autofantasia's photos with the keyword: architecture

I came across this large and somewhat unsightly block of flats in Harrogate last week and for some reason it immediate reminded me of the side of those massive big cruise ships. Maybe it was just because of the small sailing ship that someone had placed in their window or maybe it was the harshness of the structure. Whatever the reason I decided to capture it with a Dutch angle and then added some texturing before taking the selective colouring option ... overall I think it works? Please view on black for best effect. For Sight and Sound ... what else but Rod Stewart with "Sailing": youtu.be/KCgJXuOqTYY youtu.be/u1v60FITAfY youtu.be/yqs0ZAJngls

A belated entry for this week's Sunday Challenge , for which we were asked to produce an image that matched our idea of maximalism . This is actually 3 images combined of the glass façade of the new £53 million Ayrshire College, which opened this year and occupies the area of the town where the old Johnnie Walker factory was located. Travelling through the town last week on the way back 'home' to North Yorkshire following a family funeral this was the first time I'd seen the new building up close and I was blown away by the scale of it. The design of the main entrance incorporates so much glass that it seemed an ideal subject to shoot for the challenge. As it happens, the world famous brand of Scotch whisky owned now by Diageo actually originated in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. It is believed to be the most widely distributed brand of blended Scotch whisky in the world, sold in almost every country, with annual sales of over 130 million bottles. Sadly, in 2009 Diageo announced that under a restructuring programme production would be moved from the brand's original home to Diageo plants in Leven, Fife, and Shieldhall, Glasgow. So in March 2012, the Johnnie Walker plant (then the largest employer in the town of Kilmarnock) closed its doors and the name joined a long list of world famous brands that had once originated from or been heavily associated with the town: names such as Massey-Harris (later Massey-Ferguson) and Saxone Shoes. We can only hope then that some of the bright young students that will pass through the doors of this most impressive looking new college will go on to develop ideas, products and businesses that will in time become equally famous and provide employment for local people because overall it has to be said my hometown needs to find a new direction. Incidentally, the old Kilmarnock College campus on Holehouse Road, which was the predecessor if you like to the huge new Ayrshire college is still there although I'm not sure what the long-term plans are for that particular site.

For this week's Sunday Challenge , for which we had to use the online random point generator to generate (not surprisingly) a random point that we then had to visit and photograph. Sounds easy, but if you live in a rural location more often than not the random points were in the middle of nowhere and barely accessible. So, I reduced the parameters somewhat so as to hopefully get some points in town that I could get to easily and eventually it sent me to Friarage Street in Northallerton, which is where they are currently building a new Marks & Spencer food store. The shot I've posted was taken from the corner of the building site looking up at one of the gable ends where they've rather interestingly left many of the bricks protruding out. At first glance I thought they were all sticking out an equal distance, but on closer inspection (although perhaps not evident from this shot) I found that the amount they stick out decreases as you get nearer the apex of the building. I'll bet that was a fun job for someone and I can't help but wonder if they were left asking ... what's the point of that then? By the way, I've added a screen shot of this random point from Google into the Notes. Interestingly nearly all of those buildings have been demolished, including the bungalow (top centre) to facilitate the construction of this new store.

For this week's Sunday Challenge with the theme of doors . This is the entrance to St Michael & All Angels, which is located at North Otterington on the outskirts of Northallerton. Quite a pretty church, but spoiled a little by the way large areas of the surrounding cemetery are sectioned off with chicken wire fencing. Not sure if that's because of a fear of gravestones falling over say onto a child, which I know has become a health and safety issue at many old churches, or if there's some other reason. Sadly though, like many rural churches in this country it was closed and so I couldn't get in for a good look around. Follow the link below if you want to read a little bit more about this particular church: www.visitoruk.com/Northallerton/north-otterington-C592-V15639.html

One of several shots I took around lunchtime, but never used, for The Sunday Challenge when the theme was middle of the day . This is a section of the roof on the Halfords store in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, which I thought was rather appealing against the cloudless sky. www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UWRypqz5-o