ACOMSDave

Community Journalist

Archives for 2016

Real Monasterio De Santa Maria de la Valldigna

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Today I had the lovely task of chauffeuring two friends to see the Real Monasterio DeSanta Maria de la Valldigna, followed by travelling to Cullera for lunch.  Both of these locations are located in Valencia, and both for completely different reasons are worth seeing.

Valldigna - Two Friends

Valldigna – Two Friends

 

The monastery is set in superb grounds, in a lovely valley, with a lovely backdrop of mountain ranges.

…The monastery was founded in 1297 by James II of Aragon. Since the beginning, it was one of the most important monasteries of the Cistercian order. It was founded by the monks of Santes Creus in the Tarragona province. The whole Valldigna valley belonged to the monks, according to a royal order.

The monastery was inhabited by monks until 1835, when a revolt in the Valldigna valley took place after the Ecclesiastical Confiscations of Mendizábal. After that, the monks were forced to abandon the monastery. Most of its goods and works of art were sold, plundered or destroyed….(Wikipedia)

I was immediately taken by the tranquility of the location, of the range of buildings and outhouses, and with the internal art work shown in the main building in the grounds.  The interior of the main building shows only a flavour of what it must of looked like at the high of its occupation by the monks.

20160917_113312

Valldigna – Interior

Valldigna - roof atrium

roof atrium

 

I fell in love with quietness of the location, and with the beauty of the craftsmanship and thought which had gone into the plans for the monastery.  It obviously was a place of work, but also of contemplation and spiritual retreat.

 

I have been smitten by this monastery and will be returning at least once a  month so that I can sketch and paint some part of it, and also to take time out to recharge my batteries.

 

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Course 2 – Day Seven: Glass — Interact with a Surface

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Experimenting with glass as a surface can create multi-layered and unpredictable shots. Consider this landscape from an estate near Inverness, Scotland:

glass

It’s a lovely scene, but what happens when we place an old, creaky window between the viewer and this garden?

window

Even if you prefer the view without the window, note how this pane of glass introduces a story and adds a layer of complexity to the image. What’s the story behind this estate? Who’s looking out the window?

#developingyoureye #surfacetension  #acomsdave

The challenge here was to find a photograph which generated interest, which was if possible outside the normal framework, and could lead to a story being formed, and also provide different surfaces for the viewer. I have also created a challenge within a challenge, in that I am only using my camera on my phone for these photographs, and the phone is now three years old.  I went out looking over a number of days and nights in Oliva, Valencia, and these are the pictures I have selected along with the surface:

Now choosing a favourite picture for this challenge was difficult, mainly because they were all giving a different story, and not one of them was what you would call a stupendous photograph, but in the end I have chosen Reflections on Reflections, a picture taken through glass at dusk, with little shade and a hint of flash of a shop selling high end sun glasses.

Surface - Reflections on Reflections

Reflections on Reflections

with a close second was, Shape of things to come, a photograph of a paint shop window whose display was of almost gouda quarters in different colours with paint tubes set in some of the holes.

Surface - shape of things to come

Shape of things to come

 

I hope that you will enjoy my choices, and would welcome any comments that you have.

 

 

 

 

Recruitment Drive

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NIGRA is on a recruitment drive for you!
The law in Northern Ireland on gay relationships was changed through the actions of NIGRA and Jeff Dudgeon’s legal case which went through the legal system in the United Kingdom and then to the Europen Courts of Human Rights. NIGRA and Jeff did not do this on their own, it was through the efforts of many fundraiser throughout the UK and Ireland that this was managed. The case was won, but the fight still needs to go on to achieve full equality. If you have time and want to help then contact us through our website (http://nigra.org.uk/) – we have room for everyone!
So this is a recruitment plea asking you to give  us some time and help us develop the various projects which we have in mind:

  • An ‘Online’ LGBT Archive so that we can record our history, both the past and the current as it unfolds.  Recruitment - LGBT ArchiveWe need to interview the players in out history before they leave us, we also need to develop photographic evidence of artifacts before we arrange for them to be deposited in the Ulster Museum with whom we have now agreed a facility for depositing items like placards, photographs, home videos of historical moments, paintings etc.  Documentation can be deposited with the PRONI (Public Records Office Northern Ireland), and we have already done this for items from Jeff’s case and also from PA’s archives
  • Monitoring of Stormont and Westminster, particularly now we are through the Brexit vote.  We need to ensure that we know what is said and what is planned, and where necessary activate the community as required when we need to pressure our politicians.

These are only two of our projects, there are others, and off course we would welcome suggestions from you.
Please contact us and volunteer.
 
 

Course 2 – Day Six: Landscape — Crop Your Image

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In today’s challenge, which I am a little behind in doing (ugh!) I was to walk in the footsteps of masters like Ansel Adams and focus on landscape photography.

Landscapes generally focus on wide, vast depictions of nature and all of its elements, from formations to weather. In this genre of photography, you won’t find much of a human presence: nature itself is the subject. A focus on nature isn’t mandatory, however — you can also capture a sweeping panorama of a city.

Landscape

Today, I was to take a picture of a landscape. Focus on the gestalt — the entire setting as a whole, like the shot above of the English countryside in Kent — rather than a specific subject or focal point within the scene. The setting itself is the star.

Oliva, is a small Spanish town with beaches and a seaport close by, but it does not have what you might call spectacular scenery on the doorstep; so when I was looking at this challenge I tried a number of different shots and subjects to try and match the challenge, and this is my selection:

My final selection came up with the diversity that the town has to offer if you go hunting for it, but, it takes time and patience – it is not always obvious where your journey is going to take you, but it is worthwhile and usually productive.

However for the challenge I had to choose one, and this is my choice,

Landscape of road bisecting orange grove trees

Road in the distance

I would have loved to choose the either of my two photographs for the Old Quarter, but they are not landscape – but this I believe has merit.  It reflects the farming background of Oliva, its rich history in producing oranges and all the off-shoots from oranges; but what it doesn’t reflect is the fact that prices for oranges have been driven down through the ground, and that the younger people do not want to work on the land for peanuts.

#developingyoureye #Oliva #Orangegrove #Oldtown

 

 

Course 2 Day – Day Five – Moment of Motion

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#developingyoureye #moment #motion #chance

That ‘Moment’ in Time

Today’s project set us the task to define a moment in our lives and share it with the viewers!
But, the task must convey to us movement, as a way of conveying time and fleetingness.

I then started keel-hauling my albums to find that one defining photograph and one defining moment.

The Ensemble of Moment

Lots of photographs came up, and some came close to defining that moment; for example:-

  • Spooky Funfair
  • You missed a beat
  • A burst of speed
  • A spectre awaits
  • Carrying the torch
  • Regal afront
  • Dead to the world
  • Leading the charge
  • Let’s exchange
  • That’s a stretch

Various cameras/smartphone cameras were used to take the photos, depending often on what was available; on most occasions taking photographs had not been the main thought of the day (hic).

Job to Do

What has come out of this review of some of my albums, is that I need to reorganise and re-title and also to tag my pictures to make them easier to find and analyze.

My choice of the Moment

So which picture have I decided to use as my main one, well it is the one titled ‘Dead to the World’ – it is the complete opposite of all those movement ones,it is off two lads (backpackers I believe) who completely exhausted fell asleep in Cardiff Museum in the main hall, where all the attendants allowed them to sleep, and even quietly directed visitors away from them.  The frame of the pillars again was chance, I was upstairs, looked over the banister rail and saw the lads and took the photograph – poor chance

Motion - Dead to the World

Dead to the world

 

 

Course 2 Day – Day Four: Natural World

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Day Four: “Natural World” — Leading Lines

Today I was tasked with capturing the natural world: snap a moment outside, big or small. From a close-up of a leaf in your backyard to a panorama from your morning hike, we invite you to document this wondrous world around us.

Now at first glance (thought) this seems a very easy project to go out and do, especially when you are living in Spain with its generally rolling sunshine, and people with a sunny disposition.

The problem is the heat – a lot of what you might target for photographs, when considered closely do not give you that oomph that would be expected.

However I persevered and came up with these  shots:

 

Natural World

However after consideration when I got back from my safari, I decided that the following photograph reflected the qualities of the assignment – showing natural lines that lead you to different parts of the frame.  The photograph was taken on a Samsung mobile phone with 8 megapixels camera, which rendered a photograph with just over 3Mb, which I have now resized to 2Mb – hopefully without loss of clarity to the brief.  No flash was used, just the shadow and natural sunlight, which I feel makes for a wonderful atmospheric photograph

Natural World - Trunk in Shade

Trunk in Shade

‪#‎developingyoureye‬ ‪#‎trunkinshade‬ ‪#‎naturalworld‬

 

 

Using your smartphone as a camera

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Using your smartphone as a camera

I am currently taking my second ‘small’ 10 day course in photography with a different aim each day to make you look at the world differently through the eye of a camera. But in today’s world a camera, can be that super dooper SLR. The small compact hidden away in your pocket or more likely the ambiguous smartphone like the current favourite the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge with its 12-megapixel, f/1.7 shooter – deemed to be the best dynamic range ever on a smartphone camera (Tech Insider).

The reality is that in most cases, you can achieve excellent photographs without resorting to really expensive equipment that professional photographers have – remember that is their livelihood!

I am going to develop my theme by using a smartphone with its camera. I do not have a really expensive phone, it is now about 3 years old, it is a Galaxy S4 mini which has an 8 MP camera.

The Way Forward

Whilst most of us will not be endowed with the high end smartphone camera, and in consequence we will have to be aware of their limitations, however to get around this we need to go back to basics:

  • Composition – think about light, the colours, the lines and where you have placed your subject.

    Smartphone Camera pic from Oliva

    Derby -Surrounded by kids

  • Join up – most of us take photos to share with others. Join with a photo-sharing group e.g. Instagram or Flickr – connect with friends and other picture takers – get and learn from their feedback, and develop enthusiasm for the camera.
  • Check out your camera app, and it’s basic features
    • Gridlines to your frame – helps you centre your subjects and gets horizon lines level
    • Enable or disable flash
    • Set a time
    • Adjust exposure level easily
    • Lock your focal point and exposure level
    • Shoot video
  • Know your camera – don’t just read the manual (which by the way you should do!), but practise using the various options on your camera
  • Smartphone composition pic from Newcastle

    My beautiful picture

    Develop a great compositional style – check out other photographer, look at the great ones, what doe they have in common ‘A great compositional style’.

  • Develop your ability to shape light
  • Develop your ability to see lines within a composition – is there a better line, just feet away?
  • Don’t crowed all the time – look for space within a compositional

 

  • Frame it! Frame it! Frame it! – Frames can help the viewer to focus on your subjects
  • Not everything is black and white! Remember changing your viewing position can change the colour of the picture – try it out and be selective with your shots Camera phone - ducks in a row
  • Look for reflections and shadows
  • Be aware of the shutter speed, what it does and how your camera may adjust a picture according to its conception of what is good –
  • Check your autofocus – sometimes you will need to override it to achieve that shot you know is brilliant

Some ideas for projects:

  • Take photographs of yourself, your friends or our family
  • Try macro photography – remember that manual I told you to read!
  • Get a group of like minded friends and do a photowalk through your town or city – do this once a week
  • A-Z – working your way through the alphabet, choose a place and try to find three or four subjects that match the letter of the alphabet.
  • Choose something, a word, a theme, a feeling etc. and try to get a collection of photographs to match that theme.
  • Go B&W instead of colour – what difference does that make to your pictures?

References:

Course 2 – Day 2 – Mystery – Manipulate Light

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During this second day of the photography course, I have been tasked to take a photograph that creates a sense of mystery – a spectre in your memory.  Having trawled through my photographs I came across a number which might have fitted the theme:

 

 

However whilst I felt they met the brief, I still thought they left something out – a sense of mystery, and because of this I have chosen the following image:

Times of Mystery and Suspense

The ghosts are waiting

 

‪#‎developingyoureye‬  #mystery #lonesome

 

 

 

 

Course 2 – Day One: “Warmth” — The Quality of Light

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Course 2 – Day One: “Warmth” — The Quality of Light
Considering the direction and quality of light – The Lady in Shimmering Green lit from side and back

Day 1 - Warmth - The Quality of Light

The Lady in Shimmering Green

I took this photograph during the first night of the Moors and Christians Festival in Oliva, Valencia, Spain.  The extravaganza of the show with the wealth of colours and people made it a spectacle not to be missed.  Even after two and a half hours sitting (with the occasional stretch to waken my back and buttocks) I was still enthralled by the pageant.   Even though I had planned ahead, I was unsure of what I might see, and also what equipment I might need.  I took my trusty Fuji Finepix, with two extra sets of batteries, my iPad full charges, a small Vivitar 5Megapixel,  with two sets of batteries and two smartphones fully charged.

In the end I stuck with my Fuji, but what I did learn was that I needed to plan ahead for lighting especially when the jousting on horseback took place – unfortunately I was in the wrong place and didn’t have enough light or lens.

 

 

‪#‎developingyoureye‬ ‪#‎shimmering‬ ‪#‎green‬ ‪#‎lady‬

Texas Twins: The Story of Morgan and Nash

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EVERYTHING BETTER (if not, necessarily BIGGER) IN TEXAS (?)

Texas Twins: The Story of Morgan and NashTexas Twins: The Story Of Morgan & Nash
Howard Roffman
Bruno Gmünder
ISBN 9 763861 878582

The ‘story’ element in this publication is not very prominent, the “text” takes up less than one of the – square – pages. Morgan and Nash, who seem not to have a surname, were born in Louisiana, brought up in Texas and Hawaii, and moved to San Francisco. In SF a former clergyman gave them shelter and put them in touch with, among others, Howard Roffman, the photographer.
This charming book is a result of their convergence. Morgan, the Gay one is “grounded and eager to please” (and any red-blooded bull-root would be exquisitely happy to have him ‘please’ them… or them attempt to please him). Nash is “straight” (drat! drat!! & triple drat…!!!), he is also “impetuous and a rebel”.
They are very identical identical twins, though Nash (I think) has dimples, and wears a baby chin-beard in some shots. The twins, I’m glad to report, don’t wear much else in most pics., of two very handsome, well built (‘swimmer’s bodies’, rather than muscle-bound) blokes, the nude shots are sweet and rather innocent. You won’t tug your langer off viewing them (let’s not be too precious this is genuinely artistic, but it is classy porn – which can be artistic) but you would have a very slow pulse not to feel the odd stirring…
Having said, or rather, written, that, the boys (they are late teens / early twenties) have large – but not gross membra virile – and genuinely beautiful butts. They, said glutei, are not fantastically muscular but smooth and probably pleasant to run one’s fingers over. (I must have a cup of tea, or possibly something stronger, at this point…). You will enjoy this book, it shows two very attractive people at play at the beach, in deep snow, and – apparently – at work, or at least working on sledges.
On a purely personal note, I wouldn’t mind a book of Black, Brown and Beige (it’s the name of a orchestral suite by Duke Ellington, if you are racially sensitive), twins. Or ‘Oriental’ persons or persons from the South Asian Subcontinent (including Iran). Yes, this has gone too far. My Id is attempting to escape my skull.
Seán McGouran
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