Eric Morecambe, Morecambe Bay, Lancashire

Unveiled by the Queen in 1999, the slightly larger than life-sized statue depicts Eric Morecambe in one of his characteristic poses with a pair of binoculars around his neck (he was a keen ornithologist). The statue is set against the stunning backdrop of Morecambe Bay and the Lake District hills, and people queue to have their photo taken alongside it. The statue and the arena below it are equally sensational at night, with superb lighting effects bathing the area. [Source]
Photograph Details: 
Nikon D7000
Focal length 18mm
ISO-100
exp: 1/6
f22

The Windmill, Parbold, Lancashire

On a trip back "Oop Norf" to see my family (and baby niece for the first time) I stopped off on the way back to my parents' house from my brother's to snap this shot. With no tripod, memory cards or camera charger the photography on the trip was rather underwhelming which was such a massive shame. 


The windmill sits on the Leeds-Liverpool canal, the longest canal in Northern England at 127 miles long, and it took 46 years to build (almost twice as long as I've been alive for) and at a cost of 5x the original budget! The idea for it was first proposed in 1765. The Canal Act passed in 1770 was for a route from Liverpool to Leeds via Parbold, Walton-le-Dale (just south of Preston), Colne and Skipton, with a branch from Burscough towards the River Ribble, a branch from Parbold to Wigan, a great aqueduct at Whalley and a branch from Shipley to Bradford. [Source]


I took this one with the camera propped on the door window sill of the car


Photograph Details: 
Nikon D7000
Focal length 18mm
ISO-100
exp: 25 sec
f3.5

Sizergh Castle & Gardens

This imposing house, at the gateway to the Lake District, stands proud in a rich and beautiful garden, which includes a pond, lake, National Collection of Hardy Ferns and a superb limestone rock garden. Still lived in by the Strickland family, Sizergh has many tales to tell and certainly feels lived in, with centuries-old portraits and fine furniture sitting alongside modern family photographs. The exceptional wood panelling culminates in the Inlaid Chamber, returned here in 1999 from the Victoria & Albert Museum. The 647-hectare (1,600-acre) estate includes limestone pasture, orchards and ancient, semi-natural woodland. [Source]

The house itself is actually quite impressive, as are the gardens... However, the stewards in each room are very annoying! A mobile phone went off briefly in one room and the woman seemed to get rather upset about it, so much so as to go in to the next room and moan at the people in there too! It was also VERY dark in some of the rooms, for many reasons, none of which I'm going to tell you about. They did say however that they were waiting for a lamp to be brought up, presumibly so they can turn another one off as the woman (Mrs Mobile) said that they weren't allowed the light levels to be any higher than they already were - for many reasons, none of which I'm going to tell you about either. Worth a visit? Yes, but you can't go until next year anyway now (yesterday was the last day the house was open for 2011), and bear in mind the fact that the stewards are just plain irritating...

Photograph Details:
Nikon D7000
Focal length 24mm
ISO-400
exp: 1/125
f9

Diwali - Festival Of Lights

Today is the start of the Festival of Lights (know as Diwali, Deepawali or Devali). This is an important festival in Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism, celebrated for different reasons, occurring between mid-October and mid-November and is lasts for five days. For Hindus, Diwali is one of the most important festivals of the year and is celebrated in families by performing traditional activities together in their homes. For Jains, Diwali marks the attainment of moksha or nirvana by Mahavira in 527 BC. For Sikhs, Diwali is celebrated as Bandhi Chhor Diwas (The Celebration of Freedom), and celebrates the release from prison of the sixth guru, Guru Hargobind, who also rescued 52 Hindu kings held captive by Mughal Emperor with him in the Gwalior Fort in 1619.

Deepavali is an official holiday in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Suriname, Malaysia, Singapore, and Fiji.

The name "Diwali" is a contraction of "Deepavali" (Sanskrit: दीपावली Dīpāvalī), which translates into "row of lamps". Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps (diyas or dīpas) in Sanskrit: दीप) filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. During Diwali, all the celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and friends.

Diwali commemorates the return of Lord Rama, along with Sita and Lakshmana, from his 14-year-long exile and vanquishing the demon-king Ravana. In joyous celebration of the return of their king, the people of Ayodhya, the Capital of Rama, illuminated the kingdom with earthen diyas and by bursting firecrackers.

The festival starts with Dhanteras on which most Indian business communities begin their financial year. The second day of the festival, Naraka Chaturdasi, marks the vanquishing of the demon Naraka by Lord Krishna and his wife Satyabhama.Amavasya, the third day of Deepawali, marks the worship of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth in her most benevolent mood, fulfilling the wishes of her devotees. Amavasya also tells the story of Lord Vishnu, who in his dwarf incarnation vanquished the Bali, and banished him to Patala. It is on the fourth day of Deepawali, Kartika Shudda Padyami, that Bali went to patala and took the reins of his new kingdom in there. The fifth day is referred to as Yama Dvitiya (also called Bhai Dooj), and on this day sisters invite their brothers to their homes.

Besides Hindus, Sikhs and Jains also celebrate Diwali.

Evening Lights

Here is a photo I got with my new Nikon D7000 the other night when I was messing about with the white balance settings. Just for the sake of it I popped it into Photoshop and ran the auto colour correction but I was disappointed with the results - they came out fairly boring - so I decided to keep and post this one, it's much more dramatic.

Photograph Details:

• Nikon D7000
• focal length 18mm
• ISO-100
• exp: 1/10
• f3.5