Thoresby Park

These are a set of photographs taken whilst trying to walk off some of the excesses of Christmas (2017) at Thoresby Park. The bright crisp conditions were further enhanced by a golden sunset which had me reaching for the camera. 

Thoresby Park is part of the wider Thoresby Estate and is a grade I listed parkland surrounded by forestry and farmland. There is a circular walk which starts from Thoresby Courtyard and passes the very impressive Thoresby Hall (now a hotel) before crossing the River Meden towards St John’s Church in Perlethorpe. The woodland part of the walk includes a wonderful avenue of young giant redwood trees (I have supplemented December's shots with some taken earlier in 2017 ):

October 2017

November 2017

December 2017

Autumn on the Southwell Trail - Part 11

This is the last post in the Autumn on the Southwell Trail series. I decided that the winter solstice (21st December  2017) was a good time to finish this part of the project.

Originally, I was only going to document autumn on the trail but I have really enjoyed the daily walking routine and, of course, the photography. Now I am really interesting to see how some of the autumn compositions develop during the winter and into the spring and summer. If I have the opportunity, I hope to complete a full year along the trail.

For this final set of the series I went in search of any last remaining autumn colours including these frost covered leaves:

There was still some colour from the dried oak tree leaves and  pleasant autumn glow from the top of some silver birch trees:

A selection of the Autumn on the Southwell Trail photographs plus some taken at other times of the year can be now viewed at  Realview Photography - Southwell Trail

City Abstracts

For this post I am diverting away from the autumn on the Southwell Trail series to a set of abstract photographs taken along the canal towpath in Nottingham.

This is one of my favourite city walks and whilst I may have photographed this stretch many times it is a bit like the Southwell Trail - there is always something that catches my eye and makes me reach for the camera.

I guess if I delved closely into my photo archive I would see some very similar compositions and even repeats of the same subject, but this type of photography is like listening to a favourite piece of music. Every time I play it, I enjoy it.

On the canal towpath is a metal barrier which reinforces the canal bank. The outer coating has rusted and there are some patches that look like they have been painted in the past  - great for abstracts but not so great for the strange looks from people trying to work out why someone would photograph an old metal barrier!

Reflections along the canal are a must. They are fun to capture as the water is constantly moving. A bit of wind, or the wake of barge, or even a bird swimming by, will change the look of an image:

Not far from the canal is a wall of street art. It is refreshed regularly by talented artists. The colours are always fantastic:

Lastly, the Nottingham Contemporary building which I pass on the way back to the main shopping area: