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Monday 31 December 2012

Happy New Year with some fake HDR

With the year coming to an end the Daily Mail says we are all staying in tonight, so if your bored and haven't passed out from the lashings of dirty beer why not hop along to Ipiccy for some fake HDR.

Not everyone is a fan of HDR, but this might kill an hour or so.

Two minutes playing with a single image with HDR Advanced with a tweak here, a tweak there and bingo

Huncoat Power Station

Huncoat Power Station

Asylum W

Asylum Window

Now I know these are far from perfect, but I dare say I could improve on these with a bit of practice.

Anyway that's me for this year, Happy New year for 2013.

Saturday 29 December 2012

Our Chernobyl Diaries - coming soon

Well the flights are booked, the two day tour now organized, so our posse of 3 will travel to the Ukraine in March.

Having stumbled across (the now know to be fake website) Kid of Speed back in 2004, a seed was planted and was slowly festering in my brain.

This seed was not at first a plan to go to Chernobyl or Pripyat, but an idle interest in urban exploration or rather Armchair Urbex slotted between family, going to the pub and gorging on late night Xbox sessions.

Roll on Call of Duty and oh hang on....

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Roll further on to 2010 and one of them dreaded school reunions and the next thing I know I'm out of the armchair and exploring derp with my now fellow explorer Urban Spaceman

2011 and I see reports of trips on Urbex websites to Chernobyl and Pripyat City, then the 2012 release of the movie Chernobyl Diaries - I've not watched the movie, I read it wasn't filmed on location and it was shot in Serbia and Hungary.

As a teenager in the United Kingdom the 1986 Chernobyl disaster pretty much passed me by and in researching the trip I have only just come to learn about the full scale of the disaster and scale of the deaths and ongoing long term horrific health issues of the population in the area, not forgetting the heroic teams who sacrificed their lives in the aftermath of the disaster.

What started as possible photographic urbex trip in December 2012 is now, I'm told by previous travelers to the zone, going to be a life changing experience.....

March 2013

Thursday 27 December 2012

E.P. Bray, Glossop - December 2012

Previously visited in August 2011, The Rainbow Factory was always going to be worth a return visit, or so we thought.

Upon arrival at the site it was all change, the cottages boarded up with danger signs dotted around the buildings, so lets take a mooch round the old place 16 months on.

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We loved this place on our first visit, so in we went....

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 The place was a little more faded, but still full of colour at first glance.

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But noting prepared us for the mindless vandalism that had occured, we expected the metal theft but the place had simply be thrashed with anything that could be smashed was smashed.

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Sure it still had its colours but gone was its eeriness, the spooky doors no longer slammed around the building for no reason and the roof no longer groaned and creaked.

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It was as if the building, although externally in reasonable state, had simply had its heart broken.

I'm not going to dwell on shots of mindless vandalism, but lets just say it had lost its quirky charms that once, not so long ago, had us spellbound.

 URBEXERS AGAINST 
VANDALISM



Monday 24 December 2012

Merry Christmas 2012

Merry Christmas to all, please check back in after the Christmas break, loads more to come with big big plans for 2013.

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Sunday 16 December 2012

Volcrepe, Glossop

A trip to the very edge of Derbyshire with the Urban Spaceman

An interesting little wander, the two main mills straddle a country road just off the main drag in Glossop.

Also known as Woods Mill, this was once home of Volcrepe from about 1931 until 2002 who manufactured rubber shoe soles and wonderful items for the Ministry of Defence such as gas masks for horses.

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The mills are in various states of decay, from ok to thrashed.

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All in all, not a bad little mooch.

Monday 10 December 2012

Lancaster from the air - December 2012

A very quick detour over the City of Lancaster, Lancashire, England, taken whilst on route to the Lake District.

Lancaster approach

Wind turbine - Lancaster

First off we have Williamson Park, with its impressive Ashton Memorial, in the distance is the modern Lancaster Prison.

Williamson Park - Ashton Memorial, Lancaster

Williamson Park - Ashton Memorial, Lancaster

Lancaster Castle, the original Lancaster Prison

Lancaster Castle

Lancaster Castle

The Lune Millennium Bridge

Lune Millennium Bridge

and finally the Lune Aqueduct, built in 1797, it carries the Lancaster Canal over the River Lune.

Lune Aqueduct

Sunday 9 December 2012

Winter in the Lake District - from the air

The first weekend of December 2012, the first real blast of the winter weather and a flight thru the Lake District of England.

 CTSW Microlight over Cumbria

Two planes, both CSTW Microlights, for a bit of gentle cat and mouse over the valleys and mountains of the likes of Eskdale and Borrowdale.

 Flight Design CTSW Microlight

In no particular order, but starting with us following the "mouse" up the Eskdale Valley towards the Hardnott Pass

Eskdale

With the early winter snow on the mountains, the Lake District really was a sight for sore eyes after being stuck in the office all week.

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Lake District - December 2012

Flight Design CTSW Microlight

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Hill walkers

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and so onwards home for a beer

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but not without a WTF at the two canoeists in the sub zero temperature !!

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Thanks to both pilots, Jon and Dave - as I flew in two planes to get these shots.

- Thanks for looking and I would ask you contact me should you wish to use any pictures, please don't 
steal my pictures !!!