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Hampton-in Arden


John Seaman

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This was shot some years ago in a quiet corner of the churchyard at Hampton-in-Arden, Warwickshire. The subject matter is commonplace, and I don't expect any prizes. But there was something about the scene which fascinated me, I'm still not sure what.

 

HamptonPN.thumb.jpg.5a7ffaeb89d0c739da9525e09ff6ba20.jpg

Edited by John Seaman
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This was shot some years ago in a quiet corner of the churchyard at Hampton-in-Arden, Warwickshire. The subject matter is commonplace, and I don't expect any prizes. But there was something about the scene which fascinated me, I'm still not sure what.

 

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It's redolant of that village hall look that is a centre in so many small communities. Run by volunteers so nature invades as maintenance is run on a shoestring. All the talks , meetings,bbqs, scouts, events that take place when the tables are down and the tea urn is brewing. Britain past and present. Thank you John. The colours are nice.

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Thanks for the comments Charles. I've been trying to force myself do do what I'm not very good at - analysing my reasons for liking (or disliking) a picture.

 

Further to your comments, yes, it is a quintessential village scene. Perhaps the very emptiness might give the viewer the opportunity to speculate what might happen here. At the church fete, the vicar's wife (or husband) serving tea and cakes at the green table, now with a freshly laundered tablecloth. The folding tables, neatly stacked in the church hall, now out and carrying the book and bric-a-brac stalls.

 

I also like the gentle similarities and differences between the two buildings, the glimpse through the hall window, and the gradual encroachment of nature.

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I agree with @charles_escott_new. The content of this single photo is - as you say - easy to dismiss as commonplace or ordinary.

 

In terms of composition, I like this perspective showing the shed's roof repeating (or 'echoing') the shape of the main building's roof. And the face that they're both wooden constructunions. Both give the composition a sense of harmony and cohesiveness. I also like the contrast between the the darker wood and lighter wood and the fact that the 'grain' of the boards run in opposite directions.

 

And it's a good illustration of community centers, clubhouses etc. that are not well-maintained and look slightly run down: leaves on the roof, green mold on the wall, a table that hasn't been taken apart and put in the shed, weeds, etc.

 

So there's a lot to see in the photo. As always, single photos often have even more impact as part of a series. This is true of this one too, I feel.

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It is strange that a photo taken years ago could stand as a perfect statement for these sad times. The echoes of talk and laughter of people now gone, the locked buildings, themselves impermanent. In a day they could be cleared away without a trace. Or do we always imbue old photos with our present concerns?

 

On a lighter note, as someone who has taught classes in church halls, I can smell those unchanged curtains and see the dust motes dance in the sunlight as you draw them.

 

Do you believe that human activity affects the atmosphere of buildings? What psychogeographers call the spirit of the place. I am unconvinced that it is no more than what we bring to the scene but many times during my teaching career I was last out of an empty school. I wish I had the skill to take a photograph that conveyed a little of the feeling of those dark classrooms which thousands had passed through. Charles.

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“I disagree with people who say there are no human beings in my photographs. My view is that they are always there, one way or another, but you don’t see them: they’re hidden and protected, or even present in a different time-scheme” - Gabriele Basilico.

 

“The place is the concrete manifestation of man’s dwelling, and his identity depends on his belonging to places” - Christian Norburg-Schulz, from Genius Loci

 

In other words, people make places, but places also make people.

Edited by John Seaman
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Old pictures of "commonplace" subjects are of great interest to social scientists and historians, because pictures of every-day things are so rarely photographed. This is precisely because familiarity breeds not so much contempt, as a tendency to not see the thing at all.

 

I just like that the image is what it is. I don't even think about trying to read symbolic aspects of it.

 

These are the "material conditions of everyday life", after all.

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Yes, it's the commonplace details, probably thought not to be worth recording, or even to be spoiling the shot, which are often more revealing than attempts to make significant or important images. Although I don't think Hampton-in-Arden is exactly a vandalism hotspot.

 

For example, an old slide of historic buildings in Lincoln, with buildings which are still much the same today. No doubt the unknown photographer was annoyed that the Moulton and Chopper bikes were in the way, but the fact that they were unlocked, and propped up against the kerb as was the habit in those days, reveals a lot about the changing times.

 

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What a great selection of bikes, the drop handlebars are particularly cool.

 

And the fact that there are no grips or handlebar tape on them for comfort or grip ! The brake levers seem in an unusual position as well - possibly the cables were too short to enable them to be mounted higher. And the newspapers in a rack outside the newsagents, obviously trusting people to pay. An image full of points of interest now, yet possibly commonplace when it was taken - and these days, might even be deleted from the card without a second thought.

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Absolutely Mr. Parsons, I love street photography that is about the street rather than a portfolio of strangers, so much detail. It was only on viewing this for the third time that I saw the customer in the coffee house looking out intently at the photographer. I imagine that bike being ridden at great pace and some risk down the cobbled street, Charles.
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I

I've got a bike called a Paris Roubaix Racer. Unfortunately its motive power department has seen better days,

I too have the same issue - by the time I've carried mine down the stairs to my flat, I'm as out of puff as if I'd ridden ten miles. It's even marginally heavier than my camera rucksack.

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This was shot some years ago in a quiet corner of the churchyard at Hampton-in-Arden, Warwickshire. The subject matter is commonplace, and I don't expect any prizes. But there was something about the scene which fascinated me, I'm still not sure what.

 

[ATTACH=full]1372343[/ATTACH]

 

 

This nice and says a lot without really saying anything. I too, like the textures and that you can see into & through the main hall. I agree too, that it feels as current as ever in this time of shut-downs amid the pandemic. The notion (and quote) of peoples' past occupation of a space is spot on. For the most part the color pallette is contiguous although that blue of the shed roof throws it off just a wee bit. All in all, this could have easily been shot this after noon. Even tho it's a photo from the past ti speaks volumes about "the now".

 

In reference to the 2nd photo, this too is nice. Having visited England a few times, the street scene reminds me of things I've seen and places I've been. Olde England with its small villages has a certain feel to it. Maybe "timeless" isn't the word I'm looking for but "lost in" or "frozen in" time might work. I love that there is so much there that's been there for so long. The timbered building that dominates this 2nd street photo totally represents all I love about the country, and this small scene captures small town England's general vibe really well.

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Thanks for the comments, yes the blue plastic sheeting or whatever does obtrude, but it also suggests a temporary repair so forms part of the narrrative.

 

To be clear, the second picture isn't mine, it's one of a series of old slides I bought by an unknown photographer. I posted it to demonstrate how the perception of a photograph is affected by the passage of time.

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