Funny Stuff

Barrowford is a large village and civil parish situated in the Pendle district of Lancashire, North-West England, situated to the North of Nelson and part of the Nelson conurbation. At the time of the 2001 census it had a population of 6,039. Barrowford is situated on the Marsden–Long Preston Turnpike (the town of Nelson was called Marsden before the battle of Trafalgar in 1805....... it was re-named in honour of the admiral). One of the original toll houses dating from 1804–05 can still be seen at the junction with the road to Colne, complete with a table of the tolls which were paid. The toll house was restored in the 1980s and is owned by the Trust which operates nearby Pendle Heritage Centre. For those viewers too young to remember pre-decimal British currency, the "s" in the list of prices stands for Shilling (5p in today's money) and the "d" stands for Pence or Penny (a penny was 1/12th of a shilling).

Photographed outside a building-site (now a car park) in Barrowford, North-West England. The sign was on the outside of the site, on the public pavement (sidewalk). I think it was intended as a warning to the people working inside, not pedestrians on the outside. It doesn't seem to make much sense otherwise, as none of the construction work was anywhere near the fence and "walking by" is the only thing you can do here. Camera: Sony RX100. Processed with Nikon Capture NX2.

Photographed in the public park at Barrowford, North-West England. The sign was located on a fence at ground-level.....maybe whoever put it there believes dogs can read :-) Camera Sony RX100. Processed with Nikon Capture NX2.

Photographed near the top of a long steep hill which leads down to the village of Spen Brook in Pendle district, North-West England. The shadows made by the signs, a row of crosses, reminded me of a cemetery......the place where anyone who ignores the warnings may soon be going !! Photographed with a Sony RX100 camera and processed with Nikon Capture NX2.

A misleading, funny and probably "politically incorrect" sign seen outside a caravan park (USA=Trailer park) in the village of Roughlee in Pendle district, Lancashire, in the North-West of England. Photographed with a Sony RX100 camera and processed with Nikon Capture NX2.

Photographed in a garden in Colne, Lancashire, using a Sony RX100 compact camera. Processed with Nikon Capture NX2.

Photographed near Burnley in Lancashire, North-West England using a Sony RX100 compact camera. Processed with Nikon Capture NX2 software.

A miniature Shetland pony photographed on a small farm near Burnley, Lancashire, in the North-West of England. These animals are not much bigger than a large dog such as an Alsatian / German shepherd.....the fence here, for comparison, was only about 4 feet high (1.2 metres). Photographed with a Sony RX100 compact camera and processed with Nikon Capture NX2 software.

Another view (see previous photo) of a miniature Shetland pony photographed on a small farm near Burnley, Lancashire, in the North-West of England. These animals are not much bigger than a large dog such as an Alsatian (A.K.A. "German shepherd"). Photographed with a Sony RX100 compact camera and processed with Nikon Capture NX2 software.

Seen on a road in Barrowford, Pendle district, in the North-West of England. This sign was next to (but not around) a large hole in the pavement ("sidewalk" for U.S. /Australian viewers).......apparently United Utilities (water suppliers) don't like to work at the weekend (photographed on a Sunday) !!. Photographed with a Sony RX100 compact camera and processed with Nikon Capture NX2 software.

A former tug-boat on the Leeds-Liverpool canal at Skipton, Yorkshire, in the North-West of England. This boat is now used to supply "essentials" (tea, coffee and ice cream in Summer) to tourists and canal-boat users. Photographed with a Sony RX100 compact camera and processed with Nikon Capture NX2 software.

Photographed "on a lonely country road" (cue spooky music) near the town of Burnley, North-West England, with a Sony RX100 compact camera. Processed with Nikon Capture NX2.

A close-up test shot with my new lens photographed in a field next to the cemetery in Barrowford, Lancashire. The lens (hood) wouldn't fit through the fence and the horse wouldn't keep still but I think the result is probably better than the way I had originally intended. Title from the film "Casablanca". Camera Nikon D300s. Lens Nikkor 17-55mm f2.8 DX.

Another test shot, taken with a 500mm catadioptric lens (A.K.A. "mirror lens", "Reflex lens" or "Cat. lens") which uses mirrors instead of glass. These lenses are much smaller and lighter than the equivalent "normal" lens and they also cost a fraction of the price. They have a fixed aperture which is usually f8.0 (although the one used in this example is f6.3) and they have to be focussed manually. They provide a high magnification at a low(ish) price.... (Approx. £150-£200 / $233-$311) but they can be difficult to use without a tripod or other support, especially in poor lighting conditions. The resolution is not as good as the equivalent "normal" lens but they are much more convenient and will usually fit in a jacket pocket. This photo is not a great example of what these lenses can do as it was taken hand-held in dull weather conditions with the sensitivity turned up to ISO 400 to allow a faster shutter speed. In good lighting conditions, however, the results should be much better (see video below). These lenses do not record most of the EXIF information (details below). Camera: Nikon D300s Lens: Samyang 500mm f6.3 catadioptric "mirror" lens. ISO 400 Shutter speed 1/320 sec. More information about these lenses & video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rRT6-aL6DM

A young swan (Cygnet) photographed on the Leeds-Liverpool canal at Brierfield in the North-West of England. I recently sold some of my auto-focus lenses and replaced them with manual-focus "prime" lenses.....this photograph was taken with one of them, a Samyang 135mm f2.0 lens. All current Samyang lenses are manual focus and they produce excellent results for a fraction of the price of an equivalent "branded" lens. Camera: Nikon D300s Lens: Samyang 135mm f2.0 Processing: Nikon Capture NX2.

Photographed on farmland near Burnley, North-West England. This was taken with an "ultra-wide" Samyang 10mm manual-focus lens from a distance of about 1 foot.....the horse appears to be smiling although he / she was actually trying to eat the camera. Camera: Nikon D300s Lens: Samyang 10mm f2.8 Processed with Nikon Capture NX2

Photographed near the village of Laneshawbridge in Pendle district, North-West England, on the Lancashire / Yorkshire border. There was a large flock of these unusual black (actually very dark Brown) sheep and this young one came up close to see what we were doing. As soon as it realized we weren't about to feed it he / she lost interest and ran off. Camera: Nikon D300s Lens: Nikkor 17-55mm f2.8 Processed with Nikon Capture NX2.

A wooden sculpture of a witch and her cauldron photographed at the entrance to the children's "Witches activity trail" in Victoria park between Barrowford and Nelson in the North-West of England. Camera Nikon D300s with a AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens. Processed with Nikon Capture NX2.