A Frozen Fenland Dike: Cambridgeshire, UK.

Graham Smith Loc: Cambridgeshire UK

Cambridgeshire, UK.

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pfrancke Loc: cold Maine

your images seem timeless to me Graham, really nice B/W, I can easily imagine WW2 soldiers trudging across (not that they were there, but that is the feeling the image puts me in).

Graham Smith Loc: Cambridgeshire UK

pfrancke wrote:

your images seem timeless to me Graham, really nice B/W, I can easily imagine WW2 soldiers trudging across (not that they were there, but that is the feeling the image puts me in).

There is no doubt that both British and American troops trained in the area. There were also many RAF and USAF bases in Cambridgeshire... only a couple of USAF bases left now, Mildenhall which is closing and Lakenheath which is still very active.

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Graham Smith wrote:

Cambridgeshire, UK.

I agreed with Piet before I read what he said. The image has an "old" feel to it, moody and somber for reasons that do not exist in the image, so we wonder what is in it that makes us feel this way. It is an image from the 40s with all that goes along with the era.

There is an excellent article in Luminous Landscape today about a concept the author calls Trame, or the story that takes place outside the frame, the fabric into which the image is woven. This image is an example of that concept. It's worth a read if you're a LULA member, or if you know how to sneak into their site

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

Graham Smith wrote:

Cambridgeshire, UK.

To my eye this photo has the feel of medium format film. I love all the great detail and the square format. I like this very much.
Erich

Graham Smith Loc: Cambridgeshire UK

minniev wrote:

I agreed with Piet before I read what he said. The... (show quote)

Excellent article Minnie, thank you for directing me to it. When look at a picture I always see it as a window, it is restricting my view. Only your mind can free you from that restriction by allowing your imagination to explore beyond the window frame.

The Fens were a "dark" inaccessible area. A few hardy independent folk eked some sort of existence there from peat digging, wild fowling, reed cutting for thatch and eel catching. Eels were an important commodity back then. Taxes were paid to the Bishop of Ely in eels. Right minded people avoided the Fens like the plague.

A quick read about the Fens.
http://www.britainexpress.com/counties/cambridgeshire/fens.htm

Graham Smith Loc: Cambridgeshire UK

ebrunner wrote:

To my eye this photo has the feel of medium format film. I love all the great detail and the square format. I like this very much.
Erich

Thank you Erich, people are always saying that digital B&W will never equal film. That may well be the case but it can come pretty damn close.
These "people" should remember that digital is a different medium to film, just as watercolour is different to oils. No one argues as to which of those is better

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

Graham Smith wrote:

Thank you Erich, people are always saying that digital B&W will never equal film. That may well be the case but it can come pretty damn close.
These "people" should remember that digital is a different medium to film, just as watercolour is different to oils. No one argues as to which of those is better

I recently got back into shooting film. So far I scan the negatives and still work on them on the computer. That sort of blurs the line between film and digital. Still, I like the medium and I like the cameras. Maybe, if all sanity leaves me, I'll build a darkroom this spring. We shall see.

Graham Smith Loc: Cambridgeshire UK

ebrunner wrote:

I recently got back into shooting film. So far I scan the negatives and still work on them on the computer. That sort of blurs the line between film and digital. Still, I like the medium and I like the cameras. Maybe, if all sanity leaves me, I'll build a darkroom this spring. We shall see.

Blurs the line? It obliterates it

I would love to go back to film but space and time preclude that