Rainbow Journeyman’s diary

The dilemma of degenerative ageing pixelation.
We are all aware, if we know anything about photography, that Digital Cameras have really advanced (rapidly) over the past two years. Oh, we would not argue that our early Fuji cameras were clever but at that time the pixilation was low. Like most of us we thought the picture quality looked good until we compared it with some of our early film exposures. Good, that is, until you started to enlarge it to A3 and above. It then looked like old news print! As we often say, hindsight is a great educator. We learned rapidly to change with the times: what was high definition then is, by today’s standard, low grade. And to give you, the discerning user, pictures that you can manipulate; that can be enlarged to poster size; you had to have high quality.
And, you’ve heard it here first, but know what I am going to say, quality also comes at a price.

All our latest cameras handle eight point two, megapixels and above. And our range of lenses to cope with our discoveries grows rapidly. (Expensively)

A racing driver friend (John) at Thruxton Race Track meet training session once said “Give me an engine that can produce four hundred bhp. But don’t give it to me until you have a power train that can deliver it to the track! (He had, minutes before, left a very greasy track, parking his Camarro sideways on and very neatly between a stack of tyres and bales of hay.)

The point I am making? To photograph something special is all very fine and charismatic, but, like the proverbal chocolate teapot, useless if we cannot turn a quality picture into a quality print!

Fortunately, for Rainbow Journeys, with the growth in the power of our cameras, we have seen a parallel in the quality of printers available. Our real concerns, that if you bought a print from us, you could not put it on your walls or into print, were unfounded. Almost daily we see exhibition standards produced on Home/Office printers. Power to the end user!!

Alongside this home/business process we have to offer you a service second to none. We needed, in house, to find a jobbing printer who would produce constant high qualilty work, if you decided that you did not want to do the work yourselves.
A printer that has the (Very,very, expensive) commercial equipment on hand, and will, on demand, produce superb large High Definition prints. A1 poster size, and by request larger. Someone whose dedication to perfection and quality on producing an end product is as high as our own when we are favoured to capture the perfect image. Re quote: To convert the power of our camera’s (Cammaros) engines to the track of the printed page.

Another (Universtiy of life) module of knowledge we had to learn: we did not understood the topography of some of the sites that we visited. As a result the coverage was poor. The light was in the wrong place and we spent too much time missing the best shots in the sheer entuhusiasm of being there. And, we certainly did not allow enough time at the right time of day to get the best shots. (It is easy to turn up on a shoot and to find that the sun is boiling away over head with x billion candle power; all shadows are vertical….and the depth perspective has gone out of the window.
And on other occasions the consequence of arriving on site unplanned was to shoot when we should have waited. Waited that is, for the ideal conditions as we did with out Sunsets. (You cannot hurry a sunset!)

But, as time goes by, we improve, and as we travel we learn. Now years later, our pictures are travelling the world and appearing in many prestigeous places. Our aim, after all, is that of a true Journeyman. To set a standard that others will want to follow. Again and again.

Finally some breaking news. We are also in the process of re designing our WEB site. We listen to our viewers and customers. They have told us; quality pictures are one thing, too many quality pictures are information overload. So, we have thought it through: laid down in the darkend room, and as they say in the best of Black Adder, “we have a cunning plan!” So watch this space.

Finally finally. Some of our recent shoots are still in the process of waiting to be launched. We will be releasing these later once we have restructured the site itself. There are some superbly interesting pictures in this “future” stock. But as we keep saying, the Road goes forever on and we are planning a lot more Journeys to come. And whilst we are in this area perhaps you also have a favourite site that you feel we should give time and effort to and visit.

If you can find the time, add it to the blog, and we will look at your proposal as favourably as possible.

And if you have been, Thank you for reading this.

Mike Tyrrell for Rainbowjourneyman-Southwest.

Working as a Rainbow Jouneyman is interesting and you certainly meet some very charismatic people. Some of them are like ourselves, dedicating their lives to recording images of their local area. Others are professional who commercially work for you. Glynn Skinner, a local wedding Photographer uses his charm and talent to produce natural interesting wedding photographs that you would be hard matched to follow. Julian Busselle too, following his fathers footsteps, has that magic ability to “see” a work of art that will make his next gallery as interesting as his last. But then there is Richard a friend of ours, he specialises in superb black and white imagery. And what quality.

So there are a few dyed in the wool professionals who’s sole aim in life is to produce the best photographs ever. To this extent they often reject many “good” photographs that could pass muster. Often using their peer groups to sound out the opinions of others as to what is the best. But, hey! hold on, who are we to be the judge. Pictures are, at their best, subjective. Give a batch of photographs to any group and they will form a group opinion. Give them to individuals and you will gain a different pattern of choice. Which I think proves my point.

In this area we have many excellent camera clubs. And in those clubs some superbly talented people whose photographs are National Gallery standard. (In my opinion)
Chris for example (a local lad) uses his telephoto lens to absolute perfection. Brian’s macro work is from pure dedication to detail. He will spend hours, nay weeks, setting up a shot to get that one effect. Yet they are all subdued and subjugated by asking others to judge their work. Now that is certainly not to say that all photography is noteworthy or that any one who has been lured by the use of digital cameras can take a photograph. And I am not knocking Judges who certainly help people to “think” their photographs. But, it is obvious, even to the non-purveyors of photographs, that the boring pictures that the office wag or Auntie May, has “shot” over the last weekend, with no attention to subject, composition or light, deserves no better place to rest that the round storage unit on the floor. So what is the point of this article?

To explain that, you have to realise that pictures are all around you whether you like it or not. (Agrophobia leaves space for thought) And, in my opinion we would be looking down the drains of life rather than radiating our love for art and images if we failed to recognise this.

Be honest if you open a National Geographic magazine wouldn’t you be telling a “porky” if you said that the pictures are of poor quality. You know and I know they are stunning. (Come on you can admit it to me, no one is listening!) Add that to the fact that you can take quality pictures and create beautiful art work yourself with just a little awareness and you begin to realise that as Rainbow Journeymen what we try to acheive is to bring the beauty of this world into everyones lives.
Not just the lucky few who see it daily and often don’t see it at all. Everyone!

Pictures are for seeing. Printing and reproducing to be “windows” on our lives. From postcard to Wall size print they make life more tolerable. In some ways the subject doesn’t matter. What matters most is to use pictures to enhance your life or lives of others for those few grey days where you are where you are………….. but wish you could be elsewhere.

That’s what Rainbowjourneys are about. Bringing the Windows of the Westcountry to you, wherever you are! If you can’t be here we can be there, for you!

Camera used. Two eye’s

The Road goes forever on.

As Journeymen we photographed Probus Gardens in Cornwall a few years ago. That was before the Cornwall Council or somebody with infinite wisdom chose to close it or defund it. Whatever it is that Councils do when they have too much power and too little local knowledge. It was a sad loss. As you can see from the photographs it harboured a formidable collection of beautiful grasses and some superb specimens of Leylandii. The lilly’s on the pond is considered to be a classic. The darkling water setting off the brighter greens of the Lilly pads with the flowering lilly heads drawing your eyes into the centre of the picture.

Not daunted though at this closure. (Journeymen never are) We searched to find another centre of excellance for this area.

We were rewarded by stumbling across Trewithen Gardens. (Huge road side signs. How did we miss them!) Located just off the St Austell (Pronounced Snozzle) to Truro Road. The Gardens are laid out in a casual style with good ample parking leading into the plant nursery and well tended tea rooms. These are to the front of the estate and are backed by acres of explorable gardens. The centre piece being the formal lawns that lead up to the house.

The winding gardens paths lead you into mature, semi cathedral like areas of tall mature trees, rhododendrums and azaleas. Areas that catch your breath for colour quality and maturity. Each a cameo stage set of style and blend and hue; plant upon plant jostling with neighbours for space and light. Every route that you take through the Gardens allows you to appraise different types of planting.
There are camoed set pieces too. A walled garden, a water fountain and sunken gardens. Also a walk that takes you away from the main garden on a safari. Oh, and our journeymans said don’t forget to mentiont that the gardens are dog friendly. (Don’t forget you poopa scooper though) Poppy and Teddy appreciated that.

We seriously tried to bring you all high qualilty images that reflect the true feeling of this incredible place. In some areas we succeeded…..in others…. well there is the next time and we are due for another visit soon so perhaps we can catch up with our weaknesses then.

Camera used. Canon 20D 28 to 105 lens

The road goes forever on.

As a Journeyman, travelling to Botallack is an experience. If you can think your way back in time to when these mines were active you have to realise that what we see today is sanitised luxury compared to the conditions that the miners lived under to earn a living.

To extract Tin, Arsenic and and other commercial commodities was often a family affair. The men worked underground (often under the Atlantic Ocean) in conditions that today would not be acceptable. Their only real means of illumination, before the invention of the safety lamp, was a candle melded to the top of their hats. The women (Bale Maidens) and children often worked on the tops of the cliffs in all weathers with little shelter sorting the ore and running the Arsenic ovens to extract this semi-lethal but necessary commercially-used chemical from the spoil.
The inside of the condensing ovens (See images) had to be scraped clean of the arsenic deposits where it was collected and packed by hand to be used in the manufacturer of cosmetics and other decorative items as well as a stabiliser for green dyes.

The engine houses used to house the winding gear can be seen cut into the edge of the cliff. Within these was the mine shaft and the pumping gear. Initially the miners climbed down loose ladders to reach the working face. The engines sole purpose was to pump water. This practice was common until later in the 18th century when it was realised that if the miners reached the work face faster they produced more ore per shift.

The shaft descending from the mine head, after a near vertical drop, descended several hundred feet then traversed at right angles to lead the miners out under the ocean. Often working in near dark the miners could hear above them the noise of the sea as it shifted tons of shingle during the storms that frequented this part of the coast line.

Our photographs show the height from the sea where the ovens lay. Even on one of the better days the wind was playing with us making the job of taking a stable picture interesting but worthwhile.

Our Journeyman found St Just and Botallack to be one of those places where you can feel and see the real Cornwall.

To reach the cove you have to drive down some rugged roads through National Trust land. The car park is well placed above the coastal path and it is only a short walk either to the memorial above the cove or to the slipway where the fishing boats are dragged up away from the unseasonal interests of the sea. While we were there several men where with the aid of wet suits suits were scrambling across the rocks diagonal to the beach and swimming though the tide washed pools as they explored. From where we were it looked to be quite a hazardous sport

The cove is interesting as there are some fascinating rock formations and true to the lifestyle of the Cornish several small boat stores add colourand interest to the Slipway. The boats are “parked” round the slip according to tradition.

The Road goes forever on.

Camera used Canon 20d

Rainbowjourneyman’s research has shown us that Port Isaac, was originally known as Port Portissyk. Later, possibly Port Izzard. It is a traditional fishing port taking advantage of the coved formation of the cliffs and the rocks on either headland to give the well known Cornish sheltered harbour we know and love.

Over the centuries it has seen many varied trades through this important Sally Port, some of them less defined by legality in the guise of contraband. Mostly however, over the last few hundred years, it became active in the import of Coal, Wood, Stone, Salt, Pottery, and exported slate from the Delabole and Port Gaverne Area.

Transport by road and rail was sparse and labour intensive until the beginning of the 20th Century when a policy was made to link most of these small Cornish Harbours to the Road and Rail network. Nowadays fishing is the main activity. Pilchards and Mackerel being the prime incentive.

Port Isaac’s cottages are dotted prettily around the Harbour Area. They date from the 17th to 19th Century. But most have been modernised. The atmosphere of the village is strong in the tradition of being Cornish and proud of it.

Our RainbowJourneyman found Port Isaac intriguing. The tiny winding streets thread their way through alleys and cut amidst the shambles of delicately poised charming homes. Most of these are dependant on their immediate neighbour for support, flying freeholds and leaseholds being the norm. (A name used where a cottage overhangs it neighbour or shares a roof or overshoots a cellar) It is high on our list for a revisit shortly.

The Harbour, a feature of the port and is of traditional build, the stone quoins being mainly of good granite. On the quay is the Life boat station which faces the harbour slip. The unwary tourist parks on the upper part of the beach at their risk. Many a late tourist has given pleasure to the local population as the sea wanders its way inch-by-inch way up the side of their parked vehicle.

The harbour is difficult to approach by road as the streets are narrow and parking is lean except as mentioned above. Our Journeymen recommend that visitors should take advantage of the incredible cliff walk that leads from the top car park down to the Harbour Quay.

The Road goes forever on,

Camera used Canon 350d

As a young lad, (Pre-Rainbowjourneyman lifestyle by a few weeks, which shows I have a good memory), I used to go around Art exhibitions with a cultured Lady friend called Penny. Penny was doing her Art student apprenticeship with Bromley College of Art and to me, was the goddess of her class.

Penny taught me to “see” with the inner eye of shape, character, and form. Not just to look at something; a church or a ploughed field. But to really feel the ageing of the structure or the furrows of the field. If you are serious or dedicated to photography and only when you have this feeling in your mind should you focus a camera to try to bring to discerning people like you, the images that Journeymen strive to capture. Penny was, and I hope, still is, a great teacher (They do say that love is blind and whilst learning I tried not to upset her guide dog!.)

Under her knowlegable guidance we toured many of the Art Galleries around London; The Tate, National Portrait Gallery and so on; down to the smaller, one window observatories, in Curzon Street and Soho. At that time, I disliked Picasso having seen his earlier classical work of the Girl with the Chair. In my opinion, anything after that was a deterioration. The later works where an eye saw only its bum left me a bit nonplussed. In fact minus plussed. That was until later when I got behind a camera and saw some of the works done by people with incredible talents, both with Photography and Painting.

Time and education in whatever form develops the mind. Eventually you stop, or reduce the time spent, looking at chocolate box images and going “Wow”. You then see shape and pattern for what it is, and you realise, or at least I did, that there is a place in this convoluted grey mass that we call a brain for more images than you could ever dream about.

Later, meeting with other photographic journeymen I saw the results of other people talent. Julian Busselle for one. Following his Father’s footsteps, he told at a meeting recently of the time that he took to “see” an image. He would retun to a shoot, time and again looking for the light and the effect. From our life long experiences we now know what exactly what he means.

Here I refer back to an old friend Lou Brodigan who said. “There’s none so blind as those who see nowt!” By training ourselves to see we hope to bring you pictures that will, like good wine, show their appreciation of your company by giving you pleasure.

Some of the Sunsets that we have captured did not just happen. For every one you see there were five that turned out to be none events. The rock formations s on the beach too. They have taken milions of years for nature to create the beautiful banding in colours that make them unique to the area and to their formation.

The sea too plays its part. Every time we go to a beach we are mindful of the tides and what they have done ot the sands on the beach. The ever flowing power of the sea paints with sand. Exposing darker shales and lighter crushed shell bars. When we have enlarged these to A1 size they draw small crowds looking intently at the pattterns and shapes that emerge.

The Road goes forever on.

Enjoy!

Long before Rick Stein opened his restaurant in this enclosed harbour, Rainbow Journeymen were scratching their way round the area to record the working aspects of this well founded fishing industry.

In the earlier times the harbour was tidal. At low tide the hum that came from the exposed mud challenged the tenor voices of the Fishermen for position. One was melodious. The other odious. The tidal gate changed this and gave an oppourtuntiy for boats to be worked on and engines run before putting out to sea to ply for trade.

On our last visit we were fortunate in seeing a rare phenomenon - the salt water of the harbour freezing to form a surface thick enough for the seabirds to stand on. In itself it was interesting but the effect that it added to our images was stunning.

Padstow always has been a Harbour of two halves. In the inner harbour the smaller fishing vessels and the odd Royal Naval inshore patrol boat would tie up alongside the town quay, whilst in the deeper water quay larger vessels were able to use the dockside crane to disgorge their cargos, with the larger warehouses and freezer stores within reach for service storage.

Using your eyes the differing styles of architecture that span the harbour date we believe from the early 15th century through to the modern shops dispensing tourist “bin” items. (I’ve bin here. I’ve bin there. ) (The jokes regrettably get no better! )

Where as what they should be taking away are superb pictures of this beautiful Harbour and its quaint quayside buildings along with images of the varied and interesting range of boats and fishing vessels.

It is difficult to perceive, as you walk round the quay edges, that you are on the outer edges of the Estuary reach that goes up into Wadebridge. But if you turn and look across the estuary you can see, tide permitting, the ferry leaving the other shore plying its passengers back to Padstow or vice versa. Peaceful in the extreme but the sand bars have taken many lives from the unwary.

Walking alongside the Fishing Freezer storage you can view mountains of Lobster pots and nets either to be repaired or waiting to be taken aboard the boats for the next trip.

Don’t be fooled by the colour and spectacle of these craft as they brush the harbour walls. Fishing is a dangerous job. To understand its danger stop and take a look at the RNLI Lifeboat plaque. As you do you may realise that these are some of the lucky ones that were saved from the sea’s power and fury. There are many vessels lost that were not privileged to be recorded as rescued.

The Harbour pictueres look brilliant in A3 (or above) format printed on 270g (or above) chrome finished paper. The cameras used for these images captured at 8 megapixels. If you choose to order online we will deliver within two to three workinng days.

Camera used Canon 20d Canon Pro 1

The Road goes forever on…..

At a photographic club meeting recently, a fella that I had never met before, introduced himslf to me and asked. ” What is a RainbowJourneyman. What’s the point?
Not normally being able to focus a camera and chew gum, it took a few seconds to reply. After all, what was the point? His question was taken seriously and having laid down in a darkened room for several days and given it some thought I will try to explain.
Many, many years ago, courtesy of Her Majesties Navy, in the dark ages, before tourism changed the face of the world, I saw some of the most incredibly beautiful places in the world. Places that matched anything that that travel brochures could dream up as their front page showpiece. Deserted sandy beaches with palm trees kissing the sand. Water fall cascades like angels in flight. And……….terrible news. I did not own a camera. So, no photographs. Not one record of those wonderful historic places………. And of course many of these have now dissapeared. Most now bathed delicately with the all enveloping, pre packaged, highly concreted, laxative development of civilization. Of course its all a matter of taste. Some people like the urban jungle, others prefer to be on nodding terms with bovine meadow ladies and wide open spaces.
Manna to some, indigestion to others. You can argue there still are many incredible places in the world, although in my opinion, where they have succumbed to tourism, they have now been shaped to what the public wants to believe in, rather than what the original builder/designer wanted to display. A sort of sanitized tableau effect.
Anyway, on reflection the point that really came to mind, was summed up neatly by a colleague, Lou Brodigan. (He was from Redcar in Yorkshire, I believe.) Lou pragmatic as all Yorkshire men can be, said. ” No matter where you travel ( I, can’t do the Yorkshire accent in print, you’ll have to improvise) to look at spectacular things, you go because they are advertised. No one advertises your home town so you take it for granted. But travel a few miles around it, especially with some one who really knows it and the spectacular is there. It just needs looking for.” He finished with. “There’s non so blind as them that sees nowt!”
Lou was so right. Even today, with the pace of life, very few of us really look.
Except, as Journeymen, we have trained ourselves to look. To see the alsmost invisible and to photograph it. So the reality of Journeymen is to record what we see hopefully for your appraisal.
Some of the images you will see are unique. (And occasionally we are told beautiful. You can be the judge.) Some will look fantastic framed where they can grace the room of your choice. We are told by them that knows “Poster size prints are vogue.”

Our friend at the club meet then asked. (Remember him several paragraphs back?) Why did we go digital? The slick answer?. Can you imagine trying to change a roll of film, perched high on a cliff on a wind swept knoll above a Cornish Tin mine. A really wonderful experience. I tried it just the once. It is a skill that I would care to leave to the experts. Oh, and the sea ate the film and I never saw it again.
The more logical reason is nearer the truth, more people than ever can use our pictures on their computers for all sorts of purposes. Printed on quality paper, they make superb unique features to enhance the dullest of rooms. In restaurants and eateries they let the romantic dreamer dream and the energetic holiday pioneer plan. All of them, every single picture, are from real kickable places that at some stage in your lives you should visit

So what about Rainbowjourneymen.

We made our move to Devon umpty years ago. After Naval service we felt it was our duty to come back and stay. (Some of us still owed money at the pub!) After all, we had previously proved the natives were friendly. (Wasn’t this the mistake that Captain Cook made?) And they still are. (Some still tell us we were on first names with Francis Drake. It’s all a wicked rumour)
Devon and Cornwall is, if you look on a good Ordnance survey map, made up of hills. Hills that roll into the curves of the valleys. Abosolutely magical. In Devon and Cornwall, many, many rivers chatter their way through the valley bottoms shaping the landscape quietly. And the valleys trap warmth. All of which is a blessing for plant and wild life. (I hear you say he’s rambling) But the real point to this is why Devon and Cornwall hold such a special places in the hearts of Rainbow men.

Rainbow men capture the images and natural magical beauty that has held the hearts of the true Devonian and the Conwallian (Is there such a word?) since they lived in stone huts. (See Roughtor) Very little of that landscape has been spoilt by the ingress of the outsider and the Valleys and Cleaves survive. It is a compulsion to capture the very essence of that beauty and make it available for you to see and enjoy.
Not all the pictures that we take will be to your liking. Even “in house” we are divided by what is seen as a good picture. But please have a serious look at the pictures that we have taken.

Please take your time to enjoy our offering.

The Road goes forever on…..

Launcell’s was one of those Churches that we discovered by accident. The area was well known to Rainbowjourneymen but the Church, tucked at the back of Brooks Garden Centre, remained hidden. Hidden that is until the parishoners decided to put on a Harp recital! The Banners for the concert appeared and so did the RainbowJourneymen.
The visit was well worthwhile.
Most Churches built with this style of architecture had been built by Journeymen. These stalwart fellows (as far as we can discover it was a lonely road and there were no female journeymen) travelled from area to area plying their trade and building these heaven trees as they went.
As their boundaries stretched across Europe they were well influenced by French Architecture and some of the influences of this can be seen with the bounds of this remarkable church. The spansels and buttresses show this influence.
This begs the question on what made each church different? As you browse our sites you will notice this. Whilst the basic tower shape survives and could be transposed from church to church, the finishes bestowed onto the interiors are all individual.
If you were using the same Journeymen and Architects there should be no difference.
Here we unearthed some interesting facts. Local farm workers with additional skills added the finishing touches as did the Daughters of Gentry (the tapestries) If you look seriously at the carved panels within these edifices some are copied but most have the influence of local skill; carvings of such detail that we would be hard-pushed to acheive them today.
As time went by Gentry took over some of the Churches pews as family seats and added their own influence to this effect. Decorating the kneelers with ornate designs and embroidering Altar cloths.
The Harpist? A splendid bonus.

Camera used Fuji

The Road goes forever on……

We talked about it often enough. Got lost trying to find it. But when you do find it it is worth the effort. Hartland! Beautiful rural farming area with lots of lovely people who tell you what road to take when you didn’t find the one that the previous farmer told you about! Very patient too!

Hartland is not one area, it is a peninsula of land that wraps itself round the North corner of Devon before it wanders off to become Clovelly. There are many small bays linked together by a very spectacular display of rocky protrusions. On a clear day you can see the island of Lundy.
These rocks have been known to bite into the softer steel of ships. Those ships who were unfortunate to lose their way round this Nothern corner of Devon causing the Captains to cease to navigate sucessfully and to leave the ship were it was parked.
To avoid this problem becoming a regular occurance a Lighthouse was erected by Trinity House on the pointy piece of land that stuck out into the sea to show the way round this annoying hazard. The coast line is well worth a visit and the bacon baguettes on the headland, served from a small mobile catering unit (just under the ship to shore Radar dome) are scrummy.

Travel from there after you have had you fill down the road to Hartland Abbey. This Abbey was built around the twelth century and was consecrated by Bishop Bartholemew of Exeter in A.D. 1160 as a monastery, to the order of St. Augustine of Hippo (Serious!) to serve St. Nectan’s Church, Stoke, which is the parish church of Hartland. The Abbey and Garden area, is a site of special interest and worth spening a day just browsing. It really captured the minds and souls of our Rainbow Journeyman who ran out of superlatives in their efforts to pass all the information he had gleaned to us. As part of a team they spent a day exploring the whole area from the Abbey to wonderful stone and rock formations that have captured the minds of poets and writers for many years.
The Abbey has regal presence and as you can see from the images that we captured has stood the test of time standing as it does facing towards the might of the Atlantic, who’s seas have destroyed many man-made edifices.

It doesn’t stop there. If you put your back to the Abbey and walk towards the Atlantic you will arrive at a Beach and Headland that is incredible. The pebbles on the beach take a little manipulation to reach the sea but the effort is worth it. Abseilers use part of the vertical face of the local cliffs to test their skills.

The Road goes forever on.

Camera used Canon 20D and 200mm Telephoto lens