Louth Spar shop Architecture
For those who live in Louth, or have visited this historic town, you may have noticed some of the architecture ingrained into a large proportion of the buildings. But, it has to be said that, many of us walk around these locations in respect to what we are doing, and what we are shopping for. This usually involves jusy looking at the shop fronts. If you look above those facades, you will see a range of beautiful brickwork and intricate detail in the structure of the construction. This picture is the builing above the Spar Convenience store in the town centre. The Gothic and Medievil features in the brickwork are stunning, leading me to believe that King Charles' love of appealing architecture is well worth persuing.
Olympus E-PL5 ~ f4 ~ 1/80th ~ ISO320 ~ 40mm
Beautiful Brickwork
Yet another beautiful example of the stunning features in the buildings of the era. The detail in the stone works too, above the top windows, is really inkeeping with the style of the town, as well as the detail in the corner stones and the key stones above the top set of windows. Moving down the the lower windows, the amount of detail in the arches, as well as the two layers of brick detail on the reveals of these windows. If you, like me, enjoy this type of historic architecture, take a good look around these historic towns - not just at the shop fronts, but look at the whole buildings and see the beauty.
Olympus PEN PL-5 ~ f4 - 1/80th - ISO400 - 40mm
Louth Town Hall
This is the iconic building of Louth Town Hall on Eastgate. The huge building has lots of unique features to it's construction, not least of all, the intricate stonework, which was purpose-made to show of the grandiose aspect of this imposing structure. It is still the venue for many live music acts, but a lot of artists are Tribute Acts these days. A point to note on this picture, as you will notice, the street light is lit on the corner of Canon Street, signifying that it is dusk. This explains the high ISO of 1600, which ensures the light getting through the f5.6 apature, is 'boosted' on the sensor for more detail. I have also enhanced the Exposure Level in Post-Processing to brighten the image. Although this picture only captures a small part of this building, the overall grandeur can be seen.
Olympus PEN PL-5 ~ f5.6 ~ 1/30th ~ ISO1600 ~ 42mm
St. James Church Spire
St. James Church is the main promenant building in the town. It can be seen from miles around, and in all directions. I have always had a fascination with church architecture, and the details that the stone masons add to their designs. This Medievil church has many intricate facets to the spire, as well as other aspects of the building. I have tried to research what all the design features are, but there doesn't seem to be any articles on them. For example, the knobly bits running up the spire. Also, the 'laced' structure coming out from the side of the spire, I have learned, are called Flying Buttreses, which makes me wonder how many hours have gone into the creation of the stone work. At the base of the spire, the yellow coloured part is one of the many flood lights which keep it visible at night. This explains why the ISO was set to 1600, and the apature fairly wide open at f5.6. This allowed for plenty of light to hit the sensitive sensor as dusk was approaching.
As a matter of interest, the church at Haugham, which is one of the villages on the outskirts of Louth, has a replica church. It was designed on this original design, which was deemed as quite a compliment to the architects of the era. Although, the church at Haugham is smaller than St. James.
Olympus PEN E-PL5 ~ f5.3 ~ 1/200th ~ ISO1600 ~ 123mm
Louth Market Hall
This was the original Market Hall, where most of the market trading would take place. When I first visited Louth, I presumed that this was the Old Train Station, but that is so different to this building. Louth has a different, and smaller, market hall now, with fewer sellers than this building would have supported, but it is still part of the 'Market Town' scene. This structure stretches between The Market Place to the South, and EastGate to the North. It currently houses a very popular buisiness called Yorkshire Trading, which is one of the key shopping locations in the town. The old fashioned street lights can be seen on either side of the building, which are in-keeping with the age, style, and culture of this Medievil town.
Olympus PEN PL-5 ~ f4.1 ~ 1/40th ~ ISO1600 ~ 20mm
St. James at Night
Yet Another photo of Saint James Church in Louth. However, this one is a bit deiiferent, in that it was taken at night (12 minutes past midnight to be precise). I like the way the cloud covered moonlight has given the church and sky an eirie look to the image, while gaining enough light to expose the image well. The 22 second exposure has softened the clouds as they moved across the sky while the shutter was open. You will notice that some of the foreground is over-exposed, which was caused by car headlights as they drove past. With an exposure like this, the ISO had to be increased to 1250 to ensure the sensor gathered enough ambient light to expose the image correctly, although, this can make it look slightly over-exposed in places. I had the option to edit the image in an attempt to reduce the exposure level in the foreground, but I prefer it just the way it is, mainly because this is what I saw at the time.
This type of image, taken during hours of darkness, are a perfect opportunity to put the camera into Live Time or Live Composite mode. This way, you can let the shutter remain open while you watch the image forming on the screen on the back of the camera. When it looks correctly exposed, simply click the shutter button to close the shutter.
Olympus OM-D E-M5 mkiii ~ f4 ~ 22.33 seconds ~ ISO1250 - 14mm
St. Mary's Old Cemetery
Tucked away, in a descrete corner of Louth is an old cemetery, which is the home for many Burial Headstones, dating back to the 13th Century. These headstones are stacked up against a wall, and can be anything up to 6 deep. Upto the 15th Century, Saint Mary's Church was in this general area, but was not in use any more by the 16th Century. This old cemetery is still used, but these days, it is mainly used by dog walkers who meander through on their way to their destination. For historians, this is a unique location to see some of the fascinating aspects of Louth. The fact that these headstones are stacked as they are, make it difficult, and very dangerous, to move them enough to read the words on the majority of them. However, the front ones can still be of interest.
Olympus OM-D E-M5 mkiii ~ f4 - 1/30th - ISO200 - 54mm
RAF Bench
On the junction where St. Mary's Lane meets Westgate, there is a small triangle island on the "T" junction. The Chandler Family presented this bench, which comemorates the Centenary of the Royal Air Force. The unique scene on the back of the bench depicts the war efforts of the RAF pilots, detailing the Spitfires and Lancasters of the Second World War. For those who are unaware, Lincolnshire was the home of the Battle Of Britain, A particularly brave aspect which, some believe, tipped the balance of Allied Forces.
The Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight is based a few miles away at RAF Coningsby, which houses iconic aircraft, such as, Spitfire, Hurricanes, Dakota and the only flying Landaster in the Country.
OMD EM5 Mkiii ~ f3 ~ 1/50th ~ ISO200 ~ 16mm
Rooftop Architecture
More Architecture, but this time at roof level. I love the design and style of the arched windows, but my main aim was the old-style slate roofs, with the unique designed chimneys. It has to be said that, chimneys, in general, are becoming a more infrequent sight these days, which is mainly because modern homes are designed with Central Heating fitted as standard. The further onset of pollution, caused by fossil fuels (Coal is reportedly the worst pollutant), means that chimneys are not required any more due to central heating having simple flues to extract exhaust gasses. However, it is still nice to see the workmanship which has gone into chimney design, from the roof top to the chimney pot.
OMD EM5 Mkiii ~ f4 ~ 1/30th ~ ISO400 ~ 52mm
Louth Meridian Marker
As with Greenwich, the invisible line North to South which measures 0 degrees Longitude, passes through Louth. There are several markers throughout the town to show where the line dissects the streets. This line is known as the time line, and determines the time zone of each area. The United Kingdom has always fallen into Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), which puts Louth in perfect syncronisation with Greenwich.
OMD E-M5 mkiii ~ f3.2 ~ 1/250th ~ ISO200 ~ 12mm
Louth Railway Station
Louth hasn't had a train station for many years, but the building is still standing as part of the heritage of the town. The grandeur of this iconic building is a testiment to the beatiful architecture of it's time. Although it has now been converted into living accomodation, the stunning building in all it's glory is still an integral part of Louth's history. It is quite difficult to get a photograph of the entire building due to it's location, being placed between other buildings, and having several fences and vehicles surrounding it. Louth Malt Kiln was built in front of the Train Station, and was there for many years. It was a huge undertaking to demolish the Malt Kiln, which took several years. Rumour has it that, the company who demolished the Malt Kiln, tried to damage the station building, in an attempt to have it demolished too (at an extra cost). The people of Louth were donated the station building, and demanded that it was restored to it's former glory. The ALDI supermarket stands in it's place, and is located just in front of the Train Station building.
OMD E-M5 markiii ~ f2.8 ~ 1/2000th ~ ISO200 ~ 12mm
Spout Lane Park
Spout Lane is tucked away, just out of the town centre, but still accessible to those who know it's there. It is a lovely location for family groups, mothers & small children, and those wishing to find a quiet corner of Louth to enjoy their lunch. The River Ludd passes through the park, and can be quite relaxing when sitting on the benches or grass to simply contemplate life. Within the confines of Spout Lane Park, there is a stage and extendible curtain roof. I haven't seen any theatrical performances there, but I imagine that it is used by school children to put on plays and enact various entertainment for parents and teachers.
Just a point to note, there are several restrictions in this park, like No Smoking, No Bicycles, No Skateboards, etc. This makes it a safe space for younger children.
Olympus E-M5 mark iii ~ f3.3 ~ 1/2500th ~ ISO200 ~ 22mm
River Ludd Weir
The River Ludd runs through Louth, meandering it's way through parks, under many bridges, and via several tourist locations. I have witnessed several Trout in the river, but they are few & far between. The course of the Ludd can vary between a small river, and a stream, but usually has a fairly good flow rate, as can be seen over the weir, which is located as the river leaves Louth. As can be seen by the settings, the shutter speed of 1/320th second made for a decent enough picture, but slowing the speed down to 1/2 second or more would have softened the effect of the water. F6.3 was a large enough apature to capture the correct amount of light, given that the day I captured this image was quite bright.
Olympus E-M5 Mkiii ~ f6.3 ~ 1/320th ~ ISO200 ~ 12mm
Hubbard's Hills
Hubbard's Hills is one of Louth's main attactions for walkers, ramblers & dog owners. Apart from the huge green area, the tall trees and the small cafe at the top of the car park area, the stepping stones have great appeal to young & old, but is always a great day out for the family during the summer months. The safety hand rail hasn't always been present, but this is part of societry as we know it today - no one wants to be in a position of blame if anyone slipped or fell whilest on their property. That being said, Hubbard's Hills is really safe and fun, especially when the sun comes out. In peak season, you can find many families enjoying a picnic on the grass, or just chatting on the many benches.
Olympus E-M5 Mkiii ~ f6.3 ~ 1/250th ~ ISO200 ~ 74mm
