Nottingham Calendar – A preview part 1

To whet the appetitite here’s the first part (from January to June) of a taster preview of the images which I’ve selected for my Nottingham Calendar 2016 project working with My Local Calendar , along with some additional commentary and insights.

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January

A winter sunset over Daybrook near Arnold , featuring Home Brewery (centre-left) and St Paul’s Church (centre-right) – January 2015.

To start with an image which demonstrates the worth of a bit of local knowledge – this taken from an unassuming suburbia street , with a steep hill to it revealing the view above (with the help of a telephoto lens) atop some houses at the end.  A good view summing up the local landmarks in the north of Nottingham. Timing was key – a similar image 10 minutes later lost the side-lighting effect of the sun.

February

Low intense winter sun throws the main grandstand of Nottingham Racecourse (right) into silhouette , while Trent Bridge Cricket Ground looms large in the background – December 2014. Image of abstracts – details revealed by where the sunlight reflects off details of the buildings to reveal their form , without a massively wide colour palette, the glass sections of Trent Bridge Cricket Ground (top right) and Notttingham Racecourse being a particularly neat touch. Shot from the top of a hill in Colwick Woods straight into the sun , with my hand outstretched the shade the lens from too much flare.

March

Late evening traffic of Maid Marian Way – as scoped through the distinctive hexagonal concrete facade of a nearby multi-storey carpark – September 2014.

A fun image to put together – I liked how each element of the repeating facade revealed a different aspect of the cityscape below – the much maligned Maid Marian Way. Enjoy photographing in multistorey car parks as there are a lot of angular constucts to the car park

April

Two interesting examples of classic architecture around the Lace Market area of Nottingham , (l) the Grade II listed 41 Pilcher Gate , August 2014. , (r) Weekday Cross

A rainy evening in the middle of August added some interest to the streets for these two architectural studies.  The reflection in a fairly deep puddle added to the starkness of 41 Pilcher Gate building – thought I needed to work hard to get low enough to work it into the composition.  There was less water but the puddles reflected the mody sky very well and traced a path through the image , with the newer architecture of Weekday cross to the left on display.

May

Old Market Square, on a wet and very changeable evening with storms brewing – November 2014.

Am somewhat ambivalent about “Slab Square” in general – but it did make for an interesting shooting opportunity during another wet evening.  Shot instinctively – one where I didn’t plan for , but happened to have my kit with me to do a long exposure. The different colours reflecting off the slab – as well as the fortunate timing of the couple walking through in abstract form makes this interesting.

June

A longboat moves into Castle Marina ready to moor up for the evening – September 2013.

Intended to photograph the sunset scene but got to location a bit too late for that to happen – but not too late for a peaceful study of a longboat moving into position for the evening , with the post-sunset blue skies really adding a sense of drama to look at. This was inspired by a photograph I’d made in 2009 when I was learning the craft – in similar post-sunset conditions but this time I’d perhaps been a bit less garish with the colour scheme.