Photo Theme...
Stacks of Chimneys
There's a town named Chimney in Nova Scotia, Canada. The chimney of the GRES-2 Power Station, built in 1987 at Ekibastusz in Kazakhstan, is the world's tallest at 1,374.5 feet (419.7 metres) high. For more "chimney" trivia type that word into the search box on the Cool Quiz page and you can question your friends on what, for example, has 12 chimneys (to keep this theme topical), 6 floors (two are basements), 132 rooms, 32 bathrooms, 147 windows, 412 doors, 3 elevators, 7 staircases, receives approximately 6,000 visitors a day and takes 570 gallons of white paint to cover the outside... the answer being The White House.
The most famous chimneys on the London skyline are those of Battersea Power Station which was designed by Sir Gilbert Scott... also responsible for the new Liverpool Cathedral and the famous red multiple-window telephone boxes still seen in many towns and cities in the UK.
Battersea Power Station
Philip, Bill
24 in. x 32 in.
Buy this Art Print at AllPosters.com
Framed Mounted
Domestic chimneys are something else, and are as varied as the styles of buildings they top-off. The pots on top of chimney stacks are often later additions, replacing originals blown off in a gale or by a lightning strike. The montage of chimneys above include ornate examples seen at Blaise Hamlet, the National Trust village on the outskirts of Bristol, a Virginia Creeper covered pair in the west of England and the rest from Wiltshire to West Wales.
What I've noticed when looking for and photographing different subjects for "photo themes" is that there are hardly two of anything exactly alike... and those that are similar have different backgrounds to set them apart. I must have photographed hundreds of chimneys for DIY books and part-work magazines published by Marshall Cavendish and Eaglemoss... and they were never boring assignments because even though the editorial requirements were generally sketchy (I had the impression those wanting certain images had never really looked upwards at these particular subjects), I had free rein to photograph them how I wanted... so long I didn't fall off a ladder or roof doing so. But, with a telephoto lens of 200 mm or 300 mm focal length a ladder wasn't necessary... at each location it only took a minute or so to walk around a building looking for the best subject angle and direction of natural lighting... and a couple of clicks later I was off to find another interesting example on a different roof. The only problems I had were from curious homeowners or neighbours wondering what I was doing... the queries and accusations ranged from jocular to threatening... but it was all part of a day's work for this freelance photographer.
That's what happens when you take photographs of very ordinary subjects enough times that they form a "theme"... and perhaps those same curious people recognise such subjects when presented as a themed collection... and take an interest in the subjects for what they are. It doesn't have to be an "arty" appreciation, nor one of relative value in money terms, just an opening of the onlooker's eyes to possibly prompt a thought or topic to talk about.
My other illustrated photo themes on these pages include Numbers, Car Number Plates, Wall Textures, Bleu, Blanc et Rouge, Post Boxes and Chairs and Pointing Fingers and Arrows.
10:48:09 PM 
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