Nottingham Calendar – A preview part 1

4th December 2015
by Lamar Francois
  • 20150918_0016

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.

A paypal link to order below for the price of £9.99 + £2 p+p in the UK. Alternatively Cavology in Cobden Chambers has some copies available for the same price of £9.99.

January

 

Process notes. Majorly overexposed. But recoverable. Will need some work to get some uniform WB.

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

Nottingham Racecourse

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

NottinghamCalendar-03

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

may-june-nottinghamcalendar

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

Market Square Lights

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

Was an attempt at the Sunset Day challenge which went slightly wrong as I'd gotten a bit delayed.... but still an interesting steely blue scene to have!

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.

 

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