Not the Saltaire Festival

Current events have us all in a spin! This last weekend was meant to be the start of the annual, week-long Saltaire Festival. The death of HM The Queen and the consequent period of national mourning have caused many events organisers to postpone whatever they were planning, and the Saltaire Festival is one of the events impacted. I have read arguments from some people that it should have gone ahead; that the tradition of the Queen herself was always to remain steadfast and keep to her schedule, fulfil her promises as much as she could; that the many small businesses involved will be left with losses at a time when they already have so many pressures. Let's face it, there is also a certain element within the country that thinks the hereditary monarchy is surplus to requirements anyway, and is resenting the extensive coverage given to this story. However, I think most people feel it would probably seem wrong and somewhat disrespectful to continue with joyful celebrations at a time when most of us feel a bit sombre and reflective. We are mostly very conscious that we have been plunged into a hugely historic and significant time, a time that we should somehow strive as a nation to 'do well' because it will all be recorded in the archives for the future. 

Having said all that, it was rather a pity that Saturday was not the start of the Festival. It was a glorious day, warm and pleasant and there seemed more than the usual number of people out and about quietly enjoying the village and the park. The cricket match went ahead, the café was open, there was an art show, there was the open-air farmer's market and a horticultural show ... It felt all very British, somehow!

Tiny planet

So... I wonder if anyone would like to have a guess as to where this is? 

These are rather fun to create from a panorama shot, though it works best if the foreground (which becomes the middle) is fairly plain and uniform. 

Well, it's here - a World Heritage Site: 

I'll give the answer, in full, tomorrow.

Sky replacement

My updated photo processing software now comes with a nifty 'sky replacement tool' - so I thought I'd try it. You have always, of course, been able in theory to import a new sky into a photo but it was a fiddly process, impossible unless there were clean lines to the sky space and it usually looked plain daft. This new tool is actually pretty impressive in the way it uses algorithms and sliders to blend in the new sky. There are a few 'skies' provided but it feels pretty important to me to build up your own portfolio of skies to use if you're serious about making use of the tool. 

Having said that, for this trial I used one of the supplied images. I think it has worked reasonably effectively. Of course, you also have somehow to blend in the foreground too and, with the reflections, that proved a little more tricky. The 'before' image is below, with a blank grey sky. The 'after' is above. It perhaps looks a little more interesting but I'm not convinced it looks entirely realistic. I don't think it's something I'll use a lot. I'm not keen on 'doctoring' my photos and pretending it's real, though I do enjoy creative manipulation of images where that is a deliberate and obvious process. I know a lot of people really like heavily filtered images these days, as seen on social media. Each to his own. I suspect the debate will rage and we may see many more images where we wonder how 'real' it is. 

 

Sunday meditation: Hidden riches

Here are a few more of those glass or mica pavement tiles that I was playing about with. There are whole worlds in there, waiting to be revealed! I particularly like the 'eye' above. The one below has a Hokusai 'Great Wave of Kanagawa' feel, though in a cherry blossom colourway. 

This one reminds me of sea and sand:

'I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, 

so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.' Isaiah 45:3

Who could resist a pink heart nestled close to an aquamarine jewel? 

Beauty under your feet

The inspiration for this image was taken directly from one of our camera club members, who showed some of his own photos on one of our Zoom nights recently. (I do like to think, though, that I might have thought of it myself on one of my creative wanderings! I have tried similar things.) 

These jewel-like pieces are actually photos of glass (and possibly mica) slabs set in the pavement in front of some of our old shops. I guess at one time they were meant to introduce some light into the cellars, whilst still being safe for pedestrians along the pavement. Many have been removed or covered over but I found one or two still intact. To the naked eye, they don't have the vibrant colour shown here but all I've done is to boost up the saturation. The colours are all there, hidden. 

There's room for endless 'playing' with these. I may go back to them.