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A Picture with a Story 4……

3 Aug

– – – Exploring The Countryside and Lanes of Dorset – – –

The unusual case of the trapped dog!

Today, we are back on the theme of dogs……and what a strange tale this is! We are turning the clock back over 30 years, back to the days when I was an active freelancer who carried his camera gear absolutely everywhere. And not just one camera either. In those days, I would carry my 35mm gear over my left shoulder and my medium format gear over my right shoulder, even on family outings and holidays. The reason was that a lot of publications insisted on 120 transparency film only, considering that 35mm cameras just didn’t give good enough results. My medium format camera of choice varied over the years but at one time I carried a Mamiya RB67 studio camera with me. In the other camera bag I would have two 35mm bodies, one with transparency film and the other with black and white negative film. Plus , of course, both bags would have lenses and other equipment, and even a tripod.

Having reached a certain age, I just have no idea how I managed with all that gear whilst on holiday or whatever with my family. But I guess when you are young and keen to get on as a freelancer, you just do whatever it takes. Anyway, on this day, carrying my equipment proved useful as I came across a rather unusual incident involving a dog!

Scan 21

We were in Salisbury at the time, and in the market area there are underground toilets. A dog owner went down the stairs, leaving her dog at the top, and the dog, seeing her owner through the parapet wall, pushed her head through the gap and of course couldn’t get it back out again. When the owner came back up, she tried, the people around all tried, and in the end the fire brigade were called. They tried but failed initially until someone had the bright idea of buying a large tub of grease which they smeared all over the dog’s head. Finally, with a ‘S-l-urrpp’ the dog’s head popped out. I should add that Trixie was perfectly fine and suffered no ill effects 🙂 !

Of course, this was the pre-Internet days so as soon as I got home, I rushed into my darkroom, which was in my garage, and processed the film. Having allowed the negatives to dry, I later went back out to print the best negatives onto 10″ x 8″ glossy paper as this was the industry standard. Having allowed those to dry, I then had to compose and type a letter to go with them, add a self-addressed return envelope, package it all up and send it off to whatever publication I thought would be interested in using the story. In this case, I printed several lots as I knew that more than one magazine would like to run the story, although of course I had to make sure that I did not send the pictures to competing magazines as this was not the done thing.

This particular piece appeared in ‘Weekend Magazine’ but the pictures and story featured in several others as well. Of course in these days of digital photographs and Internet, pictures like these can easily go viral but in those days the only viral things were the illnesses we picked up 🙂 ! I’d like to add that I got paid handsomely for my efforts but I think all I could say is that I got paid. The ‘handsomely’ bit didn’t come into it……but it was always a thrill to see your work in print anyway! I used to regularly scour the magazines in the shops to see if any of my pictures had been used.

Back then, I had a ‘normal’ job as well so my freelancing took place in the evenings and at weekends. I spent so many nights out in my garage darkroom which had no heat, even in freezing winter weather, and often till the early hours of the morning too. Oh, and it had no running water either so the prints had to be washed under the outside tap…….brrrrr!!

I guess one thing this story does show is that its always worth carrying a camera with you as you never know what you might come across 🙂 ! But at least these days it can be a lightweight digital camera!

Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time,
Your friend The Dorset Rambler

If you would like to contact me, my email address is terry.yarrow@gmail.com – comments and feedback are always welcomed.

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Under the Arch

27 Jul

– – – Exploring The Countryside and Lanes of Dorset – – –

Riding

This was taken yesterday on a rather lovely walk which took in part of the trailway that was once the track bed of the Somerset and Dorset Railway, otherwise known as the S & D (or Slow and Dirty 🙂 ) ! The line ran from Bournemouth to Bath and it closed in 1966.

This bridge carries the trailway over what is now a footpath and as I walked through it, the contrast between the lovely red brick arch illuminated by the warm tungsten light and the much cooler light beyond caught my eye. Being evening, the balance between the two different light sources was perfect for the picture I had in mind but I needed a bit of human interest……….and so I waited, feeling like I was lurking suspiciously for something 🙂 ! Anyway, my wait was rewarded as this cyclist conveniently dropped down the ramp off the trailway and turned to ride under the bridge and I managed to get my picture.

It isn’t a classic landscape nor necessarily a pretty picture because the arch is quite functional but I love the effect and the depth created by the lines of bricks. I also love those beautifully warm brick tones and the semi-silhouetted cyclist to draw the eye. Most of all perhaps I love it because I had a picture in my mind and it came out exactly as I had planned, and that is always satisfying.

I hope you like it too.

Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time,
Your friend The Dorset Rambler

If you would like to contact me, my email address is terry.yarrow@gmail.com – comments and feedback are always welcomed.

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Theme for the Week – Walking the Streets Part 5

18 Mar

– – – EXPLORING THE COUNTRYSIDE AND LANES OF DORSET – – –

Continuing the theme of ‘Walking the Streets’, I thought I’d put up another city street musician picture.

People at Work - The Violinist

I said in an earlier post that one thing that caught my eye was how people just hurry by these street performers without seeming to even notice them. On this day, my walk inspired me to more than pictures and I wrote a poem which I have posted below. To set the scene, my day was spent walking the city streets near Christmas when the Christmas market, with its many different stalls, was on. The streets were busy, bustling, and very cold! Here is the poem which I entitled……….

Only the Girl in the Poster Seems to Dance

The clothes seller sells her colourful wares,
To chilly people who are full of their cares,
Her cheerful smile adds light to their day,
As they shiver along on their wearying way.

The toy seller sits behind his stall,
Surrounded by toys, he made them all,
Which children will these things delight?
Whose tree be under on Christmas night?

People at Work - The Toy Maker

The artist sketches a beautiful girl,
All wrapped up against the winter chill,
It’s not complete, there’s more to do,
But already the likeness is coming through.

The crooner sings a smooth soothing song,
People rush by, they can’t wait too long,
But they walk away with music in ear,
To bring a bit of good Christmas cheer.

The hot-dog seller, a pretty young girl,
Hair tied back to tame her curls,
Provides some food to help shoppers shop,
And a little warmth from her burning hob.

The fiddler plays a bright merry tune,
I bet he wishes this was flaming June,
Is anyone listening I wonder perchance, as
Only the girl in the poster seems to dance!
(Copyright The Dorset Rambler)

As far as the main picture goes, I decided to use selective colour in order to highlight the girl in the poster and turn the rest of the scene to black and white.

Thanks for stopping by.

Until tomorrow,
Your friend The Dorset Rambler

If you would like to contact me, my email address is terry.yarrow@gmail.com – comments and feedback are always welcomed.

All photographs, poems and words in this blog are the copyright of The Dorset Rambler and must not be reproduced without permission.

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Theme for the Week – Walking the Streets Part 4

17 Mar

– – – EXPLORING THE COUNTRYSIDE AND LANES OF DORSET – – –

So, continuing our theme of ‘Walking the Streets’, you might think that day time and sunny weather would be the best time to be out walking with your camera, but this is definitely not the case.

Wet pavements

This shot, as you can see, was taken on a very wet evening as I walked the city streets……and I loved it! There were lots of wet pavements to reflect the city lights, and the heavy rain really added to the wintry feel, creating a great atmosphere. Every photograph has two dimensions, a height and a depth, and you create the third dimension by using perspective to create a feeling of depth. But atmosphere is what I call the fourth dimension, and it really lifts a picture out of the ‘record shot’ category into something much more.

Interestingly, this shot dates back to the time when I was considering selling my pictures through a stock photography library and this one was rejected because there were too many copyrighted signs in it. You see, not only do people have rights but so do property owners which is why you may need property release forms as well as model release forms.

The night I took this picture, I got so many good pictures with lots of bright colours from reflected lights and umbrellas, and lots of movement created by using a slow shutter speed. It was a night to remember……even though I got soaked 🙂 !

Thanks for stopping by.

Until tomorrow,
Your friend The Dorset Rambler

If you would like to contact me, my email address is terry.yarrow@gmail.com – comments and feedback are always welcomed.

All photographs, poems and words in this blog are the copyright of The Dorset Rambler and must not be reproduced without permission.

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Theme for the Week – Walking the Streets Part 3

16 Mar

– – – EXPLORING THE COUNTRYSIDE AND LANES OF DORSET – – –

So this week, we are on the theme of ‘Walking the Streets’ which apart from walking is also about the genre of photography known as ‘Street Photography’.

Youth

The moral dilemma is of course, is it an invasion of privacy to take candid pictures of people just going about their business in a public place? Well, I have to say that although this is a genre of photography I enjoy, partly because it totally contrasts with my usual landscapes and therefore provides a new set of challenges, I am not completely comfortable about taking pictures of people without their knowledge.

Now, of course, one way around this moral dilemma is to actually ask if they mind you taking their picture but street photography is all about capturing the critical moment, and this moment might be lost if you stop to ask first. Having said that, I do often ask first, although that in itself is not easy because it involves approaching a complete stranger and that takes a certain amount of courage in itself. How paparazzi photographers do what they do, I am not sure, but it seems to me to be street photography in the extreme! Apart of course from the fact that their subjects are celebrities who in many ways benefit from the publicity.

There are though, occasions when things work the other way round. In the case of the picture above, these three youngsters passed me in the street, and seeing my camera, they asked me to take their picture and then proceeded to pose for me. Naturally, I obliged and they then went on their way. I have no idea who they were and they never saw the picture. But to me, this sums up ‘capturing the moment’ as it was completely spontaneous and done in fun, and that is what street photography is about.

Thanks for stopping by.

Until tomorrow,
Your friend The Dorset Rambler

If you would like to contact me, my email address is terry.yarrow@gmail.com – comments and feedback are always welcomed.

All photographs, poems and words in this blog are the copyright of The Dorset Rambler and must not be reproduced without permission.

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Theme for the Week – Walking the Streets

15 Mar

– – – EXPLORING THE COUNTRYSIDE AND LANES OF DORSET – – –

My theme for the week is ‘Walking the Streets’ which is somewhat different to my usual posts which involve countryside and nature and landscapes aplenty. In terms of exercise, walking the streets can be beneficial, although tests have shown that mentally walking in the countryside with the quiet of nature around you rather than the noise of traffic has a better effect. But, hey, variety is the spice of life…..plus of course you can’t really do street photography in the countryside 🙂 !

People at Work - The City Busker

Yesterday I said that in the UK generally, it is legal to take pictures of anyone in a public place but of course some places might appear public but in fact be private, such as shopping centres. Also, there are restrictions in some places such as Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square, the Royal Parks etc. But what about the moral side? Is it an invasion of privacy to take pictures of people just going about their normal everyday lives? Some of the iconic photographers of the past such as Cartier Bresson, Vivian Maier etc spent their lives doing it and became famous for their ability to record everyday life, and their pictures are a fantastic resource showing us how people lived. But what about in the 21st century? Will my pictures be seen the same in 100 years time? Probably not, because these days so many people take pictures, but you get my point.

I guess the answer to my question above is perhaps partly down to what the subjects in your pictures are doing. In the case of the picture above, the guy is a street performer so he would expect to be photographed, as would musicians, human statues etc. However, it would also depend on what you were intending to do with the picture. In my case, I take these pictures just for fun – in fact I don’t actively market any of my pictures. If you intend making money out of candid pictures, especially if they are used for advertising rather than editorial, it is a different ball game as the people featured could justifiably claim a share of the proceeds unless you asked them to sign model release forms. But is it an invasion of privacy even if you are doing it just for fun?

Well, perhaps we will think more about that tomorrow!

So, about the picture itself, it was taken in a city and this guy was crooning the old songs using, as you can see, a retro mic. I captured the shot with people in the background and then toned the final image to fit in with the retro feel. What caught my attention though was the way the people were showing no interest in the singer or his song at all. But more about that in a future post too.

Thanks for stopping by.

Until next tomorrow,
Your friend The Dorset Rambler

If you would like to contact me, my email address is terry.yarrow@gmail.com – comments and feedback are always welcomed.

All photographs, poems and words in this blog are the copyright of The Dorset Rambler and must not be reproduced without permission.

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Theme for the Week – Walking the Streets

14 Mar

– – – EXPLORING THE COUNTRYSIDE AND LANES OF DORSET – – –

I thought I would try something new on my blog to see how it might work, and that is to post an entry a day on a theme which will last for the week. It is partly because it is sometimes difficult to find enough time to write a full blog post with 15 or so photos which means that my blog entries can be quite sparse at times. It is much quicker of course to just post one picture with some words, so spreading my posts over the week.

I will still put up my walk descriptions with lots of pictures but they will be interspersed with these shorter posts for a time, just to see how it works.

Let me know what you think.

So my first theme is:

Walking the Streets

Dog Walking

Those of you who follow me will know that I love to walk in the wild countryside, surrounded by nature. However, I also like to include a village or two in my walks because there is so much to be seen in our ancient villages and hamlets which can tell us much about the way people lived……and people are interesting.

Taking that a bit further, I also enjoy town and city walks and taking pictures there is a lovely contrast to my more usual landscapes. So this week’s theme is about a field of photography known as ‘street photography’ and this is all about capturing the moment. These are mainly candid pictures and I will say straight away that I would never post pictures of children or anyone doing anything embarrassing or stupid. I will also say that if anyone ever saw any pictures of themselves and wanted them taken down, I would do so immediately.

Now English law is somewhat vague on this subject but generally it is perfectly legal to take pictures of anyone doing anything in a public place, with some exceptions. However, is there a moral dilemma here? Well, maybe that is something we will discuss in a future post.

This picture was taken along the sea front and what caught my eye was the couple’s characterful faces and the way they were walking together with their lovely little dog. I held the camera near to the ground in order to set them off against the sky, and then I toned the picture to suit the mood. To me, this picture just sums up the sea front in winter, and people ‘taking the air’ and isn’t that something to encourage?

Thanks for stopping by.

Until next tomorrow,
Your friend The Dorset Rambler

If you would like to contact me, my email address is terry.yarrow@gmail.com – comments and feedback are always welcomed.

All photographs, poems and words in this blog are the copyright of The Dorset Rambler and must not be reproduced without permission.

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