A Guardian article today about the area around Cadiz has included one of my pictures.
It’s a feature about beaches and things to do in the locality. We enjoyed the coast here, much quieter than other parts of Spain, lots of fresh air blowing around from the Atlantic and fantastic light – the Costa del Luz ( Coast of Light).
You can see a few heads bobbing around in the sea in the middle distance and one or two people on the beach in the far distance, and of course, a few footprints in the sand.
I’ve just noticed one of mine used in the Guardian yesterday. I had to stand right back and use a zoom lens for this shot!
That stuff flying around is very pungent pig manure being spread on arable fields in rural Suffolk as organic natural fertiliser. Little did I know that this poses an actual health risk – though standing so close to a muck spreader is not something I do too often.
It is nice to see the picture use credited to ‘geogphotos’ ( me).
This and other dung spreading pictures from this shoot on Geography Photos here.
This was taken over ten years ago and has just been licensed for the first time. This is the Pontins Pakefield Holiday Park in sunny Suffolk.
Country: Worldwide
Usage: Single company, editorial magazine, print and or web, multiple use 5 years
Industry sector: Media, design & publishing
Start: 13 June 2019
End: 13 June 2024
To get back into the blogging habit I’ll try and post some sales a they come along. It is easy, provides variety, and people like to see what stock photography is about.
As ever, this and many more images are at my Geography Photos site
My interest in photographing churches and their stained glass windows has developed over the months. I think I’m perhaps coming to the end of it now. Whether they have interest as stock photos remains to be seen but on a personal level I have found it fascinating. I am not religious but our medieval churches have been at the centre of their respective communities for centuries. They are museums full of treasures from our past.
Fairford church in Gloucestershire was a revelation to me. It is unique in having a virtually complete set of medieval stained glass windows from around 1500. Somehow it survived the protestant destruction of religious art under the reigns of King Henry VIII and particularly his son King Edward VI. Around 90% of all religious art was destroyed – ancient statues, wall paintings, and stained glass – as they tried to erase all visible signs of the Catholic faith.
It seems that at Fairford somebody with wealth and power took a big risk and removed all the stained glass so that it could be hidden and protected. Perhaps that person imagined a reward in heaven and a way of escaping the damnation of hell.
The west window shows the Day of Judgement – a doom picture – where the souls of the risen dead are judged and sent either to God in heaven or to Satan in Hell.
This is a detail from the west window. To me it seems remarkably modern in its detail.
If you find yourself near Fairford do go and visit. You will be amazed as I was.
A set of images from Fairford is at www.geographyphotos.com
Use the search function to browse them.
Something of a surprise to see my photos with the Russian news agency TASS. I have noticed a few small sales appearing from time to time and not really thought about it.
Stock photography truly is a global business these days – thanks to the internet.
I think most people would be surprised to learn that this picture of Sizewell nuclear power station used on the main BBC website will make me around £00.10.
I’m remembering how hard it actually was to find the right spot to get this picture.
Its a joke isn’t it?
With the grey skies of January I find myself once again exploring inside some of the ancient churches in Suffolk. These historic buildings have been the centre of their respective communities for hundreds of years and are full of stories and treasures. Yet judging by the signatures in the visitor books these wonderful, rich cultural and historic storehouses are largely overlooked.
In Blaxhall church there is a remarkable stained glass window by Margaret Rope created as a family memorial to the Rope family in 1912. I haven’t done the whole window justice in my photos ( will return) but here is a detail of one part of it. Saint Peter holds the key. The other figure is Saint Michael modelled on Michael Rope who subsequently became an engineer with the Air Ministry, and was killed in the R101 airship disaster in 1931.
Margaret Agnes Rope (1882-1953 ) and her cousin Margaret Edith Aldrich Rope ( 1891-1988) are two of the best stained-glass artists of the twentieth century. M. E. A Rope was known as Tor ( for tortoise). Here is her monogram from Barnby church.
Margaret Agnes Rope ( Marga) only ever ‘signed’ one of her works – the family memorial one at Blaxhall.
Both Rope cousins, but particularly Tor, who was born in Leiston, have Suffolk connections so discovering their work has given me an interesting local project for the start of 2019.
Images of their stained glass and other recent photos of several Suffolk churches are in a new gallery on my home page.
