The Demise of the Corner Shop

Now the big supermarket chains are selling them at discount there is no place left for the little corner surgical appliance shop.

Hope I don't have a surgical emergency any time soon! You might need to view large to avoid confusion.

This is in case anyone out there was getting a false impression. My local bit of the world does have its grimier elements - although even they have a certain kind of austere beauty all of their own!

But seriously ...

I would like to thank everybody for their generous comments and stars and hearts yesterday. There was nothing planned about that shot. I went for a run first thing on a beautiful but breezy morning, knowing that the cloud was going to build. I still feel that I'm being very lucky with my blips, but I also know that you make your own luck to a considerable extent. I used to plan my runs on the basis of finding a route I'd not done in while. Now it is about going where the best light is to be found for the time of day! So I guess there was some modicum of skill at work!

I've run past the gateway in question on countless occasions but yesterday I saw that view in a whole new way. It is actually on the route of an old drove road over the moor, a track that must have a very long history indeed. Fell Gate was taken just a little further up this same track.

Anyone following me here will know that I've moved into a monochromatic phase. This has come as quite a surprise to me really. There is no plan each day. It's just that almost every photograph I've taken recently seems to work better in mono. I've always loved good black and white photography and have played around with a few of my shots here previously, but have always ended up (with just one exception) preferring the colour version. This change could just be a matter of coincidence, or it may hint that my perception has changed in some way. Removing the colour, somewhat counter-intuitively, actually makes the image more vibrant somehow. I don't fully understand why some images just speak to you in a more profound way when chromatically castrated like this. Is there a scientific explanation? Or is it an entirely subjective phenomenon? Is it that by no longer being a literal representation of reality the mind is able to engage with the image in a more imaginative way. I've never really thought about this in depth before. I'd love to hear what other people have to say.

I was really keen to post a colourful blip today, but I've been working long hours and there hasn't been much time to get out. Also with the wind today I had to choose a subject that was fairly solidly rooted to the ground. Katia still seems to have a lot of energy left! Once again, this image just seemed to be work better in monochrome, this time with a tint applied. Perhaps I truly have been lost to the "dark side"! Only time will tell!!