Roger Bennion's photos

I have been taking more photos from within the University Church in Oxford looking out through the panes of glass in one of the very big windows. Previously I had assumed that each pane of glass would be similar and the resulting photos would not show much if any distortion. Wrong!!!!! Some of the panes of glass produced a lot of distortion as with this shot :-) For 'Sight and Sound', "Streetlights" by Jason Isbell seems an appropriate choice :-) Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Listen here ~ Streetlights ~ Jason Isbell Maybe view on black, please :-)

Explored! Thank you very much :-) SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 21 SEPTEMBER 2019 TAKE A PHOTO AND THEN POST PROCESS IT USING YOUR FAVOURITE PROGRAM. BE SURE TO SHOW THE ORIGINAL UNPROCESSED IMAGE In 'Affinity Photo' I removed the colourful bollards, tried to correct some of the distortion (more work needed), made a small levels adjustment, increased the colour saturation by about 5%, made a slight crop and sharpened the image. Then, in Photoshop Elements I added a black pencil border and reduced the file size. p.s. Perhaps the bollards added extra colour to the scene. But, I found them a bit distracting so they had to go !!! :-))

Explored! Thank you very much :-) HAPPY FENCE FRIDAY, ALL. These cyclists are going along Bell Gate Drive that leads into Stowe Landscape Gardens. This is the first time I have seen cyclists here so I knew I needed to grab a quick photograph :-) I was also wondering if there was a music link I could use for 'Sight and Sound' and for some obscure reason "Devil Gate Drive" by Suzi Quatro came to mind :-)) Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Listen here ~ Devil Gate Drive ~ Suzi Quatro ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Or listen here ~ Devil Gate Drive ~ Suzi Quatro

Explored! Thank you very much :-) 14 and 15 September 2019 was 'Open Doors' weekend in Oxford. This is when you could visit places not normally open to the public. This is the Dining Room in Exeter College. I imagine that, sometimes, sweet potato pie is on the menu and this, of course, leads me to think of "Sweet Potato Pie" by James Taylor for 'Sight and Sound' :-) Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Listen here (Live Version) ~ Sweet Potato Pie ~ James Taylor ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Or, listen here (Studio Version) ~ Sweet Potato Pie ~ James Taylor Possibly view on black, please :-)

Explored! Thank you very much :-) SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 14 SEPTEMBER 2019 USE THE EDGE OF AN IMAGE TO "CUT" YOUR SUBJECT IN HALF This sculpture is of Sir Thomas Gresham. It is one of some 16 sculptures in the 'Temple of British Worthies' in Stowe Landscape Gardens. Sir Thomas Gresham founded the Royal Exchange in the City of London. He was also known for 'Gresham's Law' (stated simply as: "Bad money drives out good") I figured a proper eye was needed so I downloaded a Royalty Free eye from the Internet and pasted it into my image :-) And, for 'Sight and Sound' "Half A Man" by Randy Newman seems appropriate :-) Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Listen here ~ Half A Man ~ Randy Newman

Colourful buildings in High Street, Oxford. There is clearly a jewellers shop in my photo. For 'Sight and Sound' I have, therefore, chosen "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" by Emmylou Harris :-) Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Listen here ~ Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend ~ Emmylou Harris ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Or, Listen here ~ Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend ~ Emmylou Harris

These folks were going to an Oxford University Ceremony in the Sheldonian Theatre. If the guy with the umbrella, bowler hat and dark glasses was called 'Jim', I think I could use "You Don't Mess Around With Jim" by Jim Croce for 'Sight and Sound' :-) Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Listen here ~ You Don't Mess Around With Jim ~ Jim Croce

Explored! Thank you very much :-) SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 07 SEPTEMBER 2019 PHOTOGRAPH SOMETHING IN THE SHAPE OF A CUBE I suspended these dice at the end of some cord that was attached to an extendable pole. The neighbours must have thought I had lost the plot :-)) It then took ages to remove the pole and the cord from my photo :-)) And, for 'Sight and Sound' there is only one choice for me. That is "Tumbling Dice" by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards but performed by Linda Ronstadt :-) Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Listen here (From the movie "FM") ~ Tumbling Dice ~ Linda Ronstadt 'Tis a pity the ending is cut short :-( ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Or, listen here (Studio Recording) ~ Tumbling Dice ~ Linda Ronstadt

A fountain in the grounds of Greys Court, a National Trust property in the southern Chiltern Hills at Rotherfield Greys, near Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. For 'Sight and Sound' I have chosen "Fountain of Sorrow" by Jackson Browne. A studio version from the 1974 album "Late for the Sky". And, a live version by Jackson Browne and John David Souther. Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Listen here ~ Fountain of Sorrow ~ Jackson Browne Or here ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ~ Fountain of Sorrow ~ Jackson Browne and John David Souther

Explored! Thank you very much :-) SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 31 AUGUST 2019 FAST SHUTTER SPEED 1/500 F/11.0 55.0 mm ISO 200 Another cycling shot in Oxford :-) The lady (it's rare to see men on bicycles in Oxford) is riding a 'Carrera' bicycle and, surprisingly, I found a 'Carrera' song that I can use for 'Sight and Sound'. The video is okay but not so sure I will be buying the record :-) Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Listen here ~ Carrera ~ Karl Wolf

The song that comes to mind here is Bruce Springsteen's "Racing in the Street". One of my all-time fave songs. But, on this occasion, I have chosen a cover version by Serena Ryder 'cos I absolutely love Serena's version :-) Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Listen here ~ Racing in the Street ~ Serena Ryder Also, love the understated guitar playing by the guy. I was going to say that I couldn't see him being credited in this YouTube post which would be very wrong! However, looking at the comments there is mention of a John Kengla. Need to check him out!

Explored! Thank you very much :-) SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 24 AUGUST 2019 PLANNED OVEREXPOSURE I have fallen behind with viewing photos and commenting......yet again! This time I will have to say that "Microsoft is the reason" :-) Earlier in the week I got a message saying that support for the Windows 10 version I am using would be withdrawn in November and I needed to upgrade to a new version of Windows 10. Sounded an easy thing to do but it took several attempts and I finally succeeded in the very early hours of this morning :-) This shot of part of the Palladian Mansion in West Wycombe Park was overexposed by 3 stops. I wasn't happy with the steps so I overexposed them a bit more in Affinity Photo :-) I then brought back some detail in the windows :-) And, for 'Sight and Sound' here comes something of an obscure link :-) Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from and inspired by the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio. It follows, therefore, that I should use "Palladio" by Camille et Julie Berthollet, methinks :-))) Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Listen here ~ Palladio ~ Camille et Julie Berthollet

Explored! Thank you very much :-) HAPPY FENCE FRIDAY, ALL This is Merton College in Oxford. Please view on black :-) And, for 'Sight and Sound' a little bit of an obscure "Merton" link. Alice Merton recorded "No Roots" and this is my 'Sight and Sound' choice :-) I know nowt about Alice :-) Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Listen here ~ No Roots ~ Alice Merton

Explored! Thank you very much :-) SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 17 AUGUST 2019 TAKE A PHOTO THROUGH A GLASS PANE This was taken from within the University Church in Oxford looking out at the Radcliffe Camera. This is a very large window divided into many panes and I guess each pane is surrounded by lead. I was going to use one pane of glass plus the lead surround but it actually looked like there wasn't a pane of glass at all and that I had put a border around the shot :-) I, therefore, decided to include bits of the surrounding panes and I did then add my own border :-) On closer inspection I can now see the middle pane of glass has distorted little bits of the building :-) I am, however, very puzzled by the surrounding panes where in places there is a lot of distortion. I can't imagine that the middle pane I chose is an almost optically perfect bit of glass :-))) And, for 'Sight and Sound' I have decided upon a 'book' link :-) The Radcliffe Camera is used as a Reading Room by the Bodleian Library. In 1962 Bo Diddley recorded "You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover" :-) Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Listen here ~ You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover ~ Bo Diddley

Explored! Thank you very much :-) SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 10 AUGUST 2019 DEEP DEPTH OF FIELD My understanding of deep depth-of-field is that you need to try and get as much of the scene, from front to back, in focus. I figured that an aperture of f/18 and focussing at a point just beyond the gate would be a good starting point :-) I am not at all sure if I have succeeded! Having looked at Val's link again I am wondering if I should, perhaps, have gone for f/32. Also, I am sure a lot of lenses have a sweet spot of, probably, around f/8 or f/11. And at, say, f32 I guess the quality may suffer a bit. I could, of course, be talking jibberish :-))) Anyway, in the 'Discussion' section Kenny's comment about being able, in the olden days, to see the area of focus by looking at the lens markings brings back memories of this very helpful function :-)) Thanks, Kenny. This is a farm within Stowe Landscape Gardens. But, for the purposes of 'Sight and Sound' we will have to imagine this is a 'Ranch' and then I can choose "Fun Ranch Boogie" by Albert Lee :-) Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Listen here ~ Fun Ranch Boogie ~ Albert Lee

The Old Fire Station in George Street, Oxford is home to a flexible theatre, dance studios, a gallery, shop and cafe. The building is also used by the charity, Crisis. For 'Sight and Sound' I decided to look for a 'Fire' link. There seems to be quite a few songs with 'Fire' in the title. Eventually, I settled for "I'm On Fire" by Bruce Springsteen. Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Listen here (Live version) ~ I'm On Fire ~ Bruce Springsteen ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Or here (Studio version) ~ I'm On Fire ~ Bruce Springsteen

Explored! Thank you very much :-) SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 03 AUGUST 2019 SHALLOW DEPTH OF FIELD Please view on black :-) And, for 'Sight and Sound' I figure a song that includes a reference to Rust is appropriate :-) Therefore, I have chosen "Diamonds & Rust". Many moons ago I used the cover version by Blackmore's Night but it is now time to use the original version by Joan Baez. One of my absolute all-time faves :-) Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Listen here (Live version) ~ Diamonds & Rust ~ Joan Baez ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Or here (Studio version) ~ Diamonds & Rust ~ Joan Baez

For 'Sight and Sound' I have chosen "Flowers on the Wall". I was going to use the original version by The Statler Brothers (1965) but came across a version by Eric Heatherly. I don't know anything about Eric but I do like his cover version :-) My link is a little obscure.....there is only one flower here and there isn't a wall in my shot although there is a wall nearby :-) Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ Listen here ~ Flowers on the Wall ~ Eric Heatherly