The Limbo Connection's photos with the keyword: Caen Hill

A collage based on part of this:

At Caen Hill, Devizes, a flight of 29 locks was built to lift the Kennet and Avon canal 237 feet over a distance of two miles from the Avon Valley to the Vale of Pewsey. It is one of the major engineering feats of the canal era: the gradient is 1 in 44. This was the last section of the canal to be built and was completed in 1810. For 30 or 40 years, the canal flourished, but the coming of the railways eclipsed its usefulness and it fell into a state of neglect. During the 1980s volunteers accomplished the restoration of the canal. Bravo!

I took the photograph into the early morning sun using an old Nikkor-H Auto 300mm f/4.5 lens on a Nikon D2Xs. There is a lot of flare but I like the compressed perspective and muted colours. This is a fresh edit of the photograph I posted six years ago. I have increased exposure, particularly in the shadows, and made other minor changes. The subject is the flight of locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal at Caen Hill, near Devizes. There are 29 locks providing a rise of 237 feet in two miles.

This isn't all 16 of the steep flight of locks at Caen Hill on the Kennet and Avon Canal near Devizes, but it nevertheless provides an insight into the ambitious engineering of the period. The photograph dates from mid-July, 2013, and I have taken the opportunity to lift the shadows and tweak the white balance and general clarity in Lightroom. In 2013 I didn't shoot RAW and thus the scope for improvement of this picture was limited. I photographed the scene a short while after dawn shooting into the rising sun, hence the flare. The packed perspective arises from using a 300mm lens on a crop-sensor camera, effectively a field of view of 450mm. Even shooting at f/8, the depth-of-field is pronounced. I like the freshness of the new day, the clean cool light, and the air of stillness in this picture. Nikon D2Xs and Nikkor-H 300mm f/4.5 lens. ISO 800; 1/800th;f/8.

Looking down Caen Hill on the Kennet and Avon canal. Nikkor-H Auto 300mm f/4.5 (modified to AI standard) on a Nikon D2Xs.

Nikkor-H Auto 300mm f/4.5 (modified to AI standard) on a Nikon D50.

Nikon D50 with an 18-135mm lens.

At Caen Hill, Devizes, a flight of 29 locks was built to lift the Kennet and Avon canal 237 feet over a distance of two miles from the Avon Valley to the Vale of Pewsey. It is one of the major engineering feats of the canal era: the gradient is 1 in 44. The middle section, where this photograph was taken, comprises 16 locks in a straight line. It was the last section of the canal to be built and was completed in 1810. For 30 or 40 years, the canal flourished, but the coming of the railways eclipsed its usefulness and it fell into a state of neglect. I used an AF Nikkor 180mm f/2.8 lens on a Fuji S3 Pro camera. 400 ISO; 1/350th; f/4.8.

In 1989, when this photograph was taken, work was well underway to restore the Kennet and Avon canal as a recreational amenity and tourist attraction. Stretching from the River Thames at Reading to the River Avon at Bath, the K&A Canal was closed to navigation in 1955 and reopened in 1990. The Heritage Lottery fund subsequently provided a grant of £27 million to secure the long term future of the Canal. After 10 years the project had resulted in an increase of visitors by some 22%, and increase in expenditure by 59% and an increase in boat activity by 40%, to some 1,400. Pentax P30.

Photographed at Caen Hill on the Kennet and Avon Canal with a 1971 Nikkor-H Auto 300mm f/4.5 lens.