20
Dec
2009
Churchill & New York City
What a truly random combination of work, but it’s what I have to discuss right now!
As I prepare to prepare (yes, I’m that far behind) for my trip to Ireland, I’m doing my best to finish editing my NYC photos. It’s a fair bet, however, that while I may post them in my gallery on my website, nothing new is going to make its way to my prints until I’m back.
I encourage you all to take a look at the NYC photos I’ve posted thus far and will likely add to in the next week (so check back).
Mark Tisdale – Sept 2009 in NYC Gallery
There’s already some photos in there of which I’m very proud. And as is often the fact, I look at them and ponder when I might make it back to explore more of what I saw. Not tomorrow by any stretch, but someday I expect.
Lady Liberty Lifts Her Light
Knowing my sometime predictable luck, it should be no surprise that the boat ride on my first day in New York was as close as I ever got to the famous Statue of Liberty. Bad weather the morning I intended on visiting left this my best view, but it was not bad at all. The statue is a true treasure, and my photos that day gave me an excuse to do something a little more artistic, creating this many layered image to resemble an old color postcard.
New York Rhythm
This is one image I was quite taken with. It does require a small amount of explanation, though. I am quite near sighted and have an astigmatism. I would not get far in the world without my glasses. I was on a night tour of the city and took my glasses off for a second and glanced down a side street. This is more or less what I saw. And I loved the view, the city boiled down to its chaotic best. Lights without form! It suddenly occurred to me that I could reproduce this for my camera by putting it out of focus. So, you can see the world as I saw it. I played with this off and on the rest of the evening, and may post more but this first try was my favorite.
And now that you’ve seen some New York City, I can jump to Winston Churchill, because the connection is obvious isn’t it? Maybe you don’t know that the iconic prime minister of the United Kingdom, in fact, had American ties? His mother was born in Rochester, New York, and was raised in Brooklyn and New York City. So yes, there is a connection between New York and the famous British Bulldog. However, truth be told, there’s a different reason I’m posting this one. A couple of days ago, I was contacted by a would be buyer who really liked my photo of the statue of Winston Churchill silhouetted in front of London’s Big Ben. However, she had a special request that I fulfilled.
She wanted me to include the Churchill quotation that I have always included with the description of this piece on the print itself. And I think it was an excellent request! I’m really happy with the result and wanted to share it. I think it definitely helps anchor and explain the image and it was almost as if I left that massive base just for this purpose. I wish I could have been that forward thinking! Anyway, here’s hoping she enjoys it when she receives it!
5
Sep
2009
Cornish Ruins
The countryside of Cornwall is dotted with old treasures, ruins that could range in age from centuries to millennia. But they all have a rich history.
Memory Of The Land
Lanyon Quoit is on the older end. Built around 2500 BC, this neolithic dolmen is a also known as The Giants Table. In later times, people, who couldn’t fathom how they were constructed, believed objects like this to be the work of a race of giants. Possibly part of a tomb mound or possibly a ritual site, this was undoubtedly a place of great significance to the builders. It does not appear as it originally did. In the 19th century, it ws knocked down in a strong storm. Originally it had four supports and was much taller. It was rebuilt by the locals in 1875 as we see it today. Not surprisingly, there are also stories that King Arthur visited here.
Legends Of Arthur
Some sites are less ancient, despite appearances. This is Tintagel Castle, built in the 13th century by an earl of Cornwall. He was convinced that this site on the coast was the place where Arthur was conceived in the legends of the fabled King. He had the castle built to appear older than it was. The site didn’t hold much importance and the castle was largely abandoned within a century and left to fall into the ruins we see today. In the time of the Victorians, there was a resurgence in interest in the legends of Arthur and Tintagel became a tourist destination. Images like this are less common in my portfolio to date, but is actually a composite image. My photo of Tintagel castle was overlaid over an early 1900’s letter from my great grandfather to great grandmother. The yellowed tones and the script helps add to a romantic feeling I was hoping to achieve with this image.
For more prints from the United Kingdom, please check out my Britain Gallery.
3
Sep
2009
City of Bath
Among many stops on my Haggis Tour wander to and from Cornwall was the City of Bath. I was quite looking forward to seeing the old Roman Baths that give the modern city its name, but I knew very little else about the city. What I learned was that the night and half day we were there was not nearly enough and I intend to return one day.
Sulis Minerva
First of course, I have to get in a little detail about the history of Bath. Back in the days when the ancient Romans occupied Britannia, Bath was the site of one of their outposts, Aquae Sulis (the waters of Sul). But the history of the site reaches back in time further than the Romans, it was a holy site to the Britons. They felt the healing waters of the natural springs here were the work of their goddess, Sul. Sul represented the boundary between the worlds. The Romans liked to incorporate the local deities into their pantheon and they felt that Sul was the equivalent of their Minerva. Thus, they dedicated the site to Sulis Minerva. This head is the remnants of a beautiful Roman statue that would have once stood in the temple dedicated to Sulis Minerva at what we now know as Bath. The baths themselves are still present and if you are even an armchair archaeologist/historian, you’ll enjoy getting to see the inner workings of the Roman baths (which still hold water), but everything pretty much above ground level at the baths is a Victorian re-imagining of what would have been there so I was only mildly interested in photographing it. Still, an amazing site to visit for a few hours, but not all there is to Bath!
Shopping on Pulteney Bridge
Bath is known for it’s Georgian Architecture. It’s the time period when Bath became the place to be among the affluent and the city really boomed. And I have to say again, that I really didn’t have sufficient time to really capture it all, but this is one shot I really liked from Pulteney Bridge. This bridge over the River Avon is one of four like it in the world where shops fully line both sides of the bridge. Built in 1773, there have been alterations over the years, but restoration of the facades was completed in 1951 and this is a grade 1 listed building with English Heritage.
The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul
Another must see if you only have a little bit of time in Bath is Bath Abbey. Although the site started life as a Benedictine Monastery, today it is an Anglican parish church – quite a grand one though! It’s style is perpendicular Gothic, owing to the last major constructions done on the building in the 16th century. It’s been restored since but the style from that period remains. Ths church is widely known for its elaborate fan vaulting in the ceilings in the nave (although it’s a Victorian restoration of what was originally there in the 1600’s). This photo was shot in the particularly dreary early morning hours on the day we left Bath. Still, it gives a lot to the drama in this photo that you would never have gotten on a beautiful clear day.
Bath Abbey
One more photo of that gorgeous old Abbey. This one was taken at dusk as darkness was descending and they had turned on the lights on the outside of the Abbey. There’s obvious distortion because this was taken with what’s known as a Fish eye lens – it’s ultra wide angle but also due to its shape produces a very exaggerated field of view. I try to use it sparingly, but sometime you can produce some really beautiful images like this one with it.
For more photos of England and the rest of the United Kingdom, be sure to check out my Britain Prints!
29
Aug
2009
Newquay Surfer Prints
Newquay is a an awesome little coastal town in Cornwall. There has been human activity here since prehistoric times and a fishing village as far back as medieval times. It’s lovely location and accessible sandy beaches have made it a tourist destination in Britain for more than a century now. In more recent times, it’s become a favorite of surfers. The official population of Newquay is around 22,000 people, but in the summer it can grow to more than 100,000! Even during my visit in September, on a decent afternoon, the water was crowded with surfers.
Moment In The Sun
My first exposure to surfing was on a drive up Highway 1 in California several years ago. I spent hours watching surfers paddling out, getting up on their boards and trying to get that perfect balance that allows them to ride the waves back to shore. It’s really incredible and although I’m not sure you’d ever find me trying it, I definitely understand the zen of it now. There wasn’t any great wave action while I was there, but there was awesome light and plenty of surfers. I really enjoyed catching them going out and contemplating the waves.
Surfing Zen
Another view of the beach at Newquay – with only the little bit of ocean visible, you can see how crowded the water is even in the shoulder season. Two of the surfers are contemplating the sea before them. The light that afternoon was really special as you can tell. The sky is a mix of blue and even a hint of pink from the sun low in the sky. But the wet beach has become exceptionally reflective of the whole scene. Would love to go here again when the waves were really up!
For more prints from the UK, please check out my Britain gallery!
2
Jul
2009
London Calling – Print Available
To date, my most popular print was taken on my second trip to the UK in May of 2005. I have always had a fondness for the traditional British Red Telephone Boxes. There’s something about them that immediately says Britain. I simply cannot tell you how many photos I’ve taken of them in previous and subsequent trips. In some ways, they have very much become dinosaurs in this age of mobile phones, but from Scottish Islands to city streets in London, you’ll still find these boxes dotting the landscape.
The first Red Telephone Box was the result of a competition in 1924 and was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. There were a few iterations culminating in the current design in 1935 to celebrate the silver jubilee of King George V. This is the familiar design that has found its way throughout the United Kingdom and beyond today.
London Calling - Red Telephone Box
This particular phone booth was photographed near the Embankment Tube Station near the Thames. It was taken with my simple point and shoot Olympus camera. Obviously, I then utilized photoshop for the final product, converting the image to black and white and then with a virtual brush, removing the black and white layer just from the phone box to allow the booth to really shine. While I’ve seen this type of selective color treatment done frequently, it’s definitely a style that requires just the right image. I believe I found it in this case.
Although so far I have mainly created work that was destined to be printed for display, this is one work that I have also converted into a popular t-shirt which is also available.
London Calling T-shirt
