Oliver Wood Photography

Pictures & musings from Cheshire

Remains – Ford House

ford house remains
Remains

The remains of the old Ford House in Prestbury, Cheshire. I liked the shapes, texture and tonality in this image and I think there is always something quite intriguing about the exposure of the interior of old buildings in this way. Ford House has since been replaced by a three story block of a flats that authentically recreates the architectural style of the original. Sadly, old Ford House succumbed to several years of neglect and was ultimately declared to be unsafe.

More about Ford House Pictorial Chronology | Historic View

  • Aperture: ƒ/4.5
  • Taken: 13 April, 2016
  • Focal length: 70mm
  • ISO: 100
  • Shutter speed: 1/125s

Walking to Mottram Hall

Bollin Bridge
Bollin Bridge

A very old and narrow footbridge across the river Bollin near Mottram Hall. This is an obscure footpath that runs from Prestbury to the bottom of the golf course at Mottram Hall hotel. It is a path that I have rarely used until recently as it is a nice avoiding route for that last bit of hill on the Axxx when heading back to the village on the very last leg of the return from a long bike ride out west.

I like the geometric and perspective effect in the wide shot and the tonal quality of the wood, earth and winter leaves. Both of the images have been blended with a paper texture layer.

  • Aperture: ƒ/4
  • Taken: 9 January, 2019
  • Focal length: 10mm
  • ISO: 200
  • Shutter speed: 1/125s
Bollin Crossing
Bollin Crossing

A high angle view of the bridge looking in the direction of home – or rather home is a ninety degree turn to the right as indicated by the sign. Red and yellow levels have been pushed up in the conversion to create a look that is a little reminiscent of infrared film.

  • Aperture: ƒ/4
  • Taken: 9 January, 2019
  • Focal length: 10mm
  • ISO: 200
  • Shutter speed: 1/125s

Prestbury New Road

New Road
New Road

A new view of New Road in Prestbury Village, Cheshire. The new view has been made possible by the removal of trees and shrubs in the garden of the Bridge Hotel and it is a vista that I have not seen for more than twenty years. The picture was shot with a 50mm lens on 1.5x crop frame camera so equivalent to a 70mm focal length, the composition is a little cropped at the bottom but you can just about make out the stone bridge taking New Road over the Bollin.

Interesting to note that all of the buildings in this view pre-date the road as the original main street through the village runs along what is now the rear of these buildings where it then made a ford crossing of the river before winding sharply left past the farm that is now the Bridge Hotel and up through the old centre of the village.

  • Aperture: ƒ/8
  • Taken: 17 January, 2019
  • Focal length: 50mm
  • ISO: 100
  • Shutter speed: 1/250s

Bollin Winter | Prestbury

Bollin Valley
Bollin Valley

Winter scenes in the Bollin valley near Prestbury Village, Cheshire taken during the very cold winter of 2008/9. A seasonal mood for the festivities and my ‘virtual Christmas card’ for social media this year. I don’t think we will be getting anything like this now as the weather forecasts for the remainder of December seem to show double figure temperatures into early January!

The picture above has been treated with HDR, orton laying and texture layers.

2018 has not been a particularly productive year for me with only one big (cycling) outing early in the year so I hope 2019 will be much more active. I intend to do a lot more work around Castleton and the Peaks.

  • Aperture: ƒ/16
  • Taken: 6 January, 2009
  • Exposure bias: -4/6EV
  • Focal length: 10mm
  • ISO: 200
  • Shutter speed: 1/100s

Another picture from the same session with an even more intense orton treatment. This has been published in several places already but I decided to have a go at re-editing it and trying to rectify many contrast problems in the original with texture applications. Any allusion to watercolour painting is totally accidental.

Bollin Bridge
Bollin Bridge

Winter in The Bollin

Ice Bokeh
Ice Bokeh

Winter, cold, icy conditions in the Bollin Valley, Prestbury, Cheshire. A study in shape, bokeh and texture with some abstract elements. These images from 2013 have grown on me over the years and I (now) like the degraded (grainy) and overly abstracted backgrounds in these.

  • Aperture: ƒ/1.7
  • Taken: 21 January, 2013
  • Focal length: 50mm
  • ISO: 100
  • Shutter speed: 1/4000s
winter bollin
Frost Head
ice trees
Frost Trees
Ice Head
Frost Head

Prestbury Pendolino

London train at Prestbury
London train at Prestbury

London bound ‘business is great’ pendolino speeding through Prestbury, Cheshire. These trains have been the mainstay of the Manchester to London, Euston service for more than ten years now. I wish I had the foresight to take pictures here when I first arrived in the area because the line was still being ‘worked’ by what is now considered to be classic or heritage traction including first generation diesel and electric locomotives and 125 HSTs.

  • Aperture: ƒ/8
  • Taken: 19 April, 2018
  • Focal length: 50mm
  • ISO: 100
  • Shutter speed: 1/500s
Pendolino
Pendolino
  • Aperture: ƒ/16
  • Taken: 19 April, 2018
  • Focal length: 50mm
  • ISO: 100
  • Shutter speed: 1/30s

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