Onegav

Several times in this years 365 I’ve Incorporated what I thought was some sort of big round monument in my photographs. Before you start laughing, there are roads and places like “Monument way”, “Monument on the Hill” and “The Monument” local to where I live, so it was an easy mistake to make when I have never actually found the Monument iteslf.

Thinking back, I’m not sure I’ve ever actually included one of the photographs in a blog post? Anyway, as I say I haven’t ever actually got up close to this big round structure, so today I was determined to do it, and photograph it.

I fired up old faithful Google Earth, and I zoomed into a spot I was at on the 22nd, when I took photographs for my “Elements” post, becasue from there I could see the structure. I moved actoss the map in the direction I knew I could actually see it from; and I came across a big round building called “Norton Water Tower”………. A water tower built between 1888 and 1892, and now a grade 2 listed building. Interestingly it was designed by George F. Deacon, and acts as a pressure relief device on the 3m wide water pipe that runs from Lake Vyrmwy over to Liverpool. Amazing to think I was only on Lake Vyrnwy a few days ago for the post “Fairy Tale“! With that, I’d found my monument/water tower.

Anyway, the photograph above was as close as I could get, or so it seemed at first. A huge “no public access” sign is just left, off the frame. Undeterred, I checekd my map again for some possible locations where I could get a better view. None seemed likely, with houses nearby I wasn’t going to start walking through peoples gardens, of course……..

I tried a couple of spots that looked the closest, but none came to anything, so I set my sat nav for home. I rounded a corner heading away from the tower, and happened upon a small patch of grass between some houses; you know the type where you’d almost certainly find kids playing in summer. If I know nothing else, I know that kids equals adventure and exploration, and even though I couldn’t see past the grass due to a small hump in the middle of it, I was sure there would be a trail through the thick trees and undergrowth over to the tower.

I parked the car and went to have a look.

Sure enough, as I got to the top of the hump, I could see a clear path through the undergrowth, so I went down it. Thanks kids!

Amazingly, once through the little track, through the dense undergrowth and branches of trees, I came out into a strip of clear grass, right next to the tower! I couldn’t actually get up to it, for another fence was there, but I was certinly as close as I was ever going to get.

Move-over, there was a nice mood in the sky, and some neat buildings next to the tower too, that I obviosuly hadn’t seen from afar. I guess they’d be workers houses, maybe?

I used the house roof tops in todays main photograph, to give a little more interest and lead the eye from roof top to roof top, and onto the tower. Not learning lines as such, more “leading slopes” I suppose.

Its a really impressive structure, and with the bare branched trees surrounding it, it looked really aincient and imposing, I really like it!

Learnings – well, I guess determinaton played a big part today, determination to find a way to capture this old structure and its magnificence. Settings were fairly simple, just hand held shots due to the “gorrilla” style I was capturing the shots. The main thing I focused on was the side light from the sun, to illuminate the building the way I wanted to.

Anyway, its Christmas Eve would you believe, and the kids are tucked up in bed. I think they might burst with excitment tomorrow, and I wont be far behind them!

Merry Christmas to you all!

p.s. I mentioned yesterday that I wasn’t going to share the compostion of “Marys Muffin” yesterday, well, as its the season for giving, I thought I’d overturn that decision and share it with you anyway. Like I said yesterday, I think there is better light to capture the photograph in, but below, hopefully, you get the idea of what I’m trying to capture.