Roger Bennion's photos

I honestly didn't see the camera when I took this candid! With hindsight, it could have been an opportunity to discuss the benefits of owning a Nikon :-))

A much older shot where I wanted to see what damage I could do in Photoshop :-))) The reflection is on the roof of the hire car 'cos I used the roof as a support :-)

Extract from “The Dashwoods of West Wycombe” by Sir Francis Dashwood - “The Temple of Music consists of a single room in the shape of a horseshoe. For dances forty couples can be squeezed into it. On the outside there is a colonnade which runs right around the back. And beneath it a series of cellars. In the middle of the floor there is a large rectangular panel which perhaps formed part of a stage which could be lowered or raised. The inventory of 1781 mentions such a stage. The Temple was used, and is still used, for summer parties; one of Daniell’s paintings of 1781 shows it full of guests, with others arriving in gondola-shaped boats.”

This was the result of following a 'Digital Photo' magazine tutorial and I did put the original on that other site! A couple of errors that needed fixing have now been sorted and I thought it worthy of showing here on ipernity :-) I don't think the light in the wheelbarrow was being pinched................it was probably being taken away for repair/restoration :-)))

Where on earth ‘ave I been since 1974??? I must have been in hibernation not to be familiar with “Late for the Sky” by Jackson Browne :-)) I am very familiar with such classic Jackson Browne songs as “rock me on the water”, “these days”, “take it easy“, “fountain of sorrow”, “running on empty”, “the pretender”, "doctor my eyes”, “jamaica say you will”………………But, until I recently picked up “Jackson Browne Greatest Hits” for £3 (total bargain!) from Sainsbury’s supermarket I simply wasn’t familiar with “Late for the Sky” !! But now, I think I have worn out the replay button :-))) The next thing was how to get this breathtaking and all-time classic song on “Soundtrack Weekend”. So, here comes one of my obscure links :-) This shot was taken late-ish in the day and it is mostly of the sky. So that is good enough for moi :-))) Watch/Listen here- www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvBhFc0BSjI

It's probably not that relevant but I'm not sure if this was taken in Broad Street or Catte Street :-)

I tried icm but it didn't work! So, with one of the 'normal' shots I added some motion blur in Photoshop. And, I was more than a little surprised by the result :-))

N is for… NASSAU HOURS Book of Hours made for Engelbert of Nassau. Flemish illumination by The Master of Mary of Burgundy. c.1470-1490 O is for … OWEN Photograph of the poet Wilfred Owen, who died in action on the Western Front in the First World War

The Biochemistry building opened in 2008 and below is an extract from www.ox.ac.uk/media/news_stories/2008/081212_1.html . “The new £49 million, 12,000 sq m Biochemistry building at the University of Oxford designed by Hawkins\Brown architects is now complete. The distinctive facility with its glass facades and coloured glass fins brings together 300 lecturers, researchers and students previously based in a number of separate buildings across the University’s Science Area. Inside, a large open atrium with breakout spaces and specially commissioned artworks encourages collaboration between the researchers. The transparent glass exterior of the building makes the laboratories with biomedical researchers at work visible from the outside. Coloured glass fins all around the building cast changing patterns of light while solar cells on the roof provide a significant part of the building’s electricity.” In my opinion no visit to Oxford is complete without visiting the University of Oxford Biochemistry Building. I have taken lots and lots and lots of shots here :-) The light and colours change many times during a day :-)

I was tempted to clone out the 'WARNING' sign' :-) Taken last Thursday that was possibly the last day of summer :-( A most perfect day spent in Oxford :-)))

Added to Soundtrack Weekend www.ipernity.com/group/362993 The building on the left is not really Hotel California. But, it is for the purposes of Soundtrack Weekend :-))) I wish I didn’t have to look through so much foul language when reading YouTube comments but that is a gripe for another day!!!! Anyway, one comment includes the line “The ending of this song is simply one of the greatest sequences in rock history”. I would totally agree!! The interplay between Don Felder and Joe Walsh is breathtaking!! Add to this the most perfect vocal performance by Don Henley. “You can check out any time you like/But you can never leave" Listen/Watch here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dyw6LZpSOA p.s. it is actually ‘swissotel’ on the left of my shot :-) We stayed in 'Hotel Amsterdam' (in the middle of the shot) back in 2004.

This wooden bridge allows you to cross part of the Octagon Lake without getting your feet wet :-) You can then follow the path to the Palladian Bridge in the distance.

I have been trying ever so hard this evening to get up-to-date here on ipernity! But, although getting close, I have failed to meet my target :-( So, I am having a few minutes break in order to upload something slightly different! In the September 2013 issue of ‘Digital Photo’ magazine there is a “Make Plastic Fantastic” tutorial. You can use a camera (obviously) plus a tripod, computer laptop screen, plastic objects, circular polarising filter. The photo in the mag is of 8 multi-coloured forks and I am working on something similar :-) But, I had the idea that rather than putting the camera on a tripod I could try a little icm here! And, I was a little stunned by this result. There was only one fork.........honest :-)))

Have been trying icm on human peoples with limited success or outright failure! I am not sure where this one sits between “failed” and “must try harder” :-)))

Added to ‘Soundtrack Weekend’ www.ipernity.com/group/362993 In this very old Guernsey shot of 'Fort Grey' there are rocks and water. So that is good enough for me to link this to “Rock Me on the Water” written by Jackson Browne and performed here by Kathy Mattea and Jackson. It probably sounds like everyone and every song are my faves :-))) But, this all-time classic song is one of my faves :-) And, Kathy has always been one of my faves :-) We have been so very fortunate to have seen Kathy live in concert on several occasions over the years :-))) Extracts from Wikipedia - “Kathleen Alice "Kathy" Mattea (born June 21, 1959, in South Charleston, West Virginia) is an American country music and bluegrass performer who often brings folk, Celtic and traditional country sounds to her music. Active since 1983 as a recording artist, she has recorded seventeen albums and has charted more than thirty singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. This total includes the number one hits "Goin' Gone", "Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses", "Come From the Heart" and "Burnin' Old Memories", as well as twelve additional Top Ten singles.” “In 1994, Kathy collaborated with Suzy Bogguss, Alison Krauss, and Crosby, Stills, and Nash to contribute "Teach Your Children" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Country produced by the Red Hot Organization. Also on that album, Kathy teamed up with Jackson Browne to contribute "Rock Me on the Water". Also through the '90s, she often collaborated with Scottish folksinger songwriter Dougie MacLean.” “Kathy has been heavily involved in HIV/AIDS-related charities, beginning in the early 1990s, and is often credited with being among the first to champion this cause among the country music community. She is the recipient of the Minnie Pearl Humanitarian Award, and the Harvard AIDS Institute Leadership Award for this work.” Fort Grey is now a Shipwreck Museum. In days gone by it was, reputedly, the haunt of witches but I haven't seen any here................yet :-) Watch/Listen here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpuw_y5zu_k Above link no longer available. So trying this one - www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIc8VnmKrOY

This is an oldish shot where I have made some very minor enhancements in Photoshop. I also thought some soft focus was a good idea :-))) The Palladian Bridge, in the foreground, was completed in 1738 probably under the direction of James Gibbs. The Gothic Temple in the distance was designed by James Gibbs in 1741 and completed about 1748. This is the only building in the Gardens built from ironstone.

I need a shot of a Hotel for “Soundtrack Weekend” and that has probably given the game away!! Looking thru’ some very old shots I think I may have found a suitable one and whilst looking I came across this shot where, clearly, I was trying to be a bit arty :-) This comes from the time Helen & I went to Amsterdam for one of our Wedding Anniversaries. That was back in 2004. I really don’t know why we haven’t returned to Amsterdam ‘cos I thought it was the most amazing and beautiful place :-) Anyway, this also comes from a time when I would rarely make a note of what I did in Photoshop! But, I do believe this could have been a Painterly effect combined with a dash of the Buzz.Simplifier filter. I am sure you wanted to know that :-)))

................and, another :-)