tarboat's photos

This blast furnace stopped production in 1990 and production here is now based around a new electric furnace completed in 2004. The Mittal group purchased the main part of the steelworks in 2005 and is now investing 100 million Euro in renovations and restarting iron production.

Seen on the door of a bank in Zenica. I would have thought that taking a gun into any business premises might be an obvious problem. Is that a potential bandit reflected in the glass?

The Kostolac 'A' power station is operated by Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) and comprises two units built in 1967 and 1980 with a capacity of 100 Mw and 125 MW respectively. The nearby Danube River supplies cooling water.

Ok, so I had a play with this one in Photoshop. I went on search of 18th century colliery remains yesterday afternoon and whilst stood in a field in Adlington this tree was crying out to be photographed. When I got the thing on screen the image looked dull and uninteresting so it became a candidate for some serious tinkering. It may not be as 'in real life' but I quite like the result as it is close to what I had in mind when I first saw the tree.

Having photographed this train further down the valley shortly after it had left Jinpeng we pursued it in a minibus to try to get a shot from the hillside above the Brickworks Viaduct at Er Di. However, one of our party managed to leave his camera bag at lineside and by the time it was retrieved we were very pushed for time to make the next shot. Then we found ourselves behind a slow motorbike on the bumpy track to the viaduct, and all the time I could see the train getting nearer. We finally shot through underneath the line as the train reached the viaduct and I had just time to jump out of the bus and press the shutter. I am now really glad that I didn't have time to climb the hill as this is one of my favourite shots from the Jinpeng Pass.

I wasn't very happy with my previous photograph of the Poynton gasholder so I went out this afternoon to try to find a better angle. The site is surrounded by trees and has the steel fence of the more recent reservoir to one side. Eventually I chose a three shot stitch which captures the feel of the structure. When the Poynton Collieries closed in August 1935 the gasworks passed to Stockport Corporation which quickly closed it down, having laid pipes from Hazel Grove to connect to their own supply. The 1877 gasholder was dismantled and moved to Hilltop Farm at Higher Poynton where it was re-erected for use as a reservoir supplying water to the local area. It is still there today although no longer in use. The writing in the casting (far left centre) reads: 'ERECTED BY NEWTON CHAMBERS & CO THORNCLIFFE IRONWORKS SHEFFIELD 1877'

Zenica steelworks with a class 62 steam locomotive waiting at the crossing with the roadway to the Zenica colliery locomotive depot. A telephoto shot and a long exposure that worked out better than it deserved to be. Needs to be viewed large.

Although the entrance to the Dane Thorn Colliery has collapsed, it proved possible to gain enough access for a photograph into the adit which appears to be partly flooded. The view looking from the entrance of this remote colliery can be seen here . Farey lists this mine as working in 1811. In 1864 it was disused but by 1880 it had reopened and was being worked by worked by W. and H. Hand who also operated the nearby Robinsclough Mine. The later operations may well have used a different entrance and the colliery appears to have closed again by 1900.

Having only just posted an image of a sparrowhawk on my lawn it was a bit of a coincidence when tarboat junior told me this morning that there was another one sat on the garden fence. This time the light was better and I was able to take several shots through the kitchen window. A fine bird indeed!

Autumn is already creeping into the mountains around the Jinpeng section of the Jitong Railway and the threshing of the harvest is well underway. A pair of QJs head a heavy freight across the main road at San Di and onto the long looping climb towards Shangdian.

Male Brown Hawker ( Aeshna grandis ) flying over marlpits at Tiverton near Tarporley. Winged death if you are a small insect in its sights. Even at 1/640 the wingbeats were faster than the camera.

Mrs Tarboat summoned me to the kitchen window one evening to see the drama unfolding on our lawn. A Sparrowhawk had dropped in for supper. One of our local collared doves did not make it .................... There wasn't much left afterwards. When I was young we never ever saw Sparrowhawks but now they appear to be fairly common. Certainly this isn't the first time that we have watched the local bird population being reduced in this way. The previous occasion a bluetit provided a light snack for a Sparrowhawk that then spent an hour dozing in the hollybush under the kitchen window.

Two limekilns and hydrating plant just to the right of centre of this view of the Lhoist Hindlow Quarry processing buildings.

A memory of summer. Male Common Blue butterfly (Polyommatus icarus) on wasteland close to a Nottinghamshire colliery.

Whilst wandering the mean streets of Glossop this yellow bus caught my eye as it set off on the school run for Speedwellbus Ltd of Hyde. Thanks to my good friend Renown I now know that it is a Dennis Dominator with East Lancs bodywork. Further research reveals that it was delivered new to London & Country in May 1989 and subsequently went to Thamesdown Transport (Swindon Corporation) before migrating north.

When the Poynton Collieries closed in August 1935 the gasworks passed to Stockport Corporation which quickly closed it down, having laid pipes from Hazel Grove to connect to their own supply. The 1877 gasholder was dismantled and moved to Hilltop Farm at Higher Poynton where it was re-erected for use as a reservoir supplying water to the local area. It is still there today although no longer in use. The writing in the casting reads: 'ERECTED BY NEWTON CHAMBERS & CO THORNCLIFFE IRONWORKS SHEFFIELD 1877'

Most of Fairclough's Mill alongside the Mersey in Warrington has been demolished but this grain silo remains as it carries a range of telecommunications aerials and transmitters. The 'Pink Eye' mural is the work of local artist Anthony Turk, but only after a long battle with the local planning authorities who claimed it would distract drivers. Access is via the Littons Mill level crossing seen at lower left.

This was supposed to be the last day of regular steam working on the line through the gorge between Yaojie and Haishiwan and the train ran later than expected. It was going dark, it was smoggy, it was foggy, but the result was worth waiting for.