DAVID.MILBURN: DAM TO DECKING Gaining impetus for a Photographic Project can spring from a general interest in maps and a cuppa as writer David Milburn explains. In some respects looking for faces in trees mirrors map reading, as a whole host of professions can bear testament to. Pools of contours pinpoint cliffs, hills and mountains whilst ribbons and swathes of blue demark becks, brooks, canals, lakes, lochs, oceans, ponds, reservoirs, rivers and even the open sea alike. Quite a list for folk to key into ! Cartography refers to the art, technique or practice of compiling or drawing maps or charts either above or below ground, with astrology extending this valuable application further into the ether. Cartography pioneering groups include the South Pacific Islanders, American Indians and ancient Assyrians. Learned minds such as Ptomely and Gerardus Mercator further refined a valuable orienteering tool with their mathematical precision. As a writer, pawing over maps and their symbols brings my brain into soft focus, helped no doubt by a hot cup of tea. Leafing through the Yorkshire Dales and Darlington pages of an AA Supreme Scale Atlas of Great Britain, my eyes were drawn to a crumb like blob of calming blue denoting Cod Beck Reservoir to the east of Mount Grace Priory and the well trodden Cleveland Way. The nub of scoping out templated map symbols is that new horizons invariably beckon for camera and notebook. My curiosity in the freshwater element of our nations brew had been awakened by a WRVS Charity initiative: the Great Brew Break. With our fair Isle using a staggering eleven million gallons of water daily to make one hundred and sixty six million cups of tea, I felt an added urge to explore Cod Beck Reservoir. On arrival at Cod Beck Reservoir one sunny afternoon in August, all my inner-net senses snapped into a harder focus after a short and serene walk through green canopied woodland affording access to the reservoir itself. The short ramble had allowed me to capture a bit of personal space from countless psychic noises, and underlines the findings of research scientists like Dr. Valerie Gladwell. Walking raises the heart rate, yet is scientifically proven to keep stress levels in check and provide a good foundation for inner tranquillity. Woodland in my mind?s eye gives the added bonus of a third lung to walkers on the march ! Emerging from the woodland, I felt more purpose with every stride as I looked for an incisive view of the reservoir. Cod Beck Reservoir lies adjacent to the North Yorkshire Moors National Park in the vicinity of Osmotherley. The reservoir was completed in 1953 and boasts a Dam height of 81.7 feet. Water flows into the reservoir from Cod Beck River, with a maximum retention capacity of 115 million gallons. A multitude of image possibilities flashed before my eyes, perhaps mirroring the intuitive observations of a Jungian analyst, named Dr. Max Zeller. He opines ? Images happen to us. They make up the tapestry of our inner life, surround us as our inner world, and silently talk to us in their picture language, the language of the unknown background. They express another reality, another dimension that cannot be approached according to the laws that are valid in the outside world. The unconscious calls us with it?s images, and thereby reveals the forces at work in the psyche.? My own artistic intuition recognises that there is no right or wrong approach to take, whatever medium is chosen for self-expression. Sometimes it is just a pleasure to seek out new experiences and soak up UVA and UVB rays. Fuji Velvia feels exactly the same! Keeping the reservoir to my right, I soon stumbled across an eroded curved section of grassland at the water?s edge. Grass in the Summer months awakens the five sensory channels of sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. What a privelege to be a photographer and a walker in such an environment. After unpacking my Nikon F50 and Sigma 70 - 210 mm lens, I secured them to my Manfrotto tripod to ensure a pin sharp image at lengthy shutter speeds. My preferred upright viewpoint makes the most of the geological forces at work in the foreground, with the watery expanse and surrounding landscape perhaps playing second fiddle. Once content with this viewpoint, I lengthened my stride and set my target on one more upright image at the dam wall head of the reservoir. According to the University of Action Learning in Boulder, Colorado in America, disciplined learning requires programmed knowledge and questioning insight. Ordinarily, a horizontal or landscape oriented image brings out the serene quality of Water. However, structure does underline a themed project, and I felt comfortable using my Nikon and a wide angle perspective of 24mm in an upright position. The textures in the foreground cement raced along the length of the viewfinder, before revealing the Pump House, farm land and a pleasingly saturated blue sky. Several exposures were made using the self timer on my tripod, before I returned to the four wheeled way of life on Teesside. Following on from my Cod Beck Reservoir visit, I set about researching Lockwood Beck with a view to composing one restful image in keeping with the fishing mindset. Lockwood Beck Reservoir has attracted generations of anglers to it?s idyllic 60 acre site, complete with conifers to the west. North Yorkshire is proud to feature a Trout Lake, which came into existence in 1876 during the 63 years and 216 day rein of Queen Victoria. The angling facility can be found adjacent to the A171 North Yorkshire Moors road, en route to Scaling Dam and Whitby. A freshwater kinship offered me an intriguing excuse to follow in the footsteps of the diggers and picks striking the soil, sub-soil and parent rock under the stewardship of a nineteenth century foreman. With a chill in the air during a dark November morning, I set off from Teesside towards Lockwood Beck Reservoir, looking to shape a Sunrise picture to enhance the Dam to Decking concept. On arrival at my location, I was greeted with an early winter stillness, but nonetheless felt an eagerness to palm my Pentax 6 x 7 medium format camera, 45mm. Lens and Manfrotto Tripod in pursuit of a wooden decking style editorial photograph. Water fizzes and shimmers under the glare of the summer sun, whilst winter somehow injects the elixir of life with a calm serenity. Despite this, a journey to freshwater locations before, during and just after sunrise can empower artistic enterprise. With light levels swiftly increasing, I seated my tripod, camera and lens on the jetty's wooden decking. Keeping the composition simple, I framed the viewfinder to position the jetty towards the centre of the image. The foreground tethered rowing boats carry the viewer?s eye to the calm water and dawn sky beyond. Using a 0.9 Neutral Density Graduated Grey Filter balanced the exposure for jetty, rowing boats, water and sky. A cable release and mirror up setting were used to avoid camera shake during the fifteen second exposure. The shutter clicked, bringing the Dam to Decking narrative to the keyboard. Standing on that jetty, one simple thought floated into my mind: Artists, Cartographers and Engineers head up an endless list of folk who know that the simple life rings true: Enjoy Life, Enjoy Water and most definitely enjoy a brew. |
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