Photograph taken from the train window of traffic on the M5 near Taunton.
Train Window
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Category Archives: landscape
Hills and Valley
The hills near Conwy in North Wales
It has been very quiet on the blog this last month. One or two family dilemmas to deal with. There will be, however, a gradual return to a normal service this month starting with the other Agfapan 25 image posts i promised to post a few weeks ago. I’ll post them this week. 
Moor Road
Blakeney Boat
A ‘work in progress’ houseboat at Blakeney in Norfolk, UK
Wicker Work
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
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.
Out and about III
Stairway to Heaven
Stairs on a path on reclaimed industrial land near Consett, County Durham, UK
Moving Pictures
Winter in the fields – North Yorkshire, UK
I have so many ideas abot my new podcast that it’s hard to work out where to go with it. The first one will be audio but i’m really tempted to alternate between audio and video making six of each. Although i could do these video episodes using a phone, i think my life would be made far easier by investing in a small camcorder. The one i have my eye on is around £95 and would be perfect for recording video podcasts, after all i’m not making Gone with the Wind.
Speaking of video, very soon i may be returning to an old college of mine. The college has a certain technical suite that we would like to use to complete the vampire film ‘Christian’. To say that technology has moved on from when myself and the film’s director Matt were there would be an massive understatement. Just the ability to distribute work onto the internet is a massive leap forward. Back in our day, distribution relied on how many VHS tape copies you could produce. It involved a lot of hard work, time and the visual quality was questionable at best. VHS video and reel-to-reel audio tape seem so last century now. I think it’s going to be a strange experience going back.
I envy what students have to work with now. If anything, technology has only helped to increase creativity. It’ll be interesting to see what they do produce.
