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Ratcliffe Power Station

Posted by
Ian Bramham (Manchester, United Kingdom) on 5 March 2012 in Business & Industry and Portfolio.

On Wednesday last week I had the day off work as I was taking my daughter to Loughborough for a university interview.

While she was with the university I managed to grab a couple of hours photographing the nearby power station at Ratcliffe-On-Soar.

This is the power station that the famous b&w fine art photographer Michael Kenna has photographed so eloquently over a period of several decades and it was great to see the place for myself at last.

http://www.michaelkenna.net/publication_detail.php?id=15

NIKON D700 241/2 second F/4.0 ISO 200 35 mm (35mm equiv.)

Like what you see here and are interested in photographic composition?.....the blog section of my website now has a complete set of 5 articles covering my personal approach to the subject: Ian Bramham Photography - Blog

For purchasing high quality archival prints of any of these photos you can send me an email by clicking here or by going to my website Ian Bramham - Fine Art Photography where prices are listed in the gallery sections under each individual photo.

Jerry from Aberdeen, United States

that is pretty and ominous at the same time. very impressive image.

5 Mar 2012 5:31am

@Jerry: Thanks Jerry!

Marie LC from Entre montagnes et Bretagne, France

An attractive way to show the effects of pollution

5 Mar 2012 6:36am

@Marie LC: Thanks Marie!

Hans ter Horst from Ruislip, United Kingdom

I drove up from London to this place a few weeks ago and had a great time and ended up with a great series; it is an amazing location and I was surprised how close I could get. I wrote a note on how to get there for the people wondering and studying Google Earth to get confused as lots have things have changed around the power station since the Google Earth/Map aerial photos were taken.

5 Mar 2012 7:05am

@Hans ter Horst: Hi Hans!....I agree that you can get as close as you want to the power station (certainly much closer than I was expecting). Regarding location - the bit I found most difficult, because it was my first visit, was finding a spot to photograph the cooling towers from where I could see all 8 towers in a line like this.

In this shot the power station's tall vertical chimney is hidden in the smoke and steam behind the second cooling tower on the left side.

Gérard Beullac from Paris, France

I'm always fascinated by the pictures of these power stations where the ugly has become somewhere beautiful, thanks to the pure geometry of the architecture and the interaction between the plumes of steam and the "natural" environment.
This to say your picture is speaking very well to me.

5 Mar 2012 7:31am

@Gérard Beullac: Thanks very much Gérard!....yes, they are like something from a dark fairy story aren't they. Have you ever seen Hayao Miyazaki's animated film "Howl's Moving Castle"? I sometimes wonder if he got his inspiration from places like this power station.

Richard from Ellemford, United Kingdom

I regularly pass this on the train from Scotland to London, always attracted to it as a photo-op. Really nicely done.

5 Mar 2012 7:58am

Babzy from Besançon, France

necer fed up with this view , excellent !! :)

5 Mar 2012 9:09am

Punit from Somewhere in, India

The long exposure exhibits an interesting conflict of the direction of the wind which brings out a lovely pattern. This is fantastic, Ian! Btw - I just realised you have put down 5 articles on the photography composition. I had read two - will soon catch the rest - would like to let you know that the first two that I read have been immensly helpful! Thanks for sharing!

5 Mar 2012 10:05am

Ana Lúcia from Leiria, Portugal

The B/W works pretty well.

5 Mar 2012 12:05pm

omid from mashhad, Iran

very nice!

5 Mar 2012 12:15pm

gootchai from bousval, Belgium

Wouhaaaaaaaaaa!! superbe ta photo!! j'aime++++ t le N et B lui va à ravir!

5 Mar 2012 2:01pm

Ralf Kesper from Fröndenberg, Germany

Amazing image !

5 Mar 2012 5:08pm

Curly from South Shields, United Kingdom

Amazing effect from the long exposure, as good as anything that Kenna produced.

5 Mar 2012 6:07pm

DarkElf from Perth, Australia

fantastic photo! the smoke coming of the stacks is mesmerising and its flow beautifully captured! one can argue about the environmental impact but in terms of pure photography this is superb!

6 Mar 2012 3:08am

Pavan Kaul from Mumbai, India

A wonderful composition Ian...beautiful tones and textures as my eye travels from bottom to top!

7 Mar 2012 3:16am

Hans ter Horst from Ruislip, United Kingdom

I see you walk away with first price here.

7 Mar 2012 8:28am

@Hans ter Horst: Thanks for the link Hans! What are your thoughts on the theme of the competition? - I read the description but I'm not sure yet if my photography would fit.

sunstonemaria from California, United States

wonderful composition, absolutely fantastic choice of subject! your LE work is superb always and always!

8 Mar 2012 6:41am

Cheryl from Texas, United States

the B&W is perfect for this, very dramatic look to it...love it

8 Mar 2012 12:41pm

Ani from Bordeaux, France

Wow !!!

17 Apr 2012 11:25am

NIKON D700
241/2 second
F/4.0
ISO 200
35 mm (35mm equiv.)