Tag: Bridgwater

Winterwatch 2013 now Over

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In early Autumn last year, the BBC announced that instead of the usual format for Autumnwatch, it would be cutting it to a single week, with a second week scheduled for January and would therefore be the first series of Winterwatch. Both weeks were to be set at the Aigas Field Centre, a place that has become my second home over the past five years. The large estate is a real haven for wildlife, including the rare pine marten and a family of beavers. The studio was located in a fishing cabin, next to Loch Cuil na Caillich, affectionately called “The Illicit Still”, after a story told to Sir John Lister-Kaye.

“The Illicit Still”, the log cabin used as the Winterwatch studio in 2013.

Autumnwatch was a great success, with good views of a wide range of wildlife and showed unexpected behaviour, not least in one of the beaver lodges, when a water shrew was seen on one of the cameras. Now that Winterwatch has ended, it can be viewed with equal success, with more footage of previously unseen behaviour, including beavers swimming under the ice on the loch. In fact, the timing of the week of programmes was fortuitous, as it coincided with the advent of cold weather, in what had been a mild winter up to that point. Also featured were pine martens and red squirrels, with some experimentation to examine their behaviour. The final programme was followed by Winterwatch Unsprung. The whole half an hour slot was based in the studio, instead of outside. It was good to see some of the rangers I have grown to know of the past few years, even though a number of them have left since Autumnwatch to take up new challenges. However, behind and above Chris Packham’s right shoulder, placed in prominent view, was a print of one of my images, in fact it was very appropriate, as it was a view of the very cabin they were in, from across the loch following overnight snow.

Female blackbird feeding on Pyracantha berries.

Further south, winter even gripped the southwest of England. Snow is uncommon in most winters, but we have had snow in three of the last four in Somerset now. Parts of Somerset had several inches, but in Bridgwater, the snow was preceded by a spell of heavy rain, which limited the snowfall to a just a couple of inches. However, it was enough to alter the behaviour of the local wildlife, due to the scarcity of food. The public area at the front of my house was full of blackbirds, but when the children were playing in the snow, they were forced into my garden, where they fed on berries on my Pyracantha and Cotoneaster bushes. At a couple of points, two female birds were present and this resulted in some territorial disputes. Lighting was pretty awful, but I was able to get some ok images of them perched on the bushes and some of them feeding.

 

Bridgwater Carnival 2012

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Saturday night was carnival night. For the first year, Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival was held on a Saturday, to try to increase the amount of money collected for local charities. For those who don’t know, the carnival procession is held in the evening and is considered to be the largest illuminated carnival in the world and in fact only Notting Hill in London and Mardi Gras in Rio de Janeiro are probably bigger. The reasons for the procession are two fold, local heritage and culture (not to mention entertainment) and to raise money for charities.

Last year, the carnival was beset by drama and tragedy, with the collapse of the wall by the river and the later serious accident on the M5 near Taunton. Following the accident, carnival-goers held a mass minute’s silence the next day, during the traditional “Black Sunday” celebrations and a significant amount of money was raised by the various clubs. This was recognised by the emergency services during this year’s procession, thanking all the clubs for their help.

The entrants were as spectacular as usual, although I felt that there was a reduction in originality, with a number of entrants having very similar themes to recent years and even some with the exactly the same name during the procession, for example two or three clubs named their entrants “Circus”. One of my favourites was “Be our Guest”, by Wick Carnival Club. It wasn’t as spectacular as some of the big clubs, but they have improved noticeably in the few years I have been watching, plus it was one of the more original ideas. Sometimes I think originality should be rewarded as much as the amount of money that is obviously put into making many of the carts. I also find the entries from Huckyduck and Pentathlon to be quite interesting, but I was slightly disappointed by Huckyduck’s entry this year at the time, although looking at the photos, I like it better. It certainly wasn’t in the same class as their “Spirit of the Blitz” entry a couple of years ago, but was still good.

In what has almost become a tradition in the past decade, Gremlins yet again were the winners, with their entry Revolution. They seem to have a much bigger budget, with so many members, when compared to many other clubs and their cart is always a mass of moving parts.

All in all Bridgwater Carnival 2012 was a success and passed without the major incidents of last year. I think holding it on the Saturday was an improvement, although only the news of how much collected will confrm that.

Canvas Prints Displayed in Somerset

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For those living in Bridgwater, I currently have two framed canvas prints on display in the window of Armoury Gallery in St Mary Street. Sized at 28×18 inches, they are large enough to give justice to the images, without being too large for a normal sized house and are priced at £145. There are a further two framed prints available inside the gallery for the same price, along with some A4 mounted prints on Hahnemuhle fine art paper, priced much lower.

Photographed at Kilve Beach.

Photographed near Porlock Weir.

Photographs of Bygone Bridgwater

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I’ve had a week off work shis week, but the weather hasn’t really been ideal for landscapes and the forecast wasn’t looking any better for the rest of the week either, so yesterday I decided to do something a little different. I don’t often take detail shots, but when I do, it’s usually details of nature. Yesterday, I decided to look for little details in and around Bridgwater instead, with black and white in mind. To suit black and white, I was therefore looking for textures and shapes. The other reason for thinking about monochrome, was the idea of looking at details from a bygone era.
At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be much in Bridgwater, it’s a sizeable town, but the centre is very small for its size. However, dig a little deeper and you’ll find lots of history. Historically, it was closely associated with the industrial revolution, as so many towns and cities are and the remains of much of that activity is still visible. The obvious link to the past, is the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal, which links the rivers Tone and Parrett. At the Bridgwater end, is Bridgwater Quay, just before the entry into the tidal River Parrett. Alongside the quay, there are a number of old artefacts, such as mooring rings and gearwheels. Also, the lock gate between the canal itself and the quay is still in working order and serves as a footbridge across the canal.

As a source of experimentation, it went well, although, I will need to some retakes. Also, commercially, it probably makes more sense than my usual nature photography. At least I know that when the weather isn’t favourable for nature photography, I still have an outlet.

Bridgwater Canal

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Last Sunday, I decided it was about time I went out again. The lighting was pretty much perfect for some shots I had been planning for almost two years, but had always found somewhere else to photograph. A few miles outside of central Bridgwater, the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal passes a pub called the Boat and Anchor Inn, near the Huntworth Business Park. It isn’t anything out of the ordinary as far as canal-side pubs go, but they do serve very good food and of course offer nice beer. I didn’t visit on this occasion though, as I wanted to catch the low sunlight lighting the pub buildings and the canal. However, my memory was a little faulty and the angle I was looking for wasn’t possible, so I concentrated more on the canal, where the light was ideal.

While I was photographing the first of my chosen views, a dog walker stopped to say hello and mentioned that they were showing the canal on Countryfile on BBC1 later that evening. We chatted for a while, with him stating that he hadn’t seen them filming, but I thought it was slightly ironic, that I’d chosen that evening to photograph the canal.

Bridgwater Carnival Black Sunday Photos

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As I mentioned in my last blog post, I got caught up in the Black Sunday celebrations that are held every year on the Sunday following Bridgwater Carnival. I had originally planned to try out a new lens, ready for an upcoming Norway trip, but with the weekend travel problems in Somerset, I decided it wasn’t worth trying to drive anywhere, so I wandered down to Bridgwater Quay, before walking along the river to the centre.

As I was walking up through St Mary Street, I was approached by a large boisterous group, it was Black Sunday after all, so I couldn’t really expect anything else. Anyway, after a quick chat and change of lens, I took a couple of photographs. I promised to send the images to one of the group, but unfortunately, the e-mail address I wrote down, doesn’t seem to work. If anyone from Wick or Pentathlon Carnival Clubs remembers having their photo taken, then please contact me and I will forward on the promised photos.

Bridgwater Carnival 2011 Photographs now on Website

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Bridgwater Carnival night will be memorable for a number of reasons, not all of them good. It all started in the afternoon, during the afternoon entertainment by Bridgwater College. When I describe what we had as a downpour, it is a definite understatement. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen rain heavier in Britain. To make matters worse, the lack of wind, meant that the extremely heavy showers didn’t move very fast. There was a fast flowing river of water down past the Cornhill and on towards the Parrett, down the pedestrianised area, which was up to two inches deep in places. Everyone was saturated, but unbeknown at the time, similar amounts of water must have been flowing down Castle Street, which caused a partial collapse of the wall along the river, with part of the road in behind disappearing into the depths below. However, as is said in showbiz, the show must go on and it did. Sadly the news got worse though, but it didn’t come to light until the end of the carnival, except by the emergency services. A little over ten miles away, just outside Taunton, one of the worst pile-ups in British history occured on the M5, causing seven fatalities and numerous serious injuries. All condolences and sympathies must rest with the victims and their families.

The carnival itself put on its usual show of bright lights and entertainment. While I don’t think it lived up to last year’s standards, it still provided plenty of entertainment and better still, it remained dry throughout, a welcome relief after the afternooon. For me, the strongest and most original entries were in the Tableau Class, which was won by Overthrow of the Tsar, built by Pentathlon Carnival Club, with last year’s winners, Huckyduck Carnival Club coming second with Way out West. However, yet again, the overall winners were Gremlins, with their entry Jungle Drums. While it was still impressive, I don’t think it matched last year’s entry.

The squibbing display was cancelled, due to the previous sad events, but it was still an enjoyable evening.

And one final photo of Wick Carnival Club’s 2011 entry, Inca, having met some of them and some members of the Pentathlon Carnival Club this afternoon, as I got caught up in the Black Sunday celebrations.

http://heikoworld.wordpress.com/2011/11/04/bridgwater-carnival-2011/
http://heikoworld.wordpress.com/2011/11/06/bridgwater-carnival-2011-part-2/

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The Countdown to Bridgwater Carnival has Started

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Remember, remember the 5th 4th of November. ThBurlesque Cabaret - 2009is friday, is carnival day in Bridgwater. Festivities start in the morning and carry through to the squibbing display after the carnival ends, some time after 11.00pm. At times, it seems like the whole world descends on the town, with bars being full hours before the start of the carnival. In fact, it is probably the third largest carnival in the world after Rio de Janeiro and Notting Hill carnivals, which is pretty impressive for a town with a population of around 30,000 (two different sources quoting the same 2001 census put it at 33,698 and 36,563).

As usual, I will be attending (I can’t really escape, having to take at least the afternoon off to get home) and it is one of the few times where I shoot people (not literally of course). Notwithstanding my lack of portrait photography, from a commercial point of view, it has my highest success rate, so it is certainly worth my while attending (even in the pouring rain). Weather permitting, I will again be using flash, although that won’t be possible in heavy rain. The flash helps to fill in the deep shadows from the strong lights, but is very unsightly when it freezes the falling rain drops.

Gremlins Carnival ClubLast year, the carnival was again won by the Gremlins Carnival Club, with their entry Runaway Train. They are in fact regular winners, having shared the overall title in 2009 with To the Trees, the winner of the Tableau class, by the Gemini Carnival Club. There are usually around 120 entries, comprising of a mixture of large carts or floats down to individual performers or masqueraders. The participants spend alot of time, effort and money on prearing their entries and the whole carnival is about collecting money for local charities.

If you haven’t been before, then it is definitely something that everyone should experience at least once. Until you’ve seen Bridgwater Carnival, you haven’t seen what can be achieved and most other illuminated carnivals are just pale imitations in comparison.

Wick Carnival Club

Guy Fawkes Carnival Photo Clusters

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Spirit of the Blitz by Huckyduck CC

I have now created a number of photo clusters featuring some of the carts entered in the 2010 Somerset County Carnival circuit. They are aimed at performers who took part in the carnival, who would like a memento of their club’s entries and will be available as either A3 or A4 prints, on high quality, heavyweight fine art paper. If you are interested and would like to know if your club’s entry is available, please contact me, if you don’t see anything suitable. They can be printed with or without a caption, according to preference. I will be adding further clusters to the gallery as I create them, so please drop back in to see other examples.

Bridgwater Carnival Photographs Uploaded

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Wild Bill's Runaway Train by Gremlins CC at Bridgwater Carnival. Winner of the County Cup.

Finally, I now have the photos from Bridgwater Carnival last Friday up on the website, available for viewing and for purchase as prints for any participants who would like a memento. Due to the weather conditions, almost all of them have streaks of heavy rain falling. There are also others, which require some work before they are of high enough quality to upload. I have also prepared the NOrth Petherton Carnival photographs, ready for upload. Again, there are others available, but I have witheld these due to the presence of teenagers at close range, to avoid any problems. If you were a walker and can’t see yourself, please feel free to contact me to ask if there are any photos available.