Category Archives: black and white

Twelve Months

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Holme beach, Norfolk, UK  

It’s hard to believe but the Darker Skies blog has been online for a year. My initial idea for the blog’s role turned out to be a non-starter. Originally i had planned the blog to be more like my main photo blog. I just didn’t see the point of doubling up on websites though. Each must have its own distinct role and Darker Skies certainly has developed an important role for itself over the last year.

Really the blog acts as a satellite for my other online photographic endeavours and as my own photo blog. The podcast has its own page here and there are plans to expand the site even further. The page design changed again earlier this month and… finally i’m happy with the way the blog looks. It’s been quiet here so far this month, very little in the way of photo postings, but i ‘ll be adding an image everyday this week starting tomorrow.

Here’s to another year of Darker Skies.

Next Year…

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Looking back towards Blakeney – Norfolk, UK

I’ve already started to formulate some plans for next year. After all, a year seems like a long time, but it soon goes, so I’m just thinking about where to take things next year. 2011, I think, will be a year in which I want to push my multimedia ideas to the next level - video, audio and photography. Heck yeah, that sounds like fun and a challenge too. I’ve started experimenting around with video recently, shooting and editing material I’ve done via my iPhone, however I really want to move to a much higher standard of work by this time next year. I think that the return to shooting in Norfolk next year will be a great place for developing a large-scale piece of multimedia work.

A couple of items needed to help me along. First is a compact digital HD camcorder, and second is software to produce professional photography slide shows with audio…. with the addition of video too.  The camcorder will also be used for video podcasting, something I want to commence doing later this year. My only worry is the potential pitfalls of shooting video and still images at the same time. It rarely works well – both need different mindsets. I always remember a Larry Burrows (one of my photo heroes) remark that he would shoot black & white OR colour…. but NEVER both at the same time. 

Ways of looking, ways of seeing  and the visual interpretation of a scene – it depend to some degree on the medium you use and sometimes it’s just better to focus on one, than try to do several at the same time.

Shifting Sands

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 Tracks in the sand - Sea Palling, Norfolk, UK

I’m currently going through a phase of wanting to get ready for my Norfolk trip, even though I’m not doing it this year. Last year I made the decision to give Norfolk a break, the project would have a creative interlude for 2010, and come back fresh and reinvigorated for 2011. I will miss it though, which is not surprising considering that I’ve been doing it for five years on the trot. Time for a break me thinks. Last year, I got the feeling that I was becoming… er… too familiar with the place. Although it was hugely tempting to return this year, I’m going to stick by my decision of 2009 and do something else this year…. something very different - I’ll be helping film a vampire movie  in Whitby.

My Norfolk  project came about in 2004, influenced mainly by a photographic book called Northumberland by John Tordai. The book was part of a series, although I only recall ever seeing two books, where a photographer would pick a county they knew and photograph it. Tordai had been raised on Tyneside, so naturally, he chose the beautiful county of Northumberland. Sadly I can’t remember the name of the other photographer, or the exact county that the book was shot in. I do remember though that it was a county located in the south of England. I thought it a fantastic idea to do a long-term photographic project and that made me decide to shoot a project of my own.

My Norfolk project differs in one major respect to the books. I have no links to the county. I like the idea of coming to a subject fresh, just once a year for (and at) a certain period of time. I could do a similar type of project here in my home county of North Yorkshire, but for the moment I’ll stick to photographing the delights of Norfolk. How long will this project last? Initially when I started I thought ten years but I’ve decided to remove any time restrictions. It’s ongoing and ends when it ends. I’ll miss visiting this year but the break is needed.

Back to basics

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Pebble beach -Sheringham, Norfolk, UK

So the UK has had it’s election and the winner is…. well no one really. All of the political parties suffered from a terminal case of mistrust, apathy and a longing for change from the public.

To say that no-one won might be wrong. This could be the start of a process of changing what’s wrong with the country’s political system which, quite frankly, is rather out of date. Maybe the UK public finally won.

The next few days will be interesting….

Wicker Work

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Wicker artwork on Salthouse beach, Norfolk, UK

As you may have noticed, I’ve altered the look of the Darker Skies blog. There are a few improvements in the works that will be added over the summer. More details about that coming up in the April podcast due for release in the next week.

Sadly, there is no visit to Norfolk this year, however, i do intend to visit again next year. I do have a trip planned for this year to a rather lovely part of Britain… it’s just when I’ll do it that needs to be sorted out.

Tenth Photo

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100th Bomb Group memorial museum control tower - Thorpe Abbotts, Norfolk, UK

I was recently ‘tagged’ by my friend Kat to take part in a little photo game where you pick the tenth photofile and talk about it. Here is my contribution taken from the Norfolk collection that has been sat on my computer for years… literally. 

The tenth photograph was taken at the 100th Bomb Group museum at Thorpe Abbotts on the Norfolk/Suffolk border. In the late 1970′s , a team of enthusiasts decided to renovate the old airfield tower and turn it into a memorial museum dedicated to those 100th Bomb group aircrews who were killed in action. The museum is run by local volunteers who tell the story of the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) at Thorpe Abbotts. It is a place to remember. 

The photograph above was taken on the top of the control tower looking out over where the runway used to be. Although agriculture has gradually crept back onto the old airfield, the tell tale signs that this place was a hive of activity seventy years ago are still visible. Maintenance areas can still be seen and a  large section of the old concrete runway still exists, so it’s not hard to imagine the roar of aircraft taking off to attack targets in Europe. The airfield would have been a noisy place back then, but now it’s one of the the most peaceful places i know.

The overall feel of the place is ghostly. The only sound is the wind, with maybe some birdsong in the background. A star spangled banner flutters and flaps on a flagpole, as a permanent salute to those long gone. The very young faces of the lost aircrews stare out at you from the photos in the museum’s beautiful chapel. Their youth is overwhelmingly obvious as they stand proudly in front of their B-17s. The photos reflect lives cut short a long way from home, sacrificed for a better world free of Nazism.  I can’t think of a more fitting memorial than the actual control tower that many crews would have looked at as they taxied for takeoff. I love the museum, the atmosphere, the history and the old airfield. For me, this photograph captures all of that.