Images from a Photography workshop for the Eastern Region Textile Forum

As a textile artist, you want to take photographs to do your work justice. I was privileged to be invited by the Eastern Region Textile Forum (http://www.ertf.org.uk/) to give a talk and workshop - on how best to photograph their creative efforts.

If you cannot see the slideshow, all images can be found in the online album at https://picasaweb.google.com/107595387761034666575/PhotographyWorkshopWithEasternRegionTextileForum

I chatted with several attendees in the coffee break before giving the talk and was amazed at the wide variety of skills and techniques that the 17 participants represented. I had naïvely come with the perception of simply patchwork. I met felters, embroiderers, modern knitters and experiment lace workers. Their materials ranged from smooth silks and metallic fibres to textured fabrics and 3-D artwork.

They brought with them a range of photographic equipment, from smart phones, via compact cameras to SLRs. The audience also had a range of photographic experience and knowledge of photo editing. What they were looking for was some very practical advice on getting the basics right for taking a photograph and editing it.

I hope that I fulfilled this objective (and thank you for the favourable comments, dear audience). The next step, after a good buffet lunch, was to put the new-found knowledge into practice in a workshop.

The noise level rose perceptibly within the meeting room as they scattered in groups of threes and fours. They first ensured that each camera had been adjusted to the optimum settings and that the lighting was right. The groups then chose which of the many works of textile art to photograph first.

After 75 minutes, I collected the images from a miscellany of memory cards and loaded them up onto the laptop to show on the projection screen. Each of the participants then shared what they had learned from the practical and resultant photographs.

We looked at the successes and the not so successful; everyone contributed to the learning curve!

However, as you can see from the slideshow above, they achieved some beautiful pictures of their brilliant textile artwork.

Thanks too to the Cambridge Golf and Conference centre near Hemmingford Abbots (http://www.cgcc.co.uk/) for the great venue and looking after us for the day’s event.

If you are an artist who works in 2-D, 3-D or with reflective materials, would like some straightforward guidance on photography and photo editing, whatever your camera, you can always get my:

Quick Reference Guide on Photographing Your Own Artwork here from Selz.com for only £3.33

Buy this on Selz Sell digital downloads on Selz

My modern portrait taken with a 150 year old photography

Yvette Bessels and her camera

It’s a cold March day and I’m sitting in a graveyard. No, this is not a sudden onset of existential angst, I’m having my photo taken!

This may seem like just desserts by those HBNers who took part in the portrait Photoshoot that I organised a couple of weeks ago. There, they had to pose, smile, answer my every whim as I lorded it behind the camera.

The activity aroused in me a desire to have my portrait taken too. But not just any portrait! No, I had set it in my mind to have mine taken using a technique that would have been familiar to Isambard Kingdom Brunel in the late 1800s, wet plate colloidon photography.

The idea had become ingrained in my mind when I met Yvette Bessels at a Cambridge Bloggers meeting and heard that this was her photography interest. We arranged to meet up for a photo shoot on a sunny day and the graveyard on Histon Road, near her house, was a convenient location.

The set in Histon Road graveyard

Wet plate collodion photography is pretty descriptive of the process. A glass plate is coated in a colloidon/halide solution. Collodion is an early type of plastic. The plate is immersed into a silver nitrate solution in the dark to activate it. The wet plate is then removed, still in the dark, placed inside a light-tight box and taken to a positively enormous box camera. Once the subject is posed and absolutely still, the lens cap is removed, the shutter opened and the plate is exposed for at least a couple of seconds. The plate then has to be developed and fixed before it dries out.

With our HBN photoshoot, I took hundreds of pictures over two hours. There are subtle nuances and emotions flashing across the faces of the sitters. You want to capture the best one.

We spent 3h in the graveyard and exposed 5 plates, of which three were exposure tests as we moved around. The most difficult aspect is posing absolutely still. Ideally, Yvette would like to have a head brace to keep the sitter still. The longest time I posed was 20 seconds in the shade. The final picture was taken deliberately as the sun when behind cloud – it was bright enough for a “short” 6 second exposure, but not too bright to make me squint.

Composition was far more important with these photos that in the studio shots. I wanted to make this photograph count! So I reverted to the 19th century still pose with some items that are of importance to me and my work.

Even when we had finished and obtained a well exposed and developed plate, the process was not over. I waited three days as Yvette carefully dried the plate and varnished the plate.

I collected the photograph on Saturday and was pleased with the final result. The plate can be viewed as a negative with light shining through it. Alternatively, if backed by a black glass plate, it gives a positive image.

Showing how the plate can appear both as a positive on a dark background and a negative on a light background. Middle image is plate placed over white and black card simultaneously.

I photographed both negative and positive views. Glass can break, so I also created a digital positive from the negative plate, the final image in my online album.

The final portrait after digital capture and editing.

I leave you with a final note of something that can only happen in Cambridge.

Thirsty after our photoshoot, we wandered to the nearby pub, The Grapes, as the friendly publican Sandy had let me park there.

Coincidence 1: I plonked my box on the ground near the bar and a man seated there turned round and asked “What sort of microscope is that?”. I answered Bob, after we were introduced, that it was a Watson.

Coincidence 2: We explained that we had been doing some old style photography. “Oh, glass plates? I used to do that at school”, was his reply and a discussion on photography ensued.

Coincidence 3: I asked Bob what he did. “I’m in life sciences”,  – something that I had been working in for over two decades before my present business.

That’s Cambridge!

A drive across flooded England at the end of 2012

J. G. Ballards “The Drowned World”, but without heat, that's what came to mind looking out of the car window. Saturday 29th December was another torrential downpour in a months of floods, in the wettest year in UK weather records. I set out that morning for Cambridge from Hereford.

Hereford Playing Fields

Wye at Hereford

The River Wye had passed it's flood peak at Hereford but the fields by the river were still mirroring the leaden skies as water could not soak away in the sodden ground. The Lugg meadows at the start of the road to Worcester (A4103) were still flooded as the route gradually climbed higher in a series of undulations. Small streams ran down the side of the tarmac or in the tracks created by the traffic. Where they pooled in the dips in the road or changed from one side of the road to the other, the car would suddenly experience drag and generate fountains of spray. Definitely not a day for fast driving. You could even be unexpectedly caught out at the top, for example when clearing the impressive incline at Fromes Hill.

Initially, you could not see the Malvern peaks, just the roiling clouds rushing around them. But breaks in the clouds were rushing up behind me. By the time I reached the Cowleigh Road junction to Great Malvern, I turned off the main Worcester route for a deviation in anticipation of a better view coming off the hills.

Cowleigh Road (B4219) was a narrower affair, through orchards and then winding into the woods. I pulled into the drive to Cowleigh Park farm, intrigued by the Cowleigh Spring on the opposite side of the road. The rain was letting off enough to get out and take a photo.

Cowleigh Spring

Coming into Great Malvern, I took a sharp left back towards Worcester onto the A449. Large billboards promoted the new retirement villages and the view ahead across the plain towards Worcester looked similarly mundane with no vast floods in evidence.

Worcester Floods

Worcester Floods

This only changed at the roundabout leading onto the A4440 swinging south around Worcester. We entered the Severn's flood plain. Puddles flowed together into a larger sheets with just the occasional tufts rising above the water. The water continued to deepen so that only hedges and solitary trees rose forlornly above the flood. I pulled out of the stop-start traffic into a small service road, wrapped in my anorak against the rain and wind, to take some photos. The west bank of the river could not be seen, whilst on the other, the river boats were moored just a couple of metres below the caravan site that nestled below the A38 leading into Worcester.

Walcot Lane closed

I continued along the bypass and made a choice not to use the M5 up to Birmingham, but to continue cross country. Missing the directions to Evesham, I headed towards Pershore then let the SatNav guide me back to the route I should have taken along the Avon valley. At Drakes Broughton, the suggested route via Walcot Lane had to be abandoned due to a flooded ford that was not worth the risk.

Coming into the Vale of Evesham, the Avon had burst its banks and it was more a case of the flooded plain winding sometimes closer, sometimes further away from the road.

My objective was a stop at Stratford upon Avon as I used to live and work nearby. The rain had not deterred Saturday shoppers and tourists, so it was a crawl to the Rother Street Car Park, where I was lucky to find a space. My first stop was for food; fishcakes in the Hathaway Tea Rooms on the High Street, with a warming cup of tea. A couple on a date to my left and three tables in front taken up by a family group provided light observational entertainment before I grudgingly set out into the rain again.

Stratford upon Avon from footbridge

View to Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Turning down Sheep Street, I reached Waterside where the Avon was in full flow but still within its banks. Crossing the lock, I walked onto the pedestrian bridge to photograph the  Royal Shakespeare Theatre with the swollen Avon, tinted brown by the sediment it had ripped from earlier fields, rushing by.

The colour highlight in this grey day was provided by Dawn and Garry Lloyds's shop on Sheep Street, Gifts & Forget Me Nots (http://www.facebook.com/giftsandforgetmenots?ref=stream).  They are the sole local source of Annie Sloan chalk paints for the area. With Dawn's helpful and friendly advice, I left laden with 100ml pots of rich colours and shades for future chalkboard work.

Back on the road, direction Warwick, I took a turning to Hampton Lucy, drove through to Charlecote. and then on to Wellesbourne, where we used to live thirty years ago. There, left onto the A429 through Barford in direction Warwick. These villages are all in the Avon flood plain and had suffered flooding in November. The river seemed to be within its bounds now but many fields were still full of standing water. Rain kept falling.

Darkness was descending at 4pm as I bypassed Coventry and joined the last stretch of the M6 leading to the A14. Spray from the traffic on the wet roads meant the wipers were on constantly. The first part of the A1 was prone to straight sided, deep potholes, to be avoided if seen in the headlights in time. No doubt the long spells of wet weather increased road damage, especially when follwed by groundfrost that would expand and enlarge any water-filled cracks.

At Kettering, I drove off for a tea break at the Little Chef at the services. With three staff present, I was in a minority of one. It was a case of “Hello, I'm Chris and I will be your customer for the next half hour!”

Flooded Riverbank Park in Huntingdon, 2009

Passing Huntingdon Racecourse, I wondered if there had been any relief from the flooding which had led to the abandonment of the Boxing Day Racing. We were now in the area dominated by the river Great Ouse.  I could see the glint of reflections on flooded areas as the A14 swung past Huntingdon and Godmanchester. I remembered photographing the flooded Riverbank Park in Huntingdon back in February 2009.

Flooded Fen Drayton Lakes

St Ives, Fen Drayton and the nearby lakes in the nature reserve had all experienced high water and flooding earlier in December. When travelling to the special A14 Coffee Morning meeting on the afternoon of the 21st of December, I had made a point of taking the guided bus and getting off at Fen Drayton Lakes with a camera and Tripod. Setting off on foot, I soon encountered the water lapping over the footpath,  right up to the embankment of the guided bus.

Flooded footpath next to guided busway

Carefully making my way above the floods on the embankment, aside of the guided busway, I was reminded of a scene in the film “Spirited Away”, where the occasional train would swish past on a long track through an otherwise submerged countryside. I had walked on to St Ives, attended the enjoyable meeting and then spent an hour photographing the high water and flooded car park in St Ives.

Milton Floods on October 2009

Back to the wet drive in the dark. I was on the home stretch approaching Cambridge. Before I had travelled to Hereford, the River Cam had flooded Grantchester Meadows. However, by the time the Cam reached Baits Bite Lock in Milton, the river was in control again, though very high. In fact the last time we had seen flooding in Milton was back in the days when I still used a film camera, Back in October 2001.

I arrived relieved at our front door in Milton after 7 hours travel. The journey had been a transect through central England both in distance and as an encapsulation of the wettest year on record. I was also extremely grateful that, when buying our property, we had checked that we were outside of any flood plain. If you are thinking of moving house or just want to check how safe you are from floods – check the environment agency's site at  http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/31650.aspx.

Floods, waterlogged ground, damaged crops and roads, relentless rain and just grey and wet demoralising weather - these had been engrained into our psyche for most of 2012. I could only hope that the New Year would bring relief –

But that is another story
(see https://picasaweb.google.com/107595387761034666575/NewYearsDayMilton2013)

The route taken on this journey can be followed here: 
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?saddr=Hereford&daddr=52.120422,-2.3330876+to:52.151466,-2.1480559+to:52.1343958,-2.1115681+to:52.2007962,-1.7749123+to:52.1929345,-1.7095134+to:52.2144009,-1.6280155+to:52.2014592,-1.6040888+to:Milton,+Cambridge&hl=en&ll=52.125413,-2.341676&spn=0.003899,0.008948&sll=52.102709,-2.360344&sspn=0.124001,0.286331&geocode=FU5RGgMduo7W_ylBU26qJdRvSDGWbDz9S5qc1Q%3BFWZLGwMdYWbc_ymxkWN7i_hwSDHJ-0ncQc-9Xg%3BFarEGwMdKTnf_ylJJX6oSeVwSDF10cmfPrfiVQ%3BFfuBGwMdsMff_ynlvYRFAeVwSDEN7BC1Qp6rbg%3BFVyFHAMdwOrk_ynPk45NasVwSDFsSbv8XNpmqw%3BFaZmHAMdN-rl_ylV3tUWM85wSDF3VbbnHf8odQ%3BFYC6HAMdkSjn_ykn98ehsc1wSDHRxJPdqpTS1A%3BFfOHHAMdCIbn_ynZ807Wcs1wSDHQXQzGmw1_mg%3BFe8rHQMdoHYCAClHgl4spXHYRzGaqfF4yuEijA&t=m&mra=dpe&mrsp=1&sz=12&via=1,2,3,4,5,6,7&z=17

The large Camera Obscura at Mülheim - visit with Ulrich Heker

Camera Obscura in Mülheim

Ulrich Heker of Teeth'R'US invited us to visit Mülheim last week. With a shared interest in photography in addition to our DE-GB collaborations and publications, the large camera obscura with its associated museum was an ideal place for an outing. for the full slide show, visit: https://picasaweb.google.com/107595387761034666575/CameraObscuraInMulheim?authuser=0&feat=directlinkmore text

Taking the lift to the dome of the large converted water tower, we entered the darkened viewing room of the camera obscura. When the aperture 10m above us was opened, light was reflected off a 300mm mirror that could be rotated at the top of the dome, through a set of lenses with an aperture of about 140mm and projected to give an incredibly realistic view of the surroundings on a wide table.

In the weak winter sun, the scene was not as bright as at noon on a full summer's day, but when the mirror was rotated to view the nearby roads, the cars and buses seemed to be toys within touching distance.

Fortunately, I was armed with camera and tripod and was able to take a series of images, not just of the projections, but also of the amazed and interested spectators. Their faces glowed in the reflected light.

The winter sun was setting and over a period of half an hour came into projected view. We first followed it with a small screen until it reached the main projection table. Here, glowing in it's full glory, the disc of around 8cm diameter clearly showed two sunspots. Shining through the lower bands of the atmosphere, the disc also rippled with slight atmospheric disturbances, as if it were alive.

The principle of the camera obscura was known to Aristotle. As children we came across the portable version, the pinhole camera. David Hockney recently gave an excellent TV series on how Renaissance artists probably used the method for their incredible perspective and realistic paintings. However, large scale projections still have their own magic when you encounter them.

Coming down through the museum, we found the photographer Michael Schaaf (www.colloidon.de) preparing for a workshop with an old plate camera,using the wet colloidon principle. I picked up a very useful tip here: Use long exposures to photograph a portrait and you avoid the bane of any photographer's life, people blinking just as you take the picture. With a longer exposure ( a couple of seconds) blinking does not register. But your subject has to remain very still!

Ulrich Heker is himself an accomplished photographer (and has done nearly all the photos for the articles I translated for various dental magazines). So we naturally had an extended conversation with Michael Schaaf, which tested the patience of our companions.

If you are ever near Mülheim in Germany, make a point of visiting the Camera Obscura there. Other exmples worldwide can be found by following the links here http://www.camera-obscura-muelheim.de/cms/camera_obscura_weltweit1.html.

Our visit to Samuel Pepys’ house in Brampton

Up, though not so early this Friday as I did the last, for which I am sorry, and though late am resolved to get up betimes before the season of rising be quite past.


To St Ives to fit myself for discourse in the Taproom. Mightily amused by the dismay of my friends who did rise early only to find the Coffee House shut at the appointed hour due to the tardy arrival of the servant who received a derisory booing by both guests and the kitchen.

By and by by Omnibus  to Hinchingbrooke Hospital and so to Brampton, and anon called into the house of the late lamented Mr Pepys, there to meet my Huntingdonshire friends to bear me company for a tour.

Staid in the house a good while listening to the most informed Mrs Curtis on the diverse altercations in Mr Pepys’ life as recounted in his diary and the historie of the building to the present day.

Thence to the most pleasant garden where Mr Foster and his wife entertained us with coffee and tea.

By and by we tooke leave and parted to our various coaches. Mr Wishart agreed to accompany me back towards Hinchingbrooke park where we dined on iced cream and chocolate and found it most refreshing.

Came to look for my omnibus and found it late and so continued our discourse until it arrived and so home for supper.

Cambridge Open Studios Milton 2012

Two weekends of welcoming visitors to my Cambridge Open Studio 2012 passed in a mixture of quiet hours and sudden rushes. New work hung framed on one of the two exhibition walls and there was also a collection of mounted work to see.



The work looks at both familiar and unfamiliar subjects in a new light - close up and under the microscope. The photos display a range of illumination techniques.

• Top lighting is where natural or photo lights are shore onto the subject as in conventional photography
• Transmitted light is where the light shines through from behind the subject - similar to photographing stained glass
• Darkfield illumination is where light is shone from an angle at a transparent object, making it glow against a dark background
• Polarisation uses transmitted light with a polarising filter between the light and the sample and a second filter between the sample and the camera. The background is black with the filters at 90 degrees to each other and samples display a spectrum of colours depending on their thickness and composition
• Polarisaton with wave attenuation. This is the same as simple polarisation with the addition of a  sheet of plastic between the first polarisation filter and the sample. Rotation of the plastic sheet and the polarisation filters can give different colour backgrounds.
• Phase A. This is a type of illumination called phase contrast. it makes thin samples with only slight differences in contrast stand out more as bright lines against a darker background.

The aim is to use the skills to bring out the unusual and aesthetic in a particular object.

There were two other enjoyable factors during the exhibition. 

First, I was able to extend my portrait practice of parents with sons or daughters - you can see the results at https://picasaweb.google.com/107595387761034666575/COSPortraits2012.

Second, I always have a stereomicroscope on hand for people to look through. Gems on jewellery are a favourite, however, this year I found living gems in the form of the relatively new resident to the UK, the iridescent purple and bronze leaf beetle Chysolina americana - look at them in video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nR0Evyc7hc&feature=g-upl.

Thank you to all my visitors and the interesting conversations that we had.

Try Smartphone macro-photography for great results

Smartphones have increasingly good cameras these days. Even I, a die-hard SLR photographer have been won over to using them for some subjects. In fact, when it comes to close-up or macro-photography, they are an excellent tool.  I explain why smartphones are good for macro-photography, their main limitation and also give simple directions for taking close-ups. Have a look at the slide-show below featuring mainly flowers from Colbrook Nurseries, between Teversham and Fulbourn in Cambridgeshire, UK.





Since many of us have our smartphones with us most of the time, they are a valuable portable camera immediately at hand when an opportunity arises. Shopping in Garden Centres is not my prime interest. However, when we arrived at Colbrook Nurseries, the riot of colours and patterns turned a potential chore into a little photographic excursion. Thank you to the nurseries for giving me permission to photograph there!

It is the small but high quality lens that becomes an asset for close-up photography with your smartphone. Usually in macro-photography, the area in focus is limited to a narrow depth of field.  The small lenses of smartphones have the beneficial effect of a greater depth of field – more of your subject is in focus. Your depth of field can be increased further using the zoom function.

Smartphones are also easier to manipulate close to your subject than a heavy SLR (single lens reflex) camera. The bright displays also let you readily gauge your composition.

The disadvantage of the small lens is that it captures less light. Photos become washed out when photgraphing in dim light conditions indoors for example. Look more closely at your photos taken with your smartphone, comparing those on a bright day to those taken, say, at an evening party.

How to take your smartphone macro-photographs.

• Choose a bright day and subjects outside so that they are well lit
• Switch on your smartphone camera and hold it close to a variety of nearby objects
• Find something that looks interesting on the display
• Move the camera back a bit
• Use the zoom to get close again for the same picture
• Have a main point of interest at about 1/3 from the edge of your picture rather than having it slap bang in the centre
• Tap your smartphone touch-screen to focus on your point of interest
• Take the picture
• Take several shots so you can choose the best later

Have fun taking your own close-ups with your smartphone and feel free to send me a link to your online album :-)

Helping you communicate in print, pictures and person.

The dramatic effect of projecting patterns onto a model

Projection onto a body or face for photography has been something I've been wanting to do since having the idea last year.

The trip by the Milton Photographic Club to Marty Rayner's “The Works Studio” near Croxton offered a great opportunity to give this a try. A particular help was the professionalism of the model Amber Tutton who was there for us that evening; she took to the idea with enthusiasm.

I selected a range of images taken through the microscope. They have relatively simple patterns and a limited colour range and were used in a slide show. The projector at the studio was available and was placed about two to three meters from the model.

A major worry was the intensity of the projector light as it appeared as a brilliant and constant point source of light . Placing myself in the full glare of the projector on its normal setting made my eyes stream. We therefore reduced the brightness considerably.

The reduced light meant that we were using exposures of between 1/10s to 1/4s at ISO400 or about 1/40s to 1/25s on ISO1600. A tripod was essential. Amber was also brilliant at moving into a pose and then freezing briefly for the shot. Nevertheless, of the total of 171 pictures a large number were blurred.

Where the photography worked, the results were fascinating. On the one hand, Amber's face and body moulded the projected patterns as I had hoped. The contrast was the effect of pattern variation in breaking up the face and creating unusual effects. A critical feature was to ensure that the eyes remained recognisable as they provide the visual cue for the viewer's eye and brain to seek out the rest of the structure.

Another useful prop was the mirror placed behind the projector, so that Amber could see the result of a pose and the impact of a pattern on her face and body, bringing out her creative streak through feedback.

This was successful beyond my expectations. The projected patterns could enhance, obscure or break up features. Colour also impacted – just look at the bruise like effect around the mouth and eye with the Arachnoidiscus image.

One of more of the images will be making their way into my Cambridge Open Studios exhibition on the second and third weekends this July!

Nine points learnt photographing the Cambridge Public Sector Strike Action March

The 30th of November promised to be the largest Public Sector strike action for a considerable period in Britain and a direct reaction to austerity measures and revised pension plans in this sector. In the current economic crisis, it could be pivotal – either in being the start of a future change in British economic policy or as the swansong of resistance to the reduction of the public sector.

At this moment in time, I had an opportunity to see and record such an event in the shape of the local marches planned in Cambridge. Not having done this before, it was a new photographic challenge and learning experience. Consequently, I did not sleep very well the night before! I learnt and applied nine principles to improve my chances of success.

I had checked out the potential Cambridge events online and decided to start with the feeder march starting at Shire Hall, Castle Hill, apparently starting at 10am. The route to Parker's Piece was not given.



I arrived early (9:30am) and introduced myself to the police, making clear that  I was participating as a photo exercise.  No problem. The police also gave me information on the planned route and were approachable throughout the event.

I then introduced myself to the union stewards marshalling the event, again removing any concerns on my part re being able to participate as a photographer and getting some additional information.

Protesters started arriving in dribs and drabs initially. They represented a range of unions, from the NUT to Unite, Unison, ATL, UCU and AWS. Again they too were open and friendly as conversations began. The overall atmosphere was a positive festival air. I was surprised at the diversity of unions present. This was due to the revival of the Trades Council Cambridge over the past year, which organised and coordinated the days event with all the different public sector unions.

I had brought along both my SLR and an SDR camcorder, with the aim of taking both stills and video if possible. When the march got under way shortly before 11am, this proved to be a good choice as the video could capture the movement of the procession and the sound. The stills photos could be to pick out details, faces, features etcetera in-between.

The atmosphere of the march and the conversations that I had during it with police and protesters were very positive in tone through-out. This meant that I was comfortable with photographing and recording from both within the march and without. As a PC had stated, the pace of the march was quite leisurely, so I could get ahead, take pictures or video, wait for the march to engulf me and then go to the side for more recording, join in walking and talking with members of the crowd afterwards. I did not express opinions and remained impartial, but interested.

It was in this way that I also learnt of the real diversity of people there – of course primarily from all parts of the public sector. But there were also ex patients, families or others who felt a strong affinity with the objectives of the marchers. Children had been brought along too, from those in push chairs, to 6 to 12 yr olds, to one or two politically aware teens.

When the feeder march reached Parker’s Piece, there were speeches and the wait for the Addenbrookes feeder march to arrive. Then the combined mass that had swollen to several thousand set out to march through the centre of Cambridge and then back to Parker’s Piece for the last set of political speeches. This meant that I was constantly either recording or looking for photo opportunities during the full 5 hours, with little opportunity to check what I had taken.

I was therefore grateful that I had pre-prepared my SLR such that it could either be used on automatic setting, or on fixed aperture pre-set at f8 or on fixed shutter speed at 1/400s. I left the ISO setting on automatic. I did not have to think much and could just point and shoot. Since it was a sunny day, light was not an issue for exposure, however there was a risk of glare or burning of highlights on faces at some points along the route.

It was only when back in the office that I could take time to look at the material and select what to keep, how to edit and what to discard.

Watching TV reports on other demonstrations in larger cities made me realise that following the Cambridge event was a good move. It was large enough to have an atmosphere but manageable enough that I could for example get close to the speakers on Parker's Piece.

The nine take home messages from this exercise were:

1. Check out the event in advance as best you can
2. Prepare your photographic equipment in advance for fast shooting
3. Arrive early at the event and talk to the police/marshalls/officials/participants about the event
4. Treat people with respect
5. Be impartial.
6. Be prepared to move away from trouble quickly, should it arise.
7. Take notes of names and participants if you can, to add value to your work..
8. Where possible, record views from both outside and from within the demonstration.
9. Take lots of pictures to optimise the chances of success.

You can see the photographs here: http://goo.gl/ljZ9s
And the video here: http://youtu.be/As0ua7oGwZ0

the Armourers' Hall of the Worshipful Company of Armourers and Brasiers

I had the privilege of visiting the Armourers' Hall of the Worshipful Company of Armourers and Brasiers, a site occupied in London since 1346.

The reason for the visit was actually a talk on The Future of the International Monetary System by Vítor Constâncio, Vice-President of the ECB. It was after the talk that I had a chance to look around and get a better impression of the Livery Hall we had been in and prompt a request to be able to photograph in the building.

The Armourers' Hall had survived the Great Fire of London and The Blitz and is a little gem. It has been the home of The Worshipful Company of Armourers and Brasiers since 1346. The Company is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Originally, the Armourers were responsible for producing armour and have had a link with the Army right through to the present day. Nowadays,The Company is now one of the leading charities in the UK supporting metallurgy and materials science education from primary school to postgraduate levels.

The armourers were given their first Royal Charter in 1453 by King Henry VI. I was thrilled to see the document for the Grant of Arms in 1556 up on the wall in the Court Room, the door to which had a lovely decorated door knob with the mottos "We Are One" and "Make All Sure" that included the Brasiers, who had joined the company sometime in the sixteenth century. The same room contains the petition to Queen Anne in 1708 for a charter including the Brasiers. Another lovely illustrated document, though possible water damaged, is the grant of Bye-Laws under the Charter of Elizabeth I in 1570 in the hall.

Ultimately, I was drawn back to the Livery Hall with its gorgeous lights and the Arms of Aldermen on the walls.   En masse, they provide a colourful adornment to the panelling, however, close up, individual arms are little works of art - and often humour. These are but a few of the collection of Arms of the Alderman of the Company from more than two centuries.

Downstairs, I particularly liked the conjunction of mediaeval armour with an example of more modern Bristol armour

The last minutes before leaving the building I was attracted by the Victorian tiling on the floor. I then tipped my forehead to the bicorne hat in the downstairs office and left, delighted to have had the privilege of visiting this Hall.

This is one of four articles relating to a visit to London on 23rd November 2011:

• The Armourers' Hall of the Worshipful Company of Armourers and Brasiers
• The International Monetary System is to local crises like the climate is to weather
• Walk from Moorgate to Holborn, via The Armourers Hall, St Pauls demo and St Laurence Jewry
• Some stained glass of St Lawrence Jewry, London

Colonies of Stentor polymorphus associated with Ramshorn snails

This article and the accompanying video illustrate the consistent association of Stentor polymorphus colonies with Ramshorn snails in a Cambridge pond.

Avid pondwatcher, Michelle Fleming, had posted images on Facebook of her Ramshorn snails sporting green somethings in the hollows of the centre shell whorls. Her pond is situated in a residential garden, just off Newmarket Rd in Cambridge.

The images were tantalising enough for me to invite Michelle and partner Mike to visit with some specimens for a closer view under the stereo microscope.

Viewed between 6x and 20 times magnification, green trumpet shapes became visible, that retracted on being touched. At less than a millimetre in length, they were identified as a colony of Stentor polymorphus.

Stentor species are large single celled organisms with cilia at the end of their bell shaped aperture, which waft in food to be eaten. S. polymorphus absorbs chlorella algae, which live symbiotically within its body, giving the Stentor species its distinctive green colour.

The unusual feature of the specimens from Michelle's pond is that they appear to be consistenly associated with the Ramshorn snails (Planorbarius corneus). Furthermore. They preferentially form in the centre of the snail shells whorl, which forms a bowl shaped environment. Whether this is due to selective settlement by the Stentor or because of removal by abrasion during the snails motion is not known, thought the former appeared more likely.

The specimens studied were unaffected by the snails motion or occasionally being agitated in the water during sharp turns of the petri dish in which they were observed and it took physical contact with a leaf or brush to induce contraction.

Future readers could check their ponds to see if they observe a similar association and whether it is limited to snails with a concave centre to their whorls.

A transforming Bedfordshire manufacturing SME

British manufacturing can thrive when it provides specialist quality products like those of Bedfordshire company Siga Electronics. Its products can be found in equipment under the sea, in the air and even in space.

Gennaro Coppolaro of Polar Communications had invited me to do the on site photography as part of developing Siga's new website. With a broader interest in successful businesses, I was of course also curious about their products.

Siga specialises in producing coils in general and toroidal transformers in particular. Transformers are integral to almost all electrical equipment. Their function is to change one voltage to another, that can be higher or lower. Toroidal transformers, where the components involve wire coils around a doughnut shaped core, are beneficial as they avoid the creation of disruptive electrical fields during their operation.

Siga's strength lies in producing such transformers in sizes ranging from smaller than a matchstick head to tens of centimeters in diameter. They can be wrapped, varnished and waterproofed as well as fulfilling the client's functional specifications.

Whilst I ploughed through the diverse collection of Siga coils and transformers, I was continually surprised to find out where this one or that was going to be used.

The range could vary between hi-tech and lo-tech, such as the juxtaposition of the apparently simple carboard covered coil that was actually destined for a hospital X-ray machine; to the beatiful bowl with a faint circumferential winding that would end up in one of the many foghorns used around oil- and other platforms in distant seas.

Their final destination could also be either at the bottom of one of our oceans in an underwater ROV (remotely operated vehicle), flying through the air in a Chinook Helicopter, or in a probe traversing the immense reaches of interplanetary space.

British manufacturing SMEs like Siga Electronics are successful, even in the current harsh economic climate and, as my patient minder Peter reminded me at the end of the photographic day, provide products used in the depths of the oceans to the expanses of space.

Snowdrops - not just a pretty flower - Five facts

The end of the barren winter months is heralded now by the arrival of Spring bulbs. Last weekend, the sunshine brought out the crowds to a fantastic display of over 240 Snowdrop varieties at Anglesey Abbey, part of the National Trust.

Here are my five Snowdrop facts:

1. Snowdrop species (Latin name Galanthus) are widespread throughout Europe and Asia. They most probably entered the British Isles in the 16th  century and have become naturalised in many locations. The trade in wild snowdrop bulbs and plants is now restricted under the CITES convention, however, many different varieties are produced sustainably in the UK.
2. Snowdrop bulbs are poisonous if eaten. One of the active ingredients is galantamine, which is used in the treatment of early Alzheimer's and vascular dementia. It acts as an 'acetylcholinesterase inhibitor'. As these are thought to be important in brain function, galantamine is also used as a “brain enhancer” in brain damaged patients. A more unusual application, is its use to get “Lucid Dreams”  or to help with “Out of Body Experiences”. I do not recommend trying it for either as the most likely experience will be your last dinner having a violent out of body experience back through your mouth!
3. Plants are brilliant chemical weapons specialists in their constant battle to avoid being eaten. Snowdrops produce Snowdrop lectin (also known as GNA = Galanthus nivalis agglutinin) which acts as an anti-feedant on insect pests. There is current research on introducing GNA into other plants in the hope that they will be more resistant to insects.
4. Snowdrops can come in varieties with a single flower and with double flowers. This does not mean two flowers, but twice the amount of petals (or more) in a single flower. This is best seen when you photograph the hanging flower from below (see slideshow). Usually Snowdrops have 3 large petals with three smaller petals in-between - these are the ones with the green marking. Inside the flower, you then have a circle of stamens (the male parts) and at the centre, the ovary (female part). In double flowers, the parts that would normally be stamens are present as smaller petals instead. Check it out in the photos; single flowers have stamens, double flowers do not!
5. We delight in seeing these early flowers. For them, it is a lifestyle to their advantage. By storing nutrients in a bulb the previous year, they can shoot up leaves and flower well before grasses swamp them or before the leaves of the trees above them cut out the vital sunshine. There is also less competition in attracting insects that are vital for pollination. Kew Gardens have monitored the first appearance of Snowdrops over many years. In the 1950s, they used to emerge at the end of February, since the 1990s, they have appeared in January, another indication of the UK's changing climate.

The Snowdrop; adaptable, medically important, a chemical weapons master and an early indicator of climate change. Not just a pretty flower then!

Hair raising book to leaf through online

I blame my wife! She came home with the comment " Someone sent a digital document to us today at work that you could leaf through like a book on screen. I though it might be an idea for you". Not just for me - HBN members might like to give it a try!

Open publication - Free publishing - More photograph

Cue detailed internet search, which finally hit gold when I found http://www.issuu.com. It is the equivalent of You Tube, but for publishers of books, magazines and catalogues.

• You design your document in Word or as a PDF
• Upload the document to Issuu
• They convert it and store the document online
• You can make the document public or privat
• Embed the document to your site, blog and Facebook
• You can e-mail a link to contacts
• Specify whether visitors can download a PDF or not.

I prepared the photobook above that evening to test out the system and was impressed!
Below is a book version of the brochure I made for the German delegation mentioned in an earlier blog article.

Open publication - Free publishing - More nrw

If you have or are preparing a new brochure, book or catalogue - consider creating a Issuu version. Registration for the basic service is free - check it out at http://www.issuu.com.

Using the LCD screen of your monitor or laptop for photography with polarised light

I was stunned. Duncan flipped open his netbook, placed a plastic set square on it and held a polarisation filter in between screen and eye and voila! Technicolour against a black background!

The Milton Photographic Club had a ball for the rest of the evening with plastic cutlery, cups and petri dishes.

It is so obvious an effect that photographers have rediscovered the fact that LCD provide polarised light and used it for the fantastic colour effects over the past years. Here's one good reference.

This doesn't take away the delight at having a go as you can see from the slideshow above. Here's the challenge though, try finding other subjects than set squares.


The method is simple:

• Open a blank document on your laptop to get a white screen.
• Place a polarising filter on your camera (I taped a square of polarising plastic to the front of mine)
• Hold a plastic object in front of the white screen and observe the colour effects

Rotating the filter on the camera changes the appearance of brightness of the screen, from white through to black, depending on orientation.

Note: we had laptops where the screen could be folded almost horizontal, so you lay subjects on the screen. TAKE CARE if you do this! I will not accept responsibility for broken screens.

If you want a coloured background

• find a sheet of thin plastic, like cling film or large transparent plastic bags.
• place over the LCD screen - its worth playing with layers at slightly different angles
• Check the colours through a polarising filter
• Rotate the orientation of the plastic and/or the filter to get a desired coloured background.
• Then place your subject on top of that and try photographing

Where do I get a cheap polarising filter from?

• Your camera supplier will certainly offer one for your camera lens for midrange and SLR cameras that can take screw or clip on filters
• Or look for polarising sheets, 5cm x 5cm are standard sizes, available for £5 to £10 and affix temporarily with blutack or tape
• Extract a lens from polarising sunglasses and use
• Use one of the lenses from your Real3D glasses from your last 3D cinema visit. 

NOTE: with the Real3D lenses, it matters which face faces the screen. Try looking through at an LCD screen whilst rotating the lens. If the LCD screen turns black, OK. If not, flip the lens and look from through the other side, it should now turn the screen black when rotated.

Go and play! I promise you, the colours can be gorgeous.

Hereford Town Hall, a photographic tour

Slightly at the edge of the historic centre of the City of Hereford stands the New Town Hall, completed in 1906. Civic pride and necessity had led to its design and it was built within a remarkably short 6 years.

I was attracted by the imposing façade. On impulse I went in to ask whether I could come in and photograph the Assembly Room and Council Chamber.

The warm and open yes by Cathy, the receptionist on duty (“It's a public building, though you would have to come when the rooms are not in use”) actually caught me off guard.

The Council Chamber was empty that afternoon, so I came back with camera and tripod. Climbing the curved main stairs, with the warm late Victorian tiling and the semicircular stained glass light above, I found the chamber located right at the top.

I was planning where to set the camera when a surprise visitor came in. The Right Worshipful The Mayor of Hereford, Councillor Anna Toon had dropped by. When asked about the correct form of address, she laughed and said “It's Madam Mayor”. She then took the time to tell me more about the history adorning the Council Chamber.

Whilst the Mayor was not in her ceremonial robes, she was wearing her badge of office on the mayoral chain. The individual links all depict some aspect or connection with the city – have a look at how many you can identify in the photo. Amongst others you can find agricultural and military links.

Back on my own with the room, I spent a couple of hours taking pictures.

Having just accompanied a delegation of Restoration specialists, it was the detail found in different parts of the room that spoke of the pride and attention to quality. From the fine wood carving, via the precisely moulded stucco to the stained glass.

The next day I returned to photograph the Assembly Room. Here the space and the architecture itself were the main features. The Virtues in Stained Glass were obvious subjects but it took my wife to notice the subtler details in the designs below. Look at the three small roses in the different panes.

Three hats and robes discarded on a table added a human touch to the room.

If Stained glass keeps cropping up in this article, it is because there is a resonance with earlier articles about eight of the stained glass windows of Hereford Cathedral. Some of the key ones were installed at the same time as the glass in the Town Hall.

Of course there is more history to the building and the Mayorality of Hereford. You can find it all in the leaflets at the reception in Hereford Town Hall.

Whilst you are there, you might as well have a look around the building for your self.

Can German Craftsmen give UK's Heritage a facelift?

When the London hotel your delegation is going to stay at suffers a fire a couple of days before a trip, it's unfortunate. When their arrival coincides with a 24h tube strike, you might think fate was conspiring against you! Instead we had an unflappable group of heritage and conservation experts, who took changes in their stride and actually arrived early for their event.

I was the facilitator for the group of 14 artisans from North Rhine Westphalia and beyond in Germany. The trip had been organised by Marie-Theres Luetje of the Handwerkskammer in Duesseldorf and was supported by NRW International. My colleague Mark Dodsworth of Europartnerships Ltd had coordinated the planning of talks, trips and meetings in the UK. Our London base were the meeting rooms and library of the hospitable Canning House of No2, Belgrave Square.

The companies were here for an intensive two day program, to learn how conservation and restoration work was done in the UK. They also wanted to know how craftsman were chosen for projects and whether there were opportunities for them in the UK. (Companies taking part and the program of events here).


The delegates had come with the impression that there was a tremendous latitude for poor workmanship in an unregulated market in the UK. In contrast to Germany, where there is a formal structure of apprentices, journeymen and Masters in the crafts. Did reality match the preconceptions? Here are some of my impressions

Britain's heritage is regulated, for example by the listing of buildings or parts of buildings. We learnt how one architects firm proceeded with documentation and restoration on the prestigious Regent's Street; from facades to recovering Art Deco interiors.

We had the privelege of a guided tour of Wimpole Hall with the House's resident expert and East of Englands key National Trust officers. There was loving attention to detail, with a balance between using traditional materials and techniques where possible and appropriate modern substitutes where necessary.


A visit to an end-of-terrace Victorian interior renovation clearly showed three things.

1. Determined architects could find the best of British craftsmanship and 
2. Modern features could be sympathetically introduced to the highest standard whilst retaining the Victorian character of the property.
3. The lady of the house could have a floor to ceiling designer shoe cupboard

As the delegates lost their reserve and expert questions crept in, the buzz of conversation rose during the two days. At times the interest was so intense that keeping to the tight schedule was like herding cats.

Three lessons emerged from the visit

1. A high standard of craftsmanship was demanded and could be delivered in the UK
2. There was a definite interest in and need for the skills of the visiting German craftsmen
3. Architects and trusts looked for companies that could deliver the standards required.

Time and again, it emerged that, in the absence of a regulated training framework, it took a lot of effort to find trusted quality craftsmen. Once such companies are identified they become preferred providers. We met German craftsmen and architects who had successfully transferred to the UK

So what is the way forward for the German companies?

1. The craftsmen need a detailed portfolio demonstrating their skills. Existing UK experience helps!
2. The texts must be in English
3. The craftsmen need to be proactive in making key organisations aware of their skills

As those who know my belief in the benefit of companies collaborating for mutual benefit will guess, there are two further personal recommendations:

1. Either find an existing craftsman or company in the UK in an area complementary to yours and see if you can work together, and/or
2. Team up with other German craftsmen with different skills to be a stronger, larger group seeking to enter the UK market, with a range of services.

Quekex 2010 - at the National History Museum

After the long tunnel from South Kensington tube station, you emerge into the light to see the glory of the Natural History Museum (NHM) - and the queues to the entrance! So we continued along Exhibition Rd to use the Geological Museum Entrance and walked straight in.

The minerals and rocks. The glittering jewels in the displays. The moon rock embedded in its transparent glass pyramid. These set the tone for what struck me at the Quekex; the Annual Exhibition of the Quekett Microscopical Club.

To get there we emerged fom the fossils of the Geological museum into a part of the NHMs bird display. Past the glittering feathers of hummingbirds, and the haughty gaze of the Dodo. We then turned right into the Quekex.

The Quekett horn was sounded. It pre-dates the glorious Victorian NHM, with its Dinosaur hall overlooked by the bearded Darwin. Milling around, bumping into old friends, here was also a chance to peer down microscopes and even take pictures.

Primed by the Geological Museum, I was attracted to the Allende Meteorite sample in Dennis Fullwood's display. The occasional glowing crystal in crossed polars as iridescent as opal.

The apparently grey ash from the Eyjafjallajoekull volcano was a contrasting sample brought by Pam Hamer. Under crossed polars it revealed a scattering of glowing crystals amongst the remaining debris. It all looked so harmless now. Yet its abrasive nature to planes travelling at high speed had grounded flights in Europe at the peak of the volcano's activity.

Maurice Moss was showing slimemoulds, of which I have fond memories as a student. We had to keep one alive in a Petri dish. Unfortunately mine died when I overfed it on a cornflake. During their reproductive phase they produce fruiting bodies. Those of Physarum virescens reminded me of the Globular aggregates of mordenite, seen earlier in a basalt cavity.

What was particularly good about Maurice's exhibit was showing his copy of the book by Arthur Lister. It had the stunning illustrations of exactly the same slime mould fruiting bodies. These were drawn by his daughter and co-author, Guilema Lister, at the beginning of the 20th Century.

At the end of the day it was out through the grand front door of the NHM, under the watchful eye of a carved Pterodactyl gazing down from one of the window bays.

The Gypsy and Country Craft Fair in Milton Country Park

Good news about Gypsies and Romanies gathering on private land in Milton! In Black and White (and colour too) on the Cambridge Evening News website. That was the satisfying outcome of last weekend's event at Milton Country Park. Because this was Candy Sheriden's second big event, the Gypsy and Country Crafts Fair.

I took my camera along on Sunday under a glorious blue sky and amongst the autumnal trees of Milton Country Park.

There was a small group of women chatting near Phoebe's cake stand but I couldn't quite build up the courage to start snapping away. Till one turned around and said, "Come on then, take a picture!" She held up a cake and mimed eating it to general laughter. The ice was broken as we tried different poses and even dragged in unsuspecting passers-by.

Walking on, there were stalls and people that I remembered from last June's event. People were generally friendly and positive. I recognised some of the glorious 70s chrome caravans and the flying silver lady on the bonnet of the old Bedford van. Childrens clothes in intricate needlework and incredible miniature tweed suits. The story teller in fancy dress and an impressive beard. The one sad omission was Bill Goodyear and his caravan. He had passed away since the June fair

As I ate my Gloucester Old Spot hot dog (fantastic taste!), I noticed something else. There were a lot of conversations going on. Men with a glass in their hand. Women exchanging news.

Meeting up with Candy, she explained why. This was the last gathering before the winter for families across the UK. A last chance to meet with friends and family, to catch up with what had gone on in the weeks before. The next meeting would not be till May next year.

I'm also looking forward to a similar event next year. Hopefully in the warmer summer months, rather than the biting October wind!

As a photographer and local person, I'd like to see:
Building on the high upmarket and traditional standard set by the June event. With the attractive caravans, vehicles,crafts and horses at the centre again. The open, friendly atmosphere.

What I'd hope to be absent:
Red and white plastic tape fencing off areas (good rope would look better). Plastic netting around stalls. These ruin any chance of a good wide-angle photograph! They distract from the quality goods on sale.

To have one successful event can be a matter of luck. To have two, shows vision and competence by the organisers and Milton Country Park. I'm curious what the next event will be like!

Teeth"R"Us at the BDTA Dental Showcase and photos along the Thames.

Women shrouded on chairs with a rictus grin, exposing their blue lined teeth. Cabinets filled with gleaming sharp instruments and pliers. Was this the torture chamber of the London Dungeon? No, I was walking past stands at the BDTA Dental Showcase 2010 in the ExCel, London!

I had made my way there to meet up with Ulrich Heker of Teeth"R"Us. Ulrich is an expert in precision dental attachments and was showing his expertise at D21a. It was good to come and see him, not only as a former participant with a German delegation to Glasgow in 2009, but as a friend through working together.

Ulrich had seen a need to train UK dentists in the art of German high quality precision dental work. We worked together and wrote articles for The Technologist and other dental magazines. You can find the electronic versions here.

His stand was already very busy. Both Ulrich and Christian Eis, a dentist partner, were talking to interested visitors. So I picked up some leaflets and wandered around the show to find other possible partners for Ulrich and Christian.

The BDTA was a fascinating show. You could find everything, from a new type of toothbrush to the complete dental laboratory. The ladies in shrouds were willing volunteers for tooth whitening. Hydrogen peroxide is the agent used to bleach the teeth and can be applied  in a variety of ways. At the other end of the hall was a glass dental laboratory where new methods were being shown. The audience could look in from three sides, with a screen giving added information.

One of the ironies of the show was the ubiquitous use of sweets and chocolates to entice visitors to the stands. Either that, or it was a clever ploy to increase business in the longer term. The definite disappointment was the overpriced ciabatta with its limp salad at the cafe in the arena.

After making some successful new contacts and finding the stand still in full swing, I took a walk out of the show.

The bridge across the crane-lined Royal Victoria dock was in the fligh path of London City airport. This was a good site for photos of the jets and turbo-jet planes flying overhead. I then made  my way to Barrier Park by the river, to catch a full view of the spectacular Thames Barrier. It was officially opened in 1984 to protect London from exceptional high tides and weather conditions that could threaten to flood London. In the 1980s it was closed four times, and in the 1990s, 35 times. Perhaps it is an sign of global warming that in the first decade of this century, it has been closed 75 times already.

The Docklands Light Railway swept in a futuristic curve overhead. So I took the lift up at Pontoon Dock station to catch a train to the next stop. My hope was to get a clear picture of the 02 Arena, which I remembered from the Millenium show. I found the East India Dock nature reserve after a further walk and took my photos from there. Slightly stained by age, the dome was still a spectacular sight.

The city high rise buildings glinted quite close in the West but my time and the light were running out. So it was back to meet up with Ulrich and party. They had had a steady stream of visitors and also identified more interest by dental magazines, plus possible opportunities with training institutions.

Now, at the end of a long day, it was top marks to Ulrich for finding a good food pub (The Fox) a short walk from the West entrance of Excel! Having been generously treated to a meal, I sadly had to leave. Catching the late train back to Cambridge, I arrived home at last, shortly before midnight.

This was a positive day out, for business and photography.

Have you visited any great exhibitions and locations recently?