Another opportunity to photograph my environs, while getting some exercise in at the same time.
As I’ve mentioned before, he idea of the project is to set out on a walk with a phone/stopwatch and your camera. Set your stopwatch for five minutes and start walking. When the five minutes is up, stop walking. You have a minute to compose and take a photograph. Set your stopwatch for another five minutes and start walking. When the time is up, stop and, within a minute take and compose your second photo. Keep going until you have walked for 45 minutes and have nine photos.
4th May 2020: 13:07
A slow and steady start to the walk, and my aim was Cinnamon Lane, a quiet country road within spitting distance of home. As befits the current lockdown, there were few people out and about and, aside from a handful of dog walkers, I saw nobody.
4th May 2020: 13:12
The beauty of this time of year is something we have tended to overlook before – our lives have been so rushed and busy that we don’t usually get the chance to stop and look about us. If there’s one thing good to come out of the pandemic, it is that we have had no choice but to do exactly that.
4th May 2020: 13:18
But some of us have to carry on working, including those farmers who have to keep an eye on their flocks and crops, so it was no surprise to see some people at work.
4th May 2020: 13:23
The positive about the route I took for this 9-in-45 is that on the way out the road is a quiet country lane. The downside is that the way back is the main road between Shepton Mallet and Glastonbury! The A361 has always been a local bone of contention, because of the constant flow of juggernauts it ferries between the two towns and beyond. Having said that, on a Monday afternoon under Covid-19 rules it’s a lot quieter!
4th May 2020: 13:29
Despite the busyness of the road, the view from it are spectacular.
4th May 2020: 13:34
The road is the main thoroughfare in this part of Somerset and, in decades past, was prime for local businessmen to earn a penny or two. (I hasten to add that this is for show, not a true toll!!)
4th May 2020: 13:40
Be kind and keep smiling! You’re nearly there!
4th May 2020: 13:46
Back to nature, then; I’ve photographed numerous full dandelion clocks in the past, so why not a denuded one?
4th May 2020: 13:52
Last of the nine and almost full circle! The Somerset Levels make for some big skies!!
Click on the links below to see my previous 9-in-45 walks:
The lockdown in the UK came within a couple of weeks of me moving from West Sussex to Somerset. (Editor note: Oh really, CKPonderings? I hadn’t realised you’d moved, given all of the Glastonbury photos you’ve posted of late!)
There was plenty to do on the house, but the restrictions put in place by the UK government meant that we were unable to get anything started as quickly as we would have liked.
Back in West Sussex, with us both working full time, we were not able to spend as much time on the garden as I would have liked, and one of my missions for the move (and the eventual change to part-time work) was to enjoy and make the most of the new patch of land.
Glastonbury is known for its Bohemian, back to nature lifestyle, and I had in mind that I wanted to have a go at growing some vegetables and fruit, but the lockdown gave me the opportunity to speed that process up a little.
The back garden has a strip of decking across it which, even when we came to view the house, we knew had seen better days. It would need replacing or landscaping at some point, and my “Good Life” plans provided an ideal opportunity for that.
So, armed with nothing more than an idea floating around in my head, I decided that a section of decking could come up, and compost could go down and a veggie patch would be born!
Take into account, however, that I am not necessarily used to building projects, and the small tinkerings that I have attempted up to now haven’t always ended in glorious success.
The positive for this was that, whatever the outcome, the decking would ultimately have to go anyway, and, if push came to shove and the vegetables came to nothing, I would have a nice new flower bed to fill!
The decking proved to be a harder foe than I had anticipated…
As I mentioned, it had seen better days and, quite frankly, it was quicker to count the planks that were not rotten than the ones that were. However, it put up a valiant fight.
Surprisingly, it was the crumbling piece of wood that proved harder to lift than the solid ones, but, at the end of my first day of heaving, shoving, swearing and sweating, I had managed to clear around half of the 7ft x 8ft section I was planning on.
One of the things that the lockdown has taught me is to pace myself, rather than going hell for leather, trying to get everything accomplished in the quickest possible time. So, after a day off, I got back out to the project.
This time, it seemed quicker to achieve what I wanted to; the remaining planks came up a lot easier to lift, and soon I was down to the bare joists.
Mother Nature had taken its toll on the wood, and the first joists crumbled at the merest hint of a saw. Time had been ticking on, however, and I left it there for the second day’s work.
Day Three of the project and I was definitely into the swing of things by now. I had a plan: there were three joists to cut and a number of battens to remove, and if I was able to do that, I would be happy!
Again, however, six cuts with my saw and a bit of brute force meant that the decking was no more!
I had kept a number of the planks – as much as anything, the more solid ones would allow me to replace some of others that had rotted – and used five of them to edge the hole I had created. They would be no good for standing on, but they made it look a lot tidier!
God Bless Click & Collect!
A week or so ago I had ordered some compost from my local B&Q. (Well, I say ‘some’, it turned out to be nearly 1200 litres of the stuff!)
As much as anything, getting this from the shop before I started any work gave me the incentive to get going – it would be a complete waste of money buying all of that compost without then making use of it.
So, decking lifted, compost ready, the last stage of the project was in sight!
Filling the hole began, then! After the first few bags, I admit I did panic a little about whether I had, in fact, purchased enough of the black stuff, but I needn’t have worried. It turned out to be almost the perfect amount!
So, the vegetable patch is ready, and there remains only the small matter of putting some actual plants in it.
Again, with the lockdown, there are no physical shops open, but online stores are there, and I have placed an order, which should be with me at the beginning of May!
As I have already suggested, I have never undertaken this sort of project before; I am not a manual person, and, while I am not afraid of hard work, I do have a tendency to get bored easily and give up if things aren’t going the way I want them to.
I am personally impressed, therefore, at how it has turned out; it’s not perfect, but it will suit its purpose for the first year, anyway. Who knows, this could be the start of big things to come!
More, I am sure, to follow!
Another quick reminder about the May’s Mass Observation Project, then!
Take a photograph based that sums up the theme COLOUR to you, however you want to interpret it.
Email the image to adayinphotographs@outlook.com by Thursday 30th April 2020.
Images should be a maximum of 650 pixels wide.
Include your name, website/blog address and a short note about the image, including where it was taken.
In this time of restrictions and “one walk per day”, what better use of that time outside than to undertake a “9-in-45”?
The idea of the project is to set out on a walk with a phone/stopwatch and your camera. Set your stopwatch for five minutes and start walking. When the five minutes is up, stop walking. You have a minute to compose and take a photograph. Set your stopwatch for another five minutes and start walking. When the time is up, stop and, within a minute take and compose your second photo. Keep going until you have walked for 45 minutes and have nine photos.
So, the nine photos…
31st March 2020 – 08:58
It was a crisp, bright morning, and I had an idea of where I wanted to go. Living in Glastonbury now, I am fortunate enough to have the Tor virtually on my doorstep (as you will see, 15 minutes or so from the summit!).
Walking up to the main road, I pass the Rural Life Museum – currently closed, as with most other places at the moment. I have seen the bicycle sign on numerous occasions, and it just happened that, when my first five minutes were up, I was close enough to it to include it in my set of nine photos!
31st March 2020 – 09:04
At the base of the Tor are these two stones. There are a lot of pieces of stone in and around Glastonbury – half of the town was built from pieces of the Abbey when it was dissolved in 1539. The thing that has always caught my eye, however, is the symbol on the one on the left. I think it’s military, but I’m not sure…
31st March 2020 – 09:10
I will be honest, I am not as fit as I once was, or as I should be. I may well have not walked continuously between taking the 09:04 photo and the one above… In my defence, however, the Tor is blooming steep, and it’s only fair that I sat down on a handy bench on the way up the climb…
A fair proportion of the planet may be in lock down, but here in the Northern Hemisphere, Spring is continuing unabated… This shot, of some cherry blossom, turned out better than I thought immediately after taking the photo. (I had intended a smaller aperture, but when I had taken the shot, I realised the camera was set to f/8. However, the depth of focus turned out to be pretty much what I was aiming for!)
Right, I’d better continue my climb, then…
31st March 2020 – 09:16
Mr C’s strict rules state that selfies should not be included in the 9-in-45, but halfway up the Tor, my options were limited. I wanted to avoid the bulk standard countryside views, but the sun was still fairly low in the sky and my shadow was too good an opportunity to miss!
31st March 2020 – 09:22
In recent weeks, the summit of the Tor has been distinctly devoid of visitors (a combination of isolation and the weather). However, at other times – at the height of the tourist season or on pagan celebratory days – it can be teeming with people.
I will be honest, I prefer it quiet. With its 360° view of the levels, it is an ideal space for reflection and meditation, as you can see!
31st March 2020 – 09:27
I awarded myself a five minute sit down before moving on, but the 9-in-45 had to continue unabated. The image of perfect calm belies the fact that is was blowing an icy gale and, to be honest, I was more than happy to start moving again!
31st March 2020 – 09:33
Unsurprisingly, while it took nearly 20 minutes to climb the Tor, it only took five to walk back down again!
At the base of the hill, in a sheltered, sunny location, is the Avalon Orchard. Another place for reflection and contemplation, these old fruit trees hold decades of history in their gnarled and twisted branches.
Rather than a wide shot of trees, I thought I would close in tighter, and this fungus caught my eye as soon as the timer on my phone alerted me to the end of the the next five-minute window.
31st March 2020 – 09:39
Time for the money shot, then; I’ve talked a lot about the Tor, but not had a photo of it yet!
31st March 2020 – 09:45
The wind may still be fresh, but the sun has been in full attendance over the last few days, so one final shot to show that spring has definitely sprung!
The photos and the route in more detail:
I have completed the 9-in-45 project a number of times now – click on the links below to see the results:
It’s time for a new Mass Observation Project post and it would be great to get you, dear viewers, involved! With everything going on in the world at the moment, the next theme is going to be ISOLATION.
The idea, as with previous MO posts is to:
Take a photograph based on the theme of ISOLATION, however you want to interpret it.
Email the image to adayinphotographs@outlook.com by Wednesday 1st April 2020.
Images should be a maximum of 650 pixels wide.
Include your name, website/blog address and a short note about the image, including where it was taken.
Come back and see the results on Sunday 5th April!
For the second post on CKPonderingsToo, I am going back in time.
A few years ago, I set myself a project; to take a photo of my back garden every week for a year and see the seasons come and go.
I set myself a couple of aims with the project:
Take a shot at around the same time every Sunday morning (or as soon after, if I wasn’t around on the Sunday).
Take the photo from the same place.
No post-production was allowed – what you see it what you get.
At the time, this was a great project. The only downside was that, after a year of photographing the garden, I was a little fed up with it, so the images never got to see the light of day.
Until now!
We start with a slideshow of the year; below are the 52 clickable images.
4th Janaury
11th January
18th January
25th January
1st February
8th February
15th February
22nd February
1st March
8th March
15th March
22nd March
30th March
5th April
12th April
19th April
26th April
5th May
10th May
17th May
24th May
31st May
7th June
14th June
21st June
28th June
6th July
12th July
19th July
26th July
2nd August
9th August
16th August
23rd August
30th August
6th September
13th September
19th September
27th September
4th October
11th October
18th October
25th October
31st October
8th November
13th November
22nd November
29th November
7th December
13th December
20th December
27th December
4th Janaury
11th January
18th January
25th January
1st February
8th February
15th February
22nd February
1st March
8th March
15th March
22nd March
30th March
5th April
12th April
19th April
26th April
5th May
10th May
17th May
24th May
31st May
7th June
14th June
21st June
28th June
6th July
12th July
19th July
26th July
2nd August
9th August
16th August
23rd August
30th August
6th September
13th September
19th September
27th September
4th October
11th October
18th October
25th October
31st October
8th November
13th November
22nd November
29th November
7th December
13th December
20th December
27th December
The first Mass Observation post got some positive feedback… A new one for February is coming soon, so keep an eye out on CKPonderingsToo to take part!
Welcome to CKPonderingsToo and the first of what I hope will be a wealth of shared and project-based photographic journeys!
For this first post, I asked for people’s interpretations of the phrase “January Blues”. Many thanks to everyone who had submitted a photograph – here are the results!
Location: Photograph taken from the tow path of the Sheffield canal
Note: I spent a weekend taking photographs inspired by and exploring the theme of the project. It came down to two photographs but unexpectedly it was this one I kept coming back to. It was the last photograph from my walk along the canal. At the time of taking it I wasn’t entirely convinced it would work but it won me over to become my contribution to the project. The colour palette, simplicity and composition make it an undemanding image that I find satisfyingly easy on the eye.
January Blues by CKPonderingsToo
Name: CKPonderingsToo
Location: St Mary’s Island, Chatham.
Note: I was at a bit of a loss when it came to taking my own photo for the project. There was a lot going on and, if I am honest, I hadn’t really considered what I was going to do for the project I was supposed to be curating! But, during an hour getting away from what life was throwing at me, I spent some time wandering along the river in Chatham. What had once been a seething mass of dockyards was now being transformed into high quality ‘affordable’ housing for the masses. Chatham is not a town to forget its naval heritage, and so disused machinery has become art installations. This crane, which has long since lost its ships and cargo, stood proud against the January sky and its greeny-blue colour matched the backdrop completely.
Note: This photograph was taken on the Fylde Coast of Lancashire, north-west England. It was only mid-afternoon but the cloud was obscuring the sun, making it feel like a premature day’s end, so typical for a long January. The coastscape was sufficiently maudlin and bleak to add to this feeling.
More collaborations will be on the way, so watch this space!!!
CKPonderingsToo 