Manchester in the Heat

Hi all... I happened to be in Manchester at the end of June, for one of the sunniest, hottest weeks of the year... I'm a big fan of Manchester, having spent an awful lot of time living and working there over the years, but hadn't been back for 12 months or so... one of the things that particularly struck me on this visit, in the relentless heat of the midsummer sun, was how surprisingly little green space there is in the city centre... and how the few plants and trees that are there continue to survive amidst the huge urban success story that's sprung up around them... so I decided to do a quick project on the subject over the week I was there... man vs nature... or nature vs man... I'm not sure which... all IR converted Pentax K5 and various lenses...

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All thoughts, contributions, observations etc. gratefully received as ever...

Best

3 and 5 for me please Bill.

Superb....

Great set Bill. gives us all encouragement..

Really like this set. Thanks

Great stuff, Bill. I like this set and would put number 4 in 1st place - well seen and framed.

Cheers.
Philip

Powerful set, Bill.
Inspiring...

...got any more?


Roger.

Nice project Bill.

Images 3 and 8 standout for me.

I have to say as a 'Mancunian' , much as I love the people i'm not a fan of the development that has blighted the appearance of the city centre over the past 20 years or so.

Regards

Karlo

Love these. Great subject and observations

Another lovely set Mr Bill. My favourite of the moment is No.1 I think the composition is bang on. All well observed.

Stark contrast which makes the most of the medium. It's almost as if most of the midtones have been stripped away, leaving a hollow with the highlights and blacks to fight it out in. Strong lines and bold light' complete the stylistic package. .... It's all very effective.

My favorite is No 4.

Thanks Peter, Defragged, Stuart, Al, Philip, Roger, Karlo, Neil, Nigel K and Nigel Mc. for thoughts, comments, observations etc re these...

Roger, I do have a few more which I’ll post in a while as part of a larger selection of IR shots I’ve taken whilst I’ve been touring the last year and a half or so...

Nigel Mc, thanks for your thoughts and observations re tone... very interesting... yes, I went the high contrast IR route with these specifically due to the strong sunlight, and the subject matter... thought it helped to tell the story in this particular case... but I’ve seen some rather beautiful low contrast mid tone rich IR shots taken over winter, with rather watery winter sunlight, so will see what occurs over the coming months...

Thanks all and best

Bill

Wonderful stuff. Hard contrast and great use of lines.

Best regards

Thanks Gary...

Best

As ever Bill, your ability to see and frame what appears to be mundane and somehow capture more amazes me.
Had I seen no 3 I would have looked for a way to get around the bars and missed the point entirely.
Cracking set
If I had to choose it would be 3, 10, 1, 4 and 5 in that order. 👏👏👏