Photography

[sam]

Thanks Dave - I did do that but think my PC is a bit slow maybe. Try again......here is an old pic of mine from around 2009 of the Edwardian hothouse, Haulfre Gardens sadly dismantled now.

[DaveR]

That's it, Sam, you've mastered it. 

Shame about that greenhouse getting demolished, only a few years after it had been refurbished with Lottery money.

Keep the photos coming.

[sam]

Yay it worked! I have a few others somewhere but I'll have to sort through my old hard drive. When I was a kid I used to love watching my taid working in here. I remember the musty smells of soil and the pungent smell of the plants which thrived in the humid atmosphere. Unfortunately a glass greenhouse is a magnet for vandals and every time a pane was replaced another three would get smashed Eventually all the panes were removed and just the frame was left. I was gutted when they eventually dismantled the lot Another place I loved at Haulfre was the aviary. Taid used to feed the canaries and budgies but I did,t like going inside as the birds used to go crazy and fly around my head dropping feathers and **** everywhere. No pics of that sadly.

[sam]

The cast iron RSPA drinking trough, Haulfre Gardens, 2009. Gone now ...or is it? Maybe someone somewhere still has it but it was there in the 70's and 80's when I was a kid and still there until very recently.

[DaveR]

Here's a few photos of Haulfre Gardens I took back in 2005 - they all have something in common, they have all vanished in the last couple of years. The greenhouse, two shelters and the flowerbed planted out with bedding plants are all gone. 

[Merddin Emrys]

More of this overrated progress!  vandals win, something wrong somewhere!

[sam]

Thanks for posting those pics Dave I did a photography project in college a few years ago with the theme "Reality and Imagination" as the theme. I used Haulfre Gardens as the subject as I wanted to explore the concept of 'memory' and how we often have to 'imagine' some events or places that have been part of our lives in the past as there may be no records to refer to - often with the result that we get things confused or muddled with other memories, especially as time goes on. It's often the little 'unimportant' things such as the colour of a door, the pattern of the floor tiles on the doorstep or the location of an old shelter that may be forgotten - things that to most may mean nothing. At the time it seems irrelevant but for sentimental beings such as myself, these things become more relevant and poignant as time goes by. Photography is such an important way to record our memories and makes the past more tangible, recording information that may otherwise be lost forever- giving us and future generations a glimpse of the 'reality' of the past rather than a few half forgotten memories. 

[sam]

Few from this spring so far....

[sam]

Exploring an abandoned hospital might not be everyone's idea of a pleasant Sunday afternoon jaunt, but it does make for some interesting photos:

Actually sounds like a great way to spend an afternoon.....not sure I would stay the night though! 
Found this website.....

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/most-incredible-abandoned-mental-asylums/19808

Denbigh hospital is featured amongst others.

[Ian]

Some nice shots there, Sam.  D'you use any form of post-processing?

[DaveR]

Thanks for posting those pics Dave I did a photography project in college a few years ago with the theme "Reality and Imagination" as the theme. I used Haulfre Gardens as the subject as I wanted to explore the concept of 'memory' and how we often have to 'imagine' some events or places that have been part of our lives in the past as there may be no records to refer to - often with the result that we get things confused or muddled with other memories, especially as time goes on. It's often the little 'unimportant' things such as the colour of a door, the pattern of the floor tiles on the doorstep or the location of an old shelter that may be forgotten - things that to most may mean nothing. At the time it seems irrelevant but for sentimental beings such as myself, these things become more relevant and poignant as time goes by. Photography is such an important way to record our memories and makes the past more tangible, recording information that may otherwise be lost forever- giving us and future generations a glimpse of the 'reality' of the past rather than a few half forgotten memories. 

That's very true, and it's why I spend some of my time photographing such things. Many photographers just focus on taking the same old shots of the same old locations, I like to capture all those little things that tend to go unnoticed as it may be the only time they are captured for posterity.

[DaveR]

Exploring an abandoned hospital might not be everyone's idea of a pleasant Sunday afternoon jaunt, but it does make for some interesting photos:

Actually sounds like a great way to spend an afternoon.....not sure I would stay the night though! 
Found this website.....

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/most-incredible-abandoned-mental-asylums/19808

Denbigh hospital is featured amongst others.

Well, me neither! I think the place I was most apprehensive about exploring was the former Red Gables Hotel in Penmaenmawr, scene of the notorious 1976 mass murder. I went round on my own and I did feel very slightly nervous.  I like exploring old buildings because it combines interests in history, architecture, photography and exploration.


Red Gables Hotel by [davidrobertsphotography], on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davellandudno/sets/72157632454690598/with/8354694430/

[sam]

Some nice shots there, Sam.  D'you use any form of post-processing?

Oh thanks! Um sometimes I do use Photoshop to adjust the brightness and contrast, crop or desaturate the colour to black and white or in the case of the third photo of Bryniau Farm / Grannys Armchair I think did something with the exposure to bring out the clouds. I only have a little Samsung Digimax A7 which I've had for about 6 years now so there are limitations to what I can do - in the main I do tend to use the manual setting and hardly ever use Auto unless I really don't want to miss an important shot. I prefer to use the natural light available and capture what I see entailing minimal editing / processing but saying that I could use Photoshop all day long when I'm looking to create something more artistic - to be fair it is an amazing tool for any visual artist - I love it. Did do some processing years ago in the darkroom in college which I really enjoyed and got a couple of great photos but I've not done anything since. Would love a better camera  especially for those wide angle shots and a decent zoom lens and and .... 

I like exploring old buildings because it combines interests in history, architecture, photography and exploration.

Dave have you ever exhibited your work ? If not you really should...you're stuff is visually beautiful, poignant and well really fantastic (gush, gush but it blummin well is ) but also an important and interesting record of local history etc. Also have you ever made a book ..I'm guessing you already know about this :
  http://www.blurb.com/ 
It seems quite straightforward and at a reasonable cost and you can also find out about publishing your own book....maybe a Three Towns Book......

[DaveR]

Dave have you ever exhibited your work ? If not you really should...you're stuff is visually beautiful, poignant and well really fantastic (gush, gush but it blummin well is ) but also an important and interesting record of local history etc. Also have you ever made a book ..I'm guessing you already know about this :
  http://www.blurb.com/ 
It seems quite straightforward and at a reasonable cost and you can also find out about publishing your own book....maybe a Three Towns Book......

That's very kind of you to say so.  It's only a hobby really, although I do sell a steady stream of prints via Fester's website at www.llandudno-emporium.com and I've licenced images to quite a few organisations like Visit Wales etc. 

If anyone is interested, there are several thousand of my photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/davellandudno/

[DaveR]

Llandudno by Night:


Llandudno At Night by [davidrobertsphotography], on Flickr