Category Archives: Photography

9th January picture of the day…

09 Saturday Jan 2021

Posted by in Calder Valley, Photography, Picture of the day

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Just like ‘Lockdown 1.0’ the latest version has rendered the weekend superflous for many of us – it’s morphed from something special into just another day. All the events people could look forward to attending (be it sporting events, restaurants or just going to the pub) have all been taken away. The only thing remaining is the ability to have a lie-in as you don’t have to go to work.

That situation’s rather different for us freelances as work is something that’s been taken away from many of us too! Despite that, I was up early to keep up my weekly routine of starting the day by editing or scanning pictures in an effort to feel something had been achieved. I must admit, I’ve rather enjoyed these early mornings and the chance to watch the sun rise across the valley – which it did with aplomb this morning as the skies remained clear and the valley fog-free. The pair of us decided to make the most of the conditions and enjoy a long stroll to an area we don’t normally walk to. High above Sowerby Bridge is the very edge of Halifax and an area called Norton Tower. Along with the nearby village of Warley, we could see that both were in the snowline that had spared us, so we went for a wander and discovered places we never knew existed, along with a stunning view. So, today’s picture is contemporary rather than historical. I took it this afternoon. It shows the view from Norton Tower, looking back towards where we live, with the Wainhouse Tower marking the spot.

What would have made our winter walk complete would have been the chance to pop into a pub on the way home for a warm and a drink – but I can’t see that pleasure returning for some time yet. Even so, the pair of us really enjoyed exploring, and the view was stunning.

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!

8th January picture of the day…

08 Friday Jan 2021

Posted by in Indonesia, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

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There’s few words from me tonight as today’s hardly been the most exciting day – unless you count hoping the snow showers we’ve had on and off all day would deliver a decent deluge and we’d be covered in the white stuff for the weekend. I was looking forward to getting some shots of snow-covered trees in our local woods, but it wasn’t to be. We’re just that little bit too low on the valley side so whilst nearby Warley looked picturesque, we were left with muddy footpaths and wet woods. Maybe tomorrow!

The pictures I’ve been scanning today couldn’t be more different, as this one shows. I took this shot in the last few days of September 1998 on a tiny little Island called Kanawa which is a boat trip from the town and ferry port of Labuanbajo on the Western end of the Island of Flores, Indonesia. We were staying in the little resort you can see by the beach, although ‘resort’ is rather a grand term for a collection of a dozen stilt bungalows and a restaurant! But, it was a fantastic place to kick back and relax. This was in the days when mobile phones was a luxury and the internet was dial-up and could only be found in major cities. There was no TV here either. Lynn and I had a short-wave radio with us and that was our only contact with the outside world. Here, you sunbathed, swam, snorkelled and slept. Supplies were brought in by boat daily from the mainland and after a couple of days you learned not to order breakfast until you saw the boat arrive and what was on it. But everything was fresh, especially the fish – and the chicken as the birds scratched a living from the ground around the resort. I remember one day someone ordered chicken for the evening meal. The chef disappeared out of the back and there was a helluva commotion accompanied by lots of flapping, clucking and squawking. 20 minutes later the cook came back and said to the couple. “Sorry, you can’t have chicken”. “Why not?” they asked. “I can’t catch one” was his reply! At least you didn’t have to catch your own…

Looking down on our little haven with the Island of Flores beyond. Happy days…

I’ve dozens of pictures scanned and ready for editing before adding to my website tomorrow. When they are, you’ll be able to find them in this gallery. They’ll include shots of both Flores and Bali as we were heading West to Java before flying to Australia to spend Christmas with friends we’d made earlier in the trip, although first, we were meeting up with a group from the UK who were coming out to join us in Bali for a holiday.

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

6th January picture of the day…

06 Wednesday Jan 2021

Posted by in Calder Valley, Photography, Picture of the day

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Well, we may be back in lockdown, but today was one of those days where I really didn’t mind being stuck around home as the weather was absolutely glorious! It was a crisp winter day with wall-to-wall sunshine that made it a pleasure to take my daily constitutional. Most of the snow has disappeared now, apart from the occasional patch in the shadows, although it tarries on the very high moors.

Either side of my stroll was spent at home working, either wading through yet more old slides from Ireland, Spain and Singapore (they’ll appear on my website tomorrow) or researching my next article for RAIL magazine. This will be rather different as the focus isn’t really on the railways, but you’ll see what I mean when it comes out.

Rather than select a vintage picture for today I thought I’d show you what life in the Calder Valley was like today. Here’s the view from the Promenade above our local woods whilst I was out strolling. Apologies for the quality as it was taken on my phone!

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!

4th January picture of the day…

04 Monday Jan 2021

Posted by in Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Sri Lanka, Travel

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Many people returned to work today for the first time after the Xmas and New Year break – only to find out in tonight’s announcement from the Prime Minister that that return is going to be short lived as England’s going back into another Covid lockdown. I have to admit to having lost track – it this the 2nd, 3rd or 4th? It all gets rather confusing – especially as the rules vary so much. Here in West Yorkshire shops have been open but the pubs shut months ago, so I’m never quite sure what ‘flavour’ of lockdown we’re meant to be having. In many ways it makes little difference to Dawn and I as we’ve maintained as much distance from people as possible as it is! The only people we’ve seen in the flesh on a regular basis are the other occupants of our ‘bubble’ (Dawn’s parents). Sadly, this latest announcement will stop us celebrating Norah’s 80th in the way we’d hoped, but otherwise it’s not going to make a huge difference to us as far as I can see as we’d planned to be pretty reclusive this month anyway.

At least we can still get out for exercise, which is part of our plan. I managed a couple rambles through our local woods which gave me chance to get my steps in and take a break for staring at a computer screen all day. I’m trying to make the most of my incarceration by ramping up my working hours to make up for Festive down-time and catch-up with work. After all, there’s not a lot else to do…

Which brings me on to the picture of the day. I’m on the edge of another milestone as I’m within spitting distance of having all my foreign railway slides scanned and uploaded to my Zenfolio website. This was one of today’s batch. I took this picture on in Sri Lanka on the 6th January 2003. This is the view from the ‘Podi Menike’ express train from Kandy through to Badulla as it twists and turns its way along the hill railway and through all the tea plantations that cover a vast area of this part of the Island. Oh, to be there now, leaning out of a coach door to grab a shot of the train as it snakes around the sharp curves.

The hill railway really is like stepping back in time with its pretty little stations that have changed little since the Victorian Era when the railway was built although in recent years loco-hauled trains like this have been displaced on express services by modern Diesel Multiple Units. What remains unchanged is the fantastic scenery! You can find the scenic pictures (and many more rail shots) by clicking on this link.

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

11th December picture of the day…

11 Friday Dec 2020

Posted by in India, Photography, Photojournalism, Picture of the day, Railways

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To say that this hasn’t been the most exciting day of the month would be an understatement! The weather’s been uniformly crap all day, we’re still in tier 3 so there’s nowhere to go or people to see – so I’ve stayed warm and dry at home, scanning yet more old Indian rail slides. Only now it gets difficult. Many of the latest batch have very visible scratches on them. This is due to the conditions I was taking them in and not being experienced enough to understand how film cameras needed the film backplate kept clean – a lesson learned too late as these aren’t exactly pictures you could just nip out the next week to recreate. Thanks to the wonders of Photoshop these scratches can now be removed, but it takes time. Now I realise why I’d never put them on my website before, but they’re such a historical archive I’m glad I kept them as everything captured has vanished – and we’ll never see the like again.

My engagement with the past hasn’t been restricted to old pictures. During the trip they’re from I kept a daily diary (well, almost daily) which I haven’t read for decades but now it’s a useful resource to date some of the pictures. Re-reading it sure as hell takes me back to a very different time. Young, single and free…That said, looking back on my feelings, experiences and aspirations 30 years later is really interesting. If only I knew then…

But, to be fair, the day’s not been about unbridled nostalgia. It’s Friday so it was time for the ‘Big 6’ online quiz via Zoom which was lovely as there was actual interaction, jokes and banter despite the (social) distance. In some ways the quiz was just an excuse to interact with friends and the amount of times we all digressed was lovely – even if we did finally answer all the questions!

OK, enough of me rambling and trying to get my thoughts in a semblance of order, here’s the picture of the day which is from my latest slide scans. I took this shot in Jaipur steam locomotive depot on the 30th October 1991. It was shift change and a group of workers were washing at a hydrant inside the shed. Hardly private and not exactly the best environment, but that’s how it was in those days – and I consider myself extremely fortunate to have seen it.

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!

10th December picture of the day…

10 Thursday Dec 2020

Posted by in Down memory lane, India, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, Travel

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Sorry for the lack of a blog yesterday. That was because last night was spent at the online Community Rail Awards – which was a brilliant event! Yes, it was sad not to be able to see people in the flesh, but the platform used by Community Rail Network to deliver the event had a lot of features that allowed interactions beyond just watching the ceremony so it was the nearest best thing. If you missed it and want to see the fantastic work done by community rail volunteers you can find the awards here on YouTube. Enjoy!

Now the awards are over today’s been spent playing catch-up on the slide scanning front. Only now I’ve started scanning my old world railway slides in tandem with the travel stuff that I’ve been doing these past few weeks. Today I’ve added another 60 old slides that I took in India in 1991 when steam locomotives were in everyday service. Many of the pictures have never seen the light of day before as I never got around to scanning them in the past. It’s been a real trip down memory lane for me as – despite the fact they’re almost 30 years old – as soon as I saw them it seemed like yesterday, but my – how the world’s changed since then! So here’s the picture of the day, which I took just a few days after my 32nd birthday, in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India…

A metre-gauge Class YP 4-6-2 ‘Pacific’ No 2000 comes off a train and passes one of the many semaphore signal gantries that guarded the station at the time. This scene’s changed out of all recognition in the 21st century, so I consider myself fortunate to have seen it like this. I remember UK railways in the age of steam, but I was too young to get out and about to appreciate those days. Experiencing the end of Indian steam was the nearest I got and it gave me an inkling of what it must have been like. In those days India had a massive metre-gauge network that covered almost the entire country. Now in 2020 most of it has been converted to broad-gauge and electrified. You wouldn’t recognise Jaipur station now.

Over the next week I’ll be adding more – including steam shed depot visits at Delhi, Jaipur and Jodhpur. I’ll also be adding more travel pictures from Australia, so it’s not all about railways.

If you want to see more of the Indian railway scans, follow this link.

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!

7th December picture of the day…

07 Monday Dec 2020

Posted by in India, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, Travel

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Another week and yet another day in ‘splendid’ isolation – working from home, staying out of the cold! The weather’s changed here in the Calder Valley. We’ve had clear skies and a sunny day but the temperature has plummeted. There’s no doubt that winter’s just around the corner. Even so, I’ve been making a concerted effort to up the ante on the exercise front so I’ve braved the cold and clocked up 5 miles – even if it was by ping-ponging up and down our road! Well, it passes through some lovely woodland and there’s great views across the valley so it’s not like walking round the block in a city. You never know what critters you might bump into, especially in the evening. I often encounter foxes and deer aren’t unknown, although I’ve never encountered any of the local badger population. Owls regularly make their presence known through their hooting, but they’re so silent when they fly you’d be lucky to see one. I’m toying with the idea of getting an infrared wildlife camera just to see what I might find exploring our back terraces at night.

The rest of the day’s been spent catching up on paperwork, filing and admin jobs plus a small amount of picture editing, just to keep the ball rolling – and dispatching a few eBay orders, although that’s taken more of a back seat this month as I’ve not had time to upload many new pictures or other railwayana. Hopefully next week once other jobs are cleared away as I’ve still got a lot of stuff to dispose of. Part of the next tranche features as the picture of the day. at the weekend I picked up several new slide albums to join the queue for scanning over the winter. One of those albums is full of foreign railway slides like this. I took this picture on the 17th October 1991 in Delhi, India. Steam locomotives were dying out but hundreds still plied their trade on Broad Gauge network – although not for much longer. By 1996 they’d all gone, so on my 12 month trip away in 1991-92 I was determined to get pictures and had arranged a photographic permit that allowed me access to several locomotive depots, including the one adjacent to old Delhi railway station, where I found this WG Class 2-8-2 No 8009 being moved on the depot turntable. The WGs (W indicated it was Broad gauge and G a goods engine) arrived in India in 1950. The first 100 were built in England by the North British Engine Co, whilst hundreds of others were produced by American, German and Japanese firms before Chittaranjan Locomotive Works in West Bengal took over construction. the last were produced in 1970 after 2450 had been built. Sadly, only a handful have been preserved with most of them being static exhibits.

If you’re interested in looking through more rail photos from this trip or of, Indian railways in general you can find them in this gallery on my Zenfolio picture website.

Meanwhile, I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

6th December picture of the day…

06 Sunday Dec 2020

Posted by in Australia, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

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This blog’s going to be short and sweet as I’m writing it late in the day. Not that it’s been a bad Sunday – far from it. The pair of us have had a relaxing start to the day but still managed to get out for an extended walk around the local woodlands and along the canal. It was lovely to get out but also see the rare sight of a Kingfisher catching its dinner on the cut. Other folk had spotted the bird stock-still on the other side of the canal and were gracious enough to point it out. Just as they did the animal dived into the canal to successfully grab its prey before flying off. A chap who saw the sight admitted it was the first time in his 50 years of walking the cut he’d actually seen a Kingfisher, so we felt rather privileged!

The walk was lovely but arriving in Sowerby Bridge was rather odd as the place was so deserted because nothing was open. There’s little chance of us coming out of Tier 3 in our bit of West Yorkshire so I think most businesses have given up until 2021 – which must be awful for them as they’re missing the most profitable part of the year. The secret pessimist in me wonders how much better things will be next year when the true costs of Brexit spread throughout the supply chain, but I’m saving my spleen on that shambles for now.

Back at home we’ve had a relaxed night as Dawn’s cooked one of our favorite dishes (spicy prawns) which has allowed me to spend time sorting out the picture of the day which is from my latest batch of travel slides. I took this on the 7th January 1999 on the Great Ocean Rd in Australia. This is ‘London Bridge’ – although – like the old nursery rhyme, it had fallen down! Back in 1990 the arch linking it to the mainland collapsed. Even so, it was still a fascinating natural structure.

If you’re interested in looking through more photos from Australia (or the rest of our epic trip), you can find them in this gallery on my Zenfolio picture website. I’ll be adding many more shots of other exotic locations (including New Zealand, Fiji and the Cook Islands) over the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

5th December picture of the day…

05 Saturday Dec 2020

Posted by in Australia, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

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S’cuse the lack of blogging these past few days. Ever had one of those weeks where you don’t quite get the hang of it? That’s been me this week. I’ve been trying to juggle a lot of things and dropped one too many balls! One of the balls was blogging but I’m determined to have a better time from now on in the run up to what’s going to be a very different festive season as here in West Yorkshire we’ll be in Tier 3, so it’s going to be a Covid Christmas!

The weather’s been getting into the Xmas spirit as we’ve had our first dusting of snow on the high ground around us. Although it snowed most of yesterday the stuff didn’t stick around where we live and the roads have remained clear. Not that we’re going to be going far for the next few weeks – unless you count Huddersfield. Instead, we’re preparing for a local Xmas and the opportunity to make the most of our time.

For me, part of that time will be spent wading through scanning lots more old slides. Having broken the back of the pile now I’m determined to get the process finished next year and catching up with scanning’s been one of the reasons I’ve not been blogging. So today’s picture of the day is one of the fruits of this weeks labours. I’m currently working my way through an album of travel pictures from our 1997-99 ‘big trip’ and the current set is of Australia. I took this picture on the the 4th January 1999. It’s a view of the coastline of Victoria on the beautiful ‘Great Ocean Road’ between Anglesey and Port Campbell.

After having spent Xmas in Melbourne and New Year at Sorrento beach, Lynn and I headed off with Alison, and her two children (Matt and Kim) in Alison’s van, to spend a couple of weeks touring Victoria. You’ll see more pictures over the next week or two.

If you’re interested in looking through more photos from Australia (or the rest of our epic trip), you can find them in this gallery on my Zenfolio picture website. I’ll be adding many more shots of other exotic locations (including New Zealand, Fiji and the Cook Islands) over the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

1st December picture of the day (and a bit of spleen venting)…

01 Tuesday Dec 2020

Posted by in Australia, Photography, Picture of the day, Politics, Travel

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Here we are folks – we’ve finally staggered into December – for better or worse. Although I’m afraid I’m not sure where the better is meant to be coming from. Well, unless you count the arrival of several Covid vaccines, but that’s not making things ‘better’. At best, it will restore things to a form of normalcy. Meanwhile, we have another iceberg looming on the horizon and getting ever closer. Brexit. Yep, we have 31 days left before we leave the transition period and few people (in or out of Government) have the faintest idea what happens now – as no-one who’s meant to be in charge on this side of the Channel seems to be willing to admit that Brexit is an absolute shit-show. Yet, in 31 days time, international treaties will assert themselves and all the bullshit and bluster of the Brexiters will be laid bare. Because, right now, it doesn’t matter what ‘deal’ Johnson and his cronies cobble together and present to the gullible public as a ‘victory’, the reality of what Brexit actually means will kick in from January 1st 2021 regardless – and it matters not a jot what the right-wing press bluff and bluster when it comes to our ‘demands’ of the EU. This is the real world that’s about to intrude – just as it did on the Orange shit-gibbon in the White House. On the bright side, I’m under no illusions what’s to come.

That said, have mixed feelings about the whole situation but for different reasons. Let’s face it, this is hardly a normal Xmas, is it? I suspect any people are torn over what to do and what advice to follow. If Dominic Cummings can sod off to Barnard Castle from London during lockdown, why can’t they bend the rules too?

Tempting as it may be – we won’t be bending any. Our Xmas will be in the four person bubble we’ve been maintaining for several months. Because we want this shit to end as soon as possible – and to all be in good health (with a clear conscience) when it does. Besides – we’re going to have to spend an awful lot of 2021 listening to people saying “this isn’t the Brexit I voted for!” which is going to require quite a bit of physical stamina and mental fortitude – as well as hiding anything sharp. If things were normal I’d be looking to having a flight booked to somewhere in Asia in December in order to escape Britain in January. Fate however, has decided to conjoin Covid and Brexit. Still, it’ll give me something to blog about – although I may need a spleen transplant by February! On the bright side, there’s going to be plenty to blog about and if (as I suspect it will) this is where I can do it.

OK, back to the season and the picture of the day, which has come together beautifully as the last batch of old slides I’ve been scanning for the archives are from Christmas in Melbourne Australia back in 1998 when Lynn and I stayed with Alison Barry and her family. The pair of us met Alison in India earlier that year and we all hit it off – as travellers sometimes do. So much so that when we arrived in Oz Alison invited us the join her and her family. We had a ball! The rest of our Aussie Oydessy are nest in the queue for scanning, but here’s the picture of Xmas lunch in the Southern Hemisphere with Alison, Lynn. Matt, Kim and Ken all those years ago. What a different world that seems now – for so many reasons…

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!