Roger Bennion's photos

I was busy framing this shot and before I could press the shutter the lady walked into the frame and sat down on the chair!! I didn't have the heart to ask her to move :-))

Another attempt at proper icm :-) I love the fact that here on ipernity you have the choice on how to view photos :-) Often I think viewing on white is more than ok :-) But, with this shot I think it, possibly, works a little better on black. Please press 'z' :-)

Added to ‘Soundtrack Weekend’ www.ipernity.com/group/362993 “Like a lighthouse you must stand alone Landmark the sailor's journeys end No matter what sea I've have been sailing on I'll always roll this way again” “Les Hanoi Lighthouse rises from a reef on the south west side of the Island of Guernsey, and takes its name from the group of rocks - Les Hanois. The lighthouse marks the western end of the Channel Islands indicating the shoals and reefs to the west of Guernsey and providing a position fix for vessels entering the Channel Traffic Separation Scheme.” (From the Trinity House website) “Till I Gain Control Again” was written by Rodney Crowell and is one of my all-time fave songs. Just like the sun over the mountain top You know I'll always come again You know I love to spend my morning time Like sunlight dancing on your skin I've never gone so wrong as to telling lies to you What you've seen is what I've been There is nothing I could hide from you You see me better than I can Out on the road that lies before me now There are some turns where I will spin I only hope that you can hold me now Till I can gain control again Like a lighthouse you must stand alone Landmark the sailor's journeys end No matter what sea I've have been sailing on I'll always roll this way again Out on the road that lies before me now There are some turns where I will spin I only hope that you can hold me now Till I can gain control again I am familiar with Rodney’s original and versions by Emmylou Harris, Albert Lee, Waylon Jennings, Crystal Gayle, Van Morrison and Raul Malo but I was not familiar with this version by the Haley Sisters and I am now searching for their album :-) In my humble opinion songs don’t come much better than this :-) Watch/Listen here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwc9QQEPvqw

Another candid from the Festival :-)

I’m not sure when icm becomes panning or vice versa :-))) Anyway, I figured that if I followed the horses keeping them in the viewfinder and selected a fairly slow shutter speed (1/25 second) then I might get a fair amount of blur! I was pleased with this shot and it was probably more luck than judgment that resulted in varying degrees of blur with the lead horse’s face being fairly clear :-) I particularly like the way some of the horse’s legs are ‘moving’.

I am very grateful to the 'peoples' in my shot for wearing red and pink :-) You can stay in the Gothic Temple on the hillside. Mind you it is very expensive but would be an amazing experience!! I think a 3-night stay costs something over £1,000.00.

NOT icm.....this time :-))) I applied ‘motion blur’ to the original shot taken wth my phone. But, I was thinking about goin’ back to try icm! However, I think that may be a little difficult. These towers are surrounded by high wire fencing, trees and dense undergrowth!! I had to fight my way through the dense undergrowth to get the original shot :-) I think it would be difficult to find a viewpoint where I could move the camera about without it smashing into tree branches!! Also, there were a number of security cameras and me being caught on film waving a camera about might attract unwanted attention from security guards me fears :-)))

Until recently I hadn't taken any photos at Polo matches. And, for some reason I had it in my head that it was a male dominated sport. But, studying this shot in quite some detail it looks as though I must be wrong on that assumption :-))) It is already clear after seeing one of the participants being smacked in the mouth by a polo stick, that it is a dangerous activity!

Added to ‘Soundtrack Weekend’ www.ipernity.com/group/362993 The Wheel in this shot is next to Startops End Reservoir. Seems logical to me, therefore, to link this with “Heart Like A Wheel” by Linda Ronstadt from her 1974 album of the same name. From Wikipedia - “Heart Like a Wheel is Linda Ronstadt's fifth solo album recording and the last of her studio projects for Capitol Records, released in late 1974. It is universally considered to be Ronstadt's all-time high-water-mark masterpiece recording and a pioneering blueprint of Country Rock. It spent 51 weeks on the Billboard album chart and has never been out of print in the now 38 years since its release.” Watch/Listen here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4edvNAtAwE I expect Linda to feature quite often in this Group :-)

It is not obvious from this shot but the initial M has been let into each side of this bridge. Dedicated to Sir Francis Dashwood's wife, Marcella. You can actually see the M in one of my previous shots :-) www.ipernity.com/doc/292367/24675951/in/album/402843 And, that gives me the opportunity to add a link to "Marcella" by the Beach Boys :-) www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YwGHsaPeO8 On 'F….r' (sorry to mention this word!) I was very much involved with a Group called "Soundtrack Monday" where you simply linked a photo to music. The link could be totally obvious or as obscure as you liked :-))) And, I have been contemplating doing something similar here…..maybe something like ’Soundtrack Weekend” :-)))

The Temple of Music is on an Island in the Lake and is only accessible by boat. You would have to get permission from the Dashwood family to visit :-) From “The Dashwoods of West Wycombe” by Sir Francis Dashwood - “The Temple 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.” p.s. 1770 wasn't when I took this :-) The Temple was built in approx 1770.

I was most impressed and inspired by the following shot from Pierre - www.ipernity.com/doc/blueman/22820563 I thought I could try out a similar framing idea with a shot I had been working on :-) This very old shot is of some colourful Punts in Oxford. Of course, with hindsight, I should have used the icm technique here! But as it is too late I had to revert to applying some motion blur :-) And, then I tried out a similar framing idea to that used by Pierre. Thanks very much for the inspiration, Pierre. Obviously, next time I am in Oxford I will be focussing on the icm technique in accordance with Bev’s www.ipernity.com/home/beverleyplaya challenge :-)

Back to my first time taking a few shots of a polo match. And, I will admit to trying to fix a bit of an error in the original of this shot!! The stick thingy (it probably has a proper name) wasn’t all in the shot. It disappeared out of the top of the frame! I wanted the whole stick in this shot so, in Photoshop, I copied part of a stick from another shot and added it to this one!! Now the secret is out :-)))

'Intended Camera Movement' Technique.

From the National Trust website - "Owned by one family for almost 350 years, whose story takes in royal visits, family feuds and debt, Stowe is a breathtakingly beautiful creation of the 18th century. It's also one of the first and foremost of the great English landscape gardens. It reflects the work of two people in particular: Lord Cobham and his nephew, Earl Temple."

At the West Wycombe Fete I wandered off and took some shots of a polo match in a nearby field. The dog in this shot was running around having a great time. When I started to walk back to the Fete the dog followed me!! When I got to the Lake in West Wycombe Park the dog jumped into the Lake next to me!! And, every time I moved along the edge of the Lake the dog followed :-))) I thought I should take a few shots and this is one of them. There was a lot of ‘stuff’ in the Lake and I hope that none of it was hazardous to the health of the dog!!