Victor Frankenstein.  

Photographs and Words ©2013 PHH Sykes

www.phhsykes.co.uk

phhsykes@googlemail.com

Garden Pheasant Through Dirty Glass With A Clean Lens

Experimenting with the new Nikon D7100 lead to a series of pictures taken through dirty glass windows. The sharpness of the Nikon 18-300mm can still be seen in these exposures but shooting through a window with reflections and with considerable dirt is not recommended if you want to see how well your camera and lens perform. The autofocus performed superbly but again the shooting conditions create a challenge even for 51 focus points,15 of which are cross-type. The pictures were all taken as single shots to test the cameras capturing abilities from ISO 64000-100 using f 14-5.6 from 1/60th-1/640th- of a second.

These shots are loaded here to share with those that have experienced our bright coloured loud screeching garden visitor. His startling call and bright colours form quite a stunning greeting for our friends. He has moves like Jagger and a look of Stephen Fry about him from time to time. He was not at all disturbed by my taking these pictures. My only worry is that he might get too used to humans. Not everyone eyeing up a pheasant down the length of a barrel is a photographer. Over the last few years we have had a few relatively tame pheasant around our South Yorkshire village. The explanation for these visitors seems to be that they have been reared as stock for shoots. If the pheasants that we have now continue to visit I might get out from my centrally heated shelter and away from dirty windows to record our spectacular garden birds.

Photographs ©2013 PHH Sykes

www.phhsykes.co.uk

phhsykes@googlemail.com

Dodworth War Memorial

TO THE GLORIOUS MEMORY OF

ALL THOSE MEN OF DODWORTH

WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES

FOR US IN THE GREAT WAR

1914-1918

The war memorial at Dodworth was first erected to commemorate those who lost their lives in World War I and it was later further developed to honour those who died in World War II. The figure stands atop an inscribed plinth in the Memorial Garden near the main cross roads on the High Street. The details on the figure are not only life like, but also appear to be very accurate. The helmet, rifle, water bottle, ammunition pouch, webbing and even the buttons and puttees all make for a compelling iconic statue. The figure is said to be in sandstone created by Tyas and Guest in 1923. The statue is designated under a Grade II Listing.

British Listed Buildings

http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-334262-first-and-second-world-war-memorial-at-j

War Memorial Clean-Up

https://www.barnsley.gov.uk/news-and-events/news/2010/november/war-memorial-clean-up

Photographs ©2013 PHH Sykes

www.phhsykes.co.uk

phhsykes@googlemail.com