John Sandell photography

Image of the Month Archive #6

Click the thumbnail images for larger pics and details... Use links on the right to see earlier and later archives »
Highly Strung

Highly Strung. Looking up at the supporting wires of the Hungerford footbridge, crossing the river Thames from Charing Cross station to the Royal Festival Hall, in London. Just a pattern picture, with the clouds conveniently behind the fan of the lower wires. Sky darkened a bit and the saturation somewhat increased. [posted March 2008] / more...

Walking Away

Walking Away. This tall, elegant young man appears to be striding purposefully away, clasping his book, from the tittle-tattle of the wedding guests, and their interesting assortment of legs, footwear, stockings and kilts. A grab-shot outside the Canongate Kirk on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the end of a very chilly mid-September afternoon. The young man is Robert Fergusson, called "Scotia's Poet" by Robert Burns, who erected the statue in Fergusson's memory in 1787. The inscription is from Fergusson's poem Auld Reikie. [posted February 2008] / more...

December Mist

December Mist. Taken just before 3:00pm on 23 December, in the fields near my home in north-east Herts. The mist had been down all day – the only time for ages that I can remember it like this – and the sun was trying hard to burn through. Great conditions for walking, and for photography! The task was to preserve a range of tonal planes, from the virtually black silhouetted grasses in the foreground to the almost burnt-out sun, while conveying the feeling of peace and silence that was there at the time. [posted January 2008] / more...

National Galleries

National Galleries. Another image from my Edinburgh trip in September, this time isolating two pillars of the splendid National Gallery of Scotland, the building set back from Prince's Street, behind the Royal Scottish Academy building. It had been raining most of the day – this was taken mid afternoon – and I was making the most of a very welcome break in the clouds and some brighter and warmer light. The water lying on the paving has darkened it nicely, and the contrast in the stonework of the walls and pillars is somewhat enhanced. On the face if it a straightforward shot, with a medium wideangle and a slowish shutter speed, aided by some convenient railings. [posted November 2007] / more...

Albert Hall

Light on the Bridge. Some pretty heavy saturation in the image this month, with almost a quarter of the picture solid black. The subject is the North Bridge in Edinburgh, at the east end of Prince's Street, in some very welcome September evening sun at the end of a wet and miserable day. With the sun about to set, the light is burning hard onto the side of the bridge. Not much processing, other than adjusting levels in Photoshop. And a small adjustment to even up the brightness left to right. And a slight rotation. [posted October 2007] / more...

Albert Hall

Albert Hall. A photo of the wonderful Royal Albert Hall, in London, seems appropriate as we reach the end of the 2007 Proms season. Actually taken last year, towards the end on a perfect Summer's day, from the steps of the Albert Memorial on the other side of Kensington Gore. The evening sun has really brought out the colour in the red brick of the Hall and the surrounding buildings. The lucky moment, of course, was when the two tourists obligingly paused to admire the building. [posted September 2007] / more...

Hot Water

Hot Water. Part of the huge exhibition of glass sculpture by the wonderful Dale Chihuly at Kew Gardens, taken in October 2005. This boat full of glass shapes was one of the more obvious exhibits, and it got my attention as soon as we arrived, but there were many more subtle pieces almost hidden in every part of the gardens. I was shooting into the sun, which really lit up both the colours of the glass and the water from the fountain in the middle of the lake. [posted July 2007] / more...

Wedding Car

The Wedding Car. Outside a church in Warsaw on the last afternoon of an excellent two-week tour in eastern Poland. Lots of couples were getting married at other churches too, and they all seemed happy public occasions, with crowds gathering round in the street to watch. Suddenly everyone moved into position. The lady on the right holding up her flowers, the girl on the left in the fashionable skirt... No-one is paying any attention to the car, which is undoubtedly the star of the show at this moment. [posted June 2007] / more...

Wild Tree

Wild Tree. I liked this delicately gnarled tree near the edge of Crummock Water (the lake just north of Buttermere), set against a lowering Lake District sky. The weather was horrid – damp and not far off freezing; the forecast said worse was to come. So everyone stayed low. But by the time I reached the end of the lake by a circuitous route at lunchtime, the sun was shining and I was roasting. Shot on a short visit to the Lakes in March 2006 on the Nikon D100 with 12-24mm lens, and converted to monochrome in Photoshop. [posted May 2006]

Two Jags

Two Jags. Boys' toys. These E-Type Jaguars are irresistable, especially for those of us old enough to remember when they were new! There was a row of half a dozen of them at our local Classic Car show, including these gorgeous red examples, all beautifully maintained. Taken with the Nikon D100 with 28-85 set to 66mm (100mm equivalent on 35mm film). [posted October 2005]

   
Newer Archive | top | Older Archive