Roger Bennion's photos

Taken back in 2016 this cross was in a very overgrown churchyard in Oxford. It brings to mind "Jesus was a Cross Maker" written by Judee Sill. Very many moons ago I did have a few tracks by Judee. They were likely recorded onto those 'reel to reel' tapes :-) Recently, in a charity shop, I came across Judee's first album from 1971. It was on cd with bonus tracks for an absolute bargain price. In 1973 Judee released a second album entitled "Heart Food". Judee had partially completed a third album before dying of a drug overdose in 1979. Judee was the first artist signed to David Geffen's Asylum label and there are lots of articles on the internet about Judee. Two statements that ring so true are - "Brilliant and bewitching, she could have been the most famous singer-songwriter of the Seventies." "Judee's story is a story of self-destruction, missed opportunities, but – most importantly - artistic triumph". "Jesus was a Cross Maker", produced by Graham Nash, was written about John David Souther. Apparently, J D Souther broke Judee's heart when he left Judee to become Linda Ronstadt's boyfriend. Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Jesus was a Cross Maker ~ Judee Sill (Live) ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Jesus was a Cross Maker ~ Judee Sill (Studio Recording)

Explored! Thank you very much :-) SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 20 OCTOBER 2018 LET'S TAKE A SHOT OF ANYTHING LOOKING UPWARDS. PLEASE KEEP POST-PROCESSING MINIMAL" I did use a black and white shot of this building for the "High Contrast in Black & White" SSC Challenge back in June. I decided to take another shot of the building for this week's challenge. I would have liked to have said it took me "Just One Look" to come up with a different viewpoint but after taking lots of photos I decided upon a very similar viewpoint :-) For 'Sight and Sound' I figure I can use "Just One Look" by Linda Ronstadt :-) Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Just One Look ~ Linda Ronstadt (Live version) ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Just One Look ~ Linda Ronstadt (Studio version)

Okay, here comes a link for 'Sight and Sound' - If you take the word 'Seattle' and take away the letter 'L' that leaves S, E, A, T, T, E. Re-arranging these letters gives 'ESTATE'. My photo was taken in the Ashridge ESTATE :-) 'Heart' recorded "These Dreams" at the Paramount Theatre in their home city of Seattle hence my very wayward 'Seattle' musical link :-) I wasn't drinking when I came up with this logic.....well, maybe a very small whiskey and ginger ale :-) Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ These Dreams ~ Heart

Explored! Thank you very much :-) SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 13 OCTOBER 2018 WATER DROPLETS TAKE A PHOTO OF WATER DROPLETS IN ANY FORM, SHOOT MACRO OR OTHERWISE. POST PROCESS AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE. GET CREATIVE AND HAVE FUN! Each time I thought of tackling this week's challenge there wasn't a single drop of rain about!! In desperation I asked Helen to pick up a water spray bottle for me :-) I have been spraying everything in sight but whenever I did get some droplets to form they disappeared just as quickly!! I then tried a blue coloured blank DVD, put it on the windowsill in the sun. Probably was a bit heavy handed with the spray but, at least, I got some droplets :-)) I should have fished out my DSLR but time was getting short so I used the 'Macro' setting on my little P7800 :-) Also, I have added this to 'Sight and Sound' 'cos I've just noticed there is a 'starburst' in a few of the droplets. And, Rodney Crowell recorded "Stars on the Water". Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Stars on the Water ~ Rodney Crowell (Live version) ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Stars on the Water ~ Rodney Crowell (Studio version) Maybe view on black, please :-)

Explored! Thank you very much :-) HAPPY FENCE FRIDAY, ALL Croome Court in Worcestershire. Also added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music I have previously used "Walking the Dog" by the Rolling Stones. But, this time I am using the original version by Rufus Thomas :-) ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Walking the Dog ~ Rufus Thomas

Explored! Thank you very much :-) Time to fish out the Soft Focus software filter methinks :-) I'm not sure if these peeps are 'Together' :-) But, if they are it reminds me of "Together Again" by Emmylou Harris. One of my all-time faves :-) Emmylou accompanied by the legendary 'Hot Band' .....Albert Lee, Hank DeVito, Rodney Crowell, Glen D Hardin, John Ware and Emory Gordy. Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Together Again ~ Emmylou Harris & The Hot Band

Explored! Thank you very much :-) SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 6 OCTOBER 2018 "USE DIAGONAL LINES TO FORM YOUR COMPOSITION. IT CAN BE OF ANY SUBJECT, IN COLOUR OR BLACK AND WHITE, AS LONG AS A DIAGONAL LINE OR LINES ARE THE MAIN SUBJECT OF THE COMPOSITION" Barbed Wire in Stowe Landscape Gardens. And, for 'Sight and Sound' - I couldn't find many songs about 'Barbed Wire' but I did find a song about 'Wire' by The Kinks :-) Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Close to the Wire ~ The Kinks

A bottle sculpture in the grounds of Waddesdon Manor. Plus an aeroplane! So very sad to read that Marty Balin, who co-founded Jefferson Airplane, has passed away. Rest in Peace, Marty. Added to Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Volunteers ~ Jefferson Airplane

SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 29 SEPTEMBER 2018 "LEADING LINES IN BLACK AND WHITE (Minimal post-processing is allowed for this challenge) I normally use the Channel Mixer in Photoshop 6 to convert colour shots to Black & White. But the result was very flat. I, therefore, settled for one of the Presets in Silver Efex Pro 2. Still a bit flat though :-( I left the sliders alone :-)

Explored! Thank you very much :-) HAPPY FENCE FRIDAY, ALL There are some fences here, honest :-) And, for 'Sight and Sound'.......... Gretchen Peters sings - I think I need to lay low for a while Stare at the Gulf of Mexico for a while Tell 'em all where they can go for a while I think I need to lay low I guess this lady and gentleman could be staring at the Gulf of Mexico :-) They are actually looking in the direction of Whipsnade but it's possibly similar to the Gulf of Mexico :-)) We were so fortunate to see Gretchen 'Live in Concert' at The Stables, Wavendon back in May. But, why oh why did it take me 20 years to go to one of her concerts!! Now have all of her albums :-) "Lay Low" comes from her 2018 album "Dancing with the Beast". An album that is now right at the top of my all-time fave album list :-) And, for Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Lay Low ~ Gretchen Peters

One from a long time back in the Archives. Although this shot was taken in Oxford I'm hoping they are 'London' girls so that for 'Sight and Sound' I can use "London Girls" by Chas & Dave. Chas Hodges & Dave Peacock were friends for more than 50 years, forming the band in the 1970s. So desperately sad that Chas Hodges has passed away. It looked like Chas was beating cancer of the oesophagus but, tragically, he died yesterday from organ failure. All the tributes say that Chas was one of the best and a real gentleman. Rest in Peace, Chas. And, for Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ London Girls ~ Chas & Dave

Explored! Thank you very much :-) SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 22 SEPTEMBER 2018 "TAKE A PHOTO AND POST PROCESS IT TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL FOR YOUR SUBJECT" Over many years I have tried 'painterly' effects with varying degrees of failure and occasional success :-) A long time back I was pleased with the results from using the 'Art History Brush' in Photoshop 6. But the more I used this process the worse I got! A while back I came across the 'Dream Smoothing' filter in GIMP Photo software. I have been pleased with some of the results :-) I have previously uploaded a few photos where the effect was used but they were mostly using the default settings. GIMP says - "A relatively slow filter that uses anisotropic filtering to smooth an image. More iterations produces a softer image as does lower opacity values. Practical modes for merging are Alpha and Average. The results are resolution dependent". Of course I knew this :-))) This week I have spent a lot time trying different combinations of the settings. Already there appear to be endless combinations :-) The Arty border came from a free giveaway of Borders in 'Digital Photo' magazine from a long time back. In the PiP one I think I may have got a little bit carried away :-) And, for Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Some Bridges ~ Jackson Browne

Explored! Thank you very much :-) HAPPY FENCE FRIDAY, ALL :-) Added to ~ Happy Fence Friday This photo is of Croome in Worcestershire. From the National Trust website - "During the Second World War and the Cold War years that followed, RAF Defford the secret airfield built in the grounds of Croome park, was one of the most secret places in the country. For it was at Defford that Airborne Radar was tested, developed and proven". Also, for 'Sight and Sound' a song about a treehouse seems logical but there don't appear to be many such songs on YouTube. The only one I could find is "Sittin' in a Treehouse" by Marty Robbins :-) Added to ~ Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Sittin' in a Treehouse ~ Marty Robbins

I wanted to put our suitcase back in the loft but there's not much likelihood of that happening at the moment!! Any attempt to move the suitcase may well result in the need for some bandages :-))) 'Tis now MY suitcase!! Also, a track by Pussycat for 'Sight and Sound' seems logical to moi :-) Added to ~ Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Mississippi ~ Pussycat

Explored! Thank you very much :-) HAPPY FENCE FRIDAY, ALL I'm also adding my photo to 'Sight and Sound' because this is a horsebox and the song that came to mind was "Wild Horse Road" by John Stewart :-) Before John passed away he regularly visited the UK. I have always regretted only seeing him once 'Live in Concert'. Added to ~ Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Wild Horse Road ~ John Stewart

Had a break in Herefordshire for 4 days. We did see some sunshine. But, when we visited Croft Castle & Parkland it was very gloomy and we had lots and lots and lots of the wet stuff :-) In fact it felt like "Buckets of Rain" were falling which, of course, leads to Bob Dylan's "Buckets of Rain" performed here Jimmy LaFave :-) Jimmy was a unique talent taken from us way too early. Rest in Peace, Jimmy Love the lead guitar playing by John Inmon Love the accordion playing by Radislov Lorkovic (Rad) Love the bass guitar playing by Glenn Schuetz And, love Jimmy's performance :-) Added to ~ Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Buckets of Rain ~ Jimmy LaFave

Explored! Thank you very much :-) SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 8 SEPTEMBER 2018 "SQUARES AND RECTANGLES" Been away for several days this week and struggled to find squares and rectangles. But, hopefully, there are some square and rectangular shapes here :-) This is part of a door leading into Hereford Cathedral. I think most of the reflections are from outside but odd bits may be inside the Cathedral :-)

Explored! Thank you very much :-) SATURDAY SELF-CHALLENGE 1 SEPTEMBER 2018 "BOKEH IN THE FOREGROUND" Another can of coke :-) Together with tiny candles (battery operated). Very, very, very difficult to watch but for 'Sight and Sound' I have chosen "Candle in the Wind, Goodbye England's Rose" by Elton John played at Princess Diana's funeral. Doesn't seem possible it was 21 years ago yesterday (31 August 1997) that Princess Diana died. Added to ~ Sight and Sound : Pictures & Music ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Candle in the Wind, Goodbye England's Rose ~ Elton John