Out with the old…

As the year draws to an end, I am closing my blog on onsightphotographic.co.uk, and continuing occasional stories from behind the lens @ http://www.sillettphotography.com/blog/

I wish you all a Happy New Year and all the best for 2019!

The bird man of York

Came across this chap in York the other day. The pigeons and squirrels in the park seem to know him well.

Lord Mayor’s Show 2018

London, UK. 10 Nov, 2018. The procession for the Lord Mayor’s Show marks the swearing in of the newly elected Lord Mayor of London. This year it is Peter Estlin who becomes the 691st Lord Mayor

Covered the event for the PR Guild, and took a few shots along (and off) the route.

London, UK. 10 Nov, 2018. The procession for the Lord Mayor’s Show marks the swearing in of the newly elected Lord Mayor of London. This year it is Peter Estlin who becomes the 691st Lord Mayor

London, UK. 10 Nov, 2018. The procession for the Lord Mayor’s Show marks the swearing in of the newly elected Lord Mayor of London. This year it is Peter Estlin who becomes the 691st Lord Mayor

You can see more pictures here

New website live

My new website http://www.sillettphotography.com is now live. 

It’s oriented more to City of London events as I am becoming increasingly involved in covering guild and livery companies.

Dark art

My picture of a crow on a cross has been selected as the cover photo for the Dark Art group on Flickr, evidently the most macabre of their 225,000 posts.

Centenary of the Armistice

A short trip to the Somme battlefields 100 years after the end of the First World War.

November 4, 2018: Beaumont-Hamel, Picardy, France. The remains of trenches from the Battle of the Somme in World War 1 at the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial

The German frontline trench.

Despite the size of the shell craters, the Germans were able to shelter in deep underground bunkers during the barrage.

November 4, 2018: Picardy, France. The Thiepval Memorial designed by Edwin Lutyens commemorates the 73,000 British and French missing soldiers on the Somme battlefield

The names of the missing from around these fields are inscribed in the Portland stone.

November 4, 2018: Picardy, France. The Lost Lives exhibition commemorating the casualties on each day of the First World War. Created by artist Rob Heard, one shrouded figure is laid by a cross on which a small plaque records the number killed on each of the 1,561 days of the First World War. The shrouds are being moved from the Thiepval Memorial on the Somme in France to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London from 8-18 November 2018 for the Centenary of the Armistice.

November 4, 2018: Picardy, France. A bunch of wild red poppies growing on the Somme battlefield in France as the sun sets

North

On the road for a few days, back up North.

 

First signs of former heavy industry in the East Midlands.

 

Ratcliffe-on-Stour

Sheffield is a city of two contrasting half: the leafy, Victorian west and the East dominated by housing estates with some remnants of industry along the Don in the centre.

After Sheffield, it was over the North Yorkshire Moors to enjoy the gothic charms of Whitby.

If you ever wanted to know what Whitby was like in the 1950s… go to Whitby.

Captain Cook memorial

Another ruin on the moors: Rievaulx Abbey

Then it was back over the Pennines to Lancashire.

An autumn afternoon in Paris

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Was back in Paris for the weekend, with camera of course (Fuji X100 and Leica M3).

You can see some photos here: 

My Viking inheritance

Had a small op on my finger today to treat Dupuytren’s contracture, which causes the finger to bend.

It had got to 40 degrees, so it was time.

Instead of surgery to cut out the thickened cords, I opted for minimally-invasive needle aponeurotomy weakening the cords by inserting needles. The finger is then straightened, but requires a splint and physio for weeks.

It’s a genetic condition apparently only occurring in those of Norse blood (it’s also known as the Viking disease).

I didn’t realise I had any Norse blood. Typically, I didn’t inherit the blond hair, long limbs or blue eyes, just this. And, of course, their unflinching courage.

Actually, I did flinch a bit. And brought the missus along for moral support. Although I overheard her later on the phone telling someone: “It looked really painful, but was fun to watch.”

Unfortunately, the finger will begin to bend again in a few years and I’ll have to repeat the process.

John Major denounces Brexit

Photographed Sir John Major at the Guildhall.

He went on to give a very eloquent and passionate criticism of Brexit. Shame he’s not still leading the Tory party.