Roger Bennion's photos

Fate's Right Hand" by Rodney Crowell includes the line - "We All Go To Heaven On A Hard Disc Drive" And, this shot is of part of a hard disc drive assembly. So, that is a good enough 'Sight and Sound' link for moi :-))) I am giving two links. With the first link I can't seem to get a decent sound level on my computer when viewing the video via Firefox. With the second link the sound level is much better but the picture quality is disappointing. If I view the first link via the Edge Browser the sound level is much, much better!! Computers defeat me sometimes :-))) Added to ~ Sight and Sound ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Fate's Right Hand ~ Rodney Crowell OR ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Fate's Right Hand ~ Rodney Crowell

Explored! ~ Thank you very much :-))) "Take me disappearin' through the smoke rings of my mind Past the foggy ruins of time, far past the twisted leaves Of the haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow I wanna dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands With all memory of fate driven deep beneath the waves Let me forget about today until tomorrow." I think there are enough references to frightened trees :-) the beach, the sea, the sands, the waves to use my Studland Beach photo. The arrangement of this 1984 piano based version came to Gene when he was in Hawaii recuperating from exhaustion. It is the final track on the double album “Gene Clark ~ Flying High”. Apparently, harmony vocals were by Chris Hillman and Chris was also playing bass. Of course I have original versions by Bob Dylan and by The Byrds. They are forever all-time classics. But, in my humble opinion there will never ever be anything better that Gene's version. Some of the YouTube comments say it a lot better than me - “This is the strongest version ever recorded, to be honest... Gene Clark - No Other” “Just discovered the high priceless diamond ever found! Simply haunting!!!!!!!” “I love the tempo, the harmonies, and Gene's voice, oh my goodness. Beautiful. So glad he decided to sing the extra verses” “This is simply an awesome version. The hauntingly plaintiff quality of his voice is just perfect for this song. Talk about goose-bumps” Added to ~ Sight and Sound ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Mr Tambourine Man" ~ Gene Clark

Okay here comes one of my most obscure links for 'Sight and Sound' methinks :-) This shot was taken in September. September makes me think that this year will soon start drawing to an end. The life of this leaf is drawing to an end. So, I am using "September When It Comes" written by Rosanne Cash :-) Added to ~ Sight and Sound ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ September When It Comes" ~ Rosanne Cash Or, here ~ September When It Comes" ~ Rosanne Cash & Johnny Cash ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫

~ Explored! ~ Thank you very much :-))) Ruth beat me to using "Look Through Any Window" by The Hollies :-) This is one of the windows in the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford. It was taken from inside the Theatre and having checked out this window on subsequent visits I think we may very well be looking towards The Divinity School :-) The Sheldonian Theatre was designed by Christopher Wren. It was built from 1664 to 1669. Whether the glass dates from this time I know not :-) But, I like the way it distorts what is beyond. Added to ~ Sight and Sound ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Look Through Any Window ~ The Hollies

Okay here comes a more than slightly tenuous link for 'Sight and Sound' :-) But, I had to find a way to use (in my humble opinion) a total gem of a performance from Steve Goodman that I suddenly came across on YouTube. The song is “You're The Girl I Love”. I don't know how true it is but I read somewhere that Steve wrote this for his future wife. I am sure the guy with the pussy cat over his shoulder is wanting to say to the girl “You're The Girl I Love” hence my clever link :-) Around the time Steve's career took off he was diagnosed with leukemia. The entire time he was writing and singing he was fighting this dreadful disease. I believe he fought the battle for some 15 years. Tragically he lost the fight and he was taken from us on 20 September 1984 aged only 36 years. In my humble opinion this was one of the biggest losses to the musical world. Steve's music could make you laugh, cry and all the emotions in between. Added to ~ Sight and Sound ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ You're The Girl I Love ~ Steve Goodman

Clearly this is a Souvenir shop in Oxford High Street :-) And, this immediately brings to mind one of my faves and that is "Souvenirs" by John Prine & Steve Goodman. Tragically Steve succumbed to cancer in 1984 aged just 36 years. And, John has been fighting cancer since 1998. There is little justice in this world! Added to ~ Sight and Sound ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ Souvenirs ~ John Prine & Steve Goodman

Explored! ~ Thank you very much :-))) Extracts from the College website - “All Souls College was planned, built, and endowed in the 1430s by Henry Chichele, long-serving Archbishop of Canterbury. It received its foundation charter in 1438 from King Henry VI, co-opted by the Archbishop as the College's co-founder. Henry Chichele was in his seventies at the time, and this, his third Oxford benefaction, situated right at the University's heart, was the fruit of careful reflection about what was needed in a new college. The Codrington Library started to be built on 21 June 1716, to a plan by Nicholas Hawksmoor, but the fitting out was not completed until 1751. The Library has some 185,000 volumes, about a third of which were printed before 1800.”

This shot is of the Biochemistry Building in Oxford and I messed 'bout with it in GIMP Photo Software. I think it was likely that I used the Perspective filter :-) And, I have decided upon Eva Cassidy's version of "True Colours" for 'Sight and Sound'. Added to ~ Sight and Sound ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ True Colours ~ Eva Cassidy ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Or, for a simpler acoustic version listen here ~ True Colours ~ Eva Cassidy Maybe view in Lightbox, please :-)

~ Explored! ~ Thank you very much :-))) 'Hot Club of Cowtown' are one of my fave live bands. We are so very fortunate to have seen them play live three or four times. The last time we saw them must have been about eighteen months ago and on that occasion I was very concerned that Elana didn't seem to be especially well. So, I was absolutely delighted to see that Elana looks so well in the video (from about a year ago) that I am using :-)) And, I am even more delighted that I have just received confirmation that we now have tickets to see them live in the early part of next year :-))))) 'Hot Club of Cowtown' are - Elana James (Prairie Village, Kansas) ~ Fiddle, Vocals Whit Smith (Cape Cod, Massachusetts) ~ Guitar, Vocals Jake Erwin (Tulsa, Oklahoma) ~ Upright Bass, Vocals The band split in 2005 but officially reformed in early 2008. As far as I know, when they are not touring, they are based in Austin, Texas. “Ida Red” is an American traditional song of unknown origins. It has been recorded by lots of peeps but the best known version is probably by Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys. The song starts with - Light's in the parlor, fire's in the grate, Clock on the mantle says it's a'gettin' late, Curtains on the window, snowy white, The parlor's pleasant on Sunday night. My clock was on a mantle and it shows the time was approx. 21:30 hrs which is late :-) So, I figure I have explained my 'Sight and Sound' link to perfection :-))) Added to ~ Sight and Sound Listen here ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ ~ Ida Red ~ Hot Club of Cowtown

I used the original version of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" with a previous post to 'Sight and Sound'. So, with this shot of the Palladian Bridge @ Stowe Landscape Gardens I figured I would search for a different version. And, I found one by a group called 'Gregorian' :-) All I know about them comes from Wikipedia; as follows - "Gregorian is a German band headed by Frank Peterson that performs chant-inspired versions of modern pop and rock songs." Added to ~ Sight and Sound Listen here ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ ~ Bridge Over Troubled Water ~ Gregorian It seemed a good idea to me to add a dash of soft focus to my shot :-) Maybe view in Lightbox, please.

~ Explored! ~ Thank you very much :-))) This Lady was modelling at 'Focus on Imaging' @ the NEC, Birmingham way back in 2011. It is very poor when you can't remember a name but I think it may well have been Vicki or Vicky. Clearly she is a Lady and as there are three of her the link that immediately comes to my mind is "Three Times A Lady" by The Commodores :-)) Added to ~ Sight and Sound Listen here ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ ~ Three Times A Lady ~ The Commodores Maybe view in Lightbox, plase.

Osborne House in East Cowes, Isle of Wight is a former royal residence. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat. "Victoria" is a song written by Ray Davies. It is the opening track on the Kinks 1969 concept album “Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)”. The album included a shaped insert depicting Queen Victoria holding a house containing Arthur Morgan. Who is Arthur Morgan? ….I don't know :-) Added to ~ Sight and Sound Listen here ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ ~ Victoria ~ The Kinks Or, listen here ~ Live Version ~ Ray Davies & Choir from Glastonbury ♪ ♫

~ Explored! ~ Thank you very much :-))) Okay...here comes one of my more obscure & tenuous links for 'Sight and Sound :-) It was 'Nothing But A Miracle' that I managed to get the whole of the bicycle and the whole of the young lady into my shot. And, it was 'Nothing But A Miracle' that I NEARLY succeeded in nailing the panning technique :-) Therefore, I am linking this to "Nothing But A Miracle" written by Diane Birch and performed here by Diane Birch & Daryl Hall from "Live from Daryl's House". Added to ~ Sight and Sound Listen here ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ ~ Nothing But A Miracle ~ Diane Birch & Daryl Hall

~ Explored! ~ Thank you very much :-))) I think I may be up-to-date with 'Sight and Sound'........Yippee :-))) Us male peeps are always a very helpful species as evidenced here by the very helpful gentleman helping the lady out of the boat! So, it seems logical to me to link this to "I Can Help" by Billy Swan :-) I don't mind the pleasantly distracting ladies in the video :-) But, to me, the video seems a bit odd to say the least.......perhaps they had an Art Director who said "I have some great ideas on how to shoot a music video that is a little bit different :-))) Added to ~ Sight and Sound Listen here ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ ~ I Can Help ~ Billy Swan

Sinking a bit at the mo :-) Trinity College was founded in 1555 by Sir Thomas Pope. The land was previously occupied by Durham College and was home to Benedictine monks from Durham Cathedral. It only costs a couple of pounds sterling to walk around Trinity College.....money well spent methinks :-)

"We've Only Just Begun" was written by Roger Nichols (music) and Paul Williams (lyrics). It is frequently used as a wedding song. The song was originally recorded by Smokey Roberds, a friend of Nichols, under the name "Freddie Allen". It debuted in a wedding-themed television commercial for the Crocker National Bank in California in the winter of 1970 with Paul Williams on vocals. Richard Carpenter saw the commercial and the rest is magnificent history. Back in April 2015 Helen and I went to Jonathan & Helen's {a different Helen :-)} wedding. I took a few candid shots and I was pleased with this one. Therefore, I am linking this to the original version by Paul Williams from his absolute classic 1971 album “Just An Old Fashioned Love Song”. I still have the vinyl copy :-))) Sorry, it's NOT for sale :-)) Added to ~ Sight and Sound Listen here ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ ~ We've Only Just Begun ~ Paul Williams If you have an hour and a half to spare I would well recommend watching the film by Stephen Kessler ~ “Paul Williams Still Alive”. It has been on YouTube but disappears from time to time. No doubt, there are copyright issues. But, today, I have found it again on YouTube :-) www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6XxxQonbD8 And, not forgetting ♪ ♪ ♫ ~ The Carpenters version :-)

This boat is named 'Jack Tar'. The Byrds recorded "Jack Tarr The Sailor" which features on their album "Ballad Of Easy Rider" from 1969. I hope there is nothing in the 'Sight & Sound' Rules that stops me using a link with different spellings.....as in Tarr or Tar :-)) Added to ~ Sight and Sound Listen here ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ ~ Jack Tarr The Sailor ~ The Byrds

A slightly tenuous time for 'Sight & Sound' methinks :-) The Shard is in London Bridge Street. Last November we visited The Shard and I took a few shots in London Bridge Street including this one. So.....as this is a London street I think a musical link to "Streets of London" by Blackmore's Night from their Paris gig in 2006, would be okay :-) Added to ~ Sight and Sound Listen here ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ ~ Streets of London ~ Blackmore's Night Maybe, view on black :-)