historical sites – IJM Photography

Welcome back, Dear Reader, to the film archives, still with the Canon AE1 and HP5 Plus from Ilford, but in Clisson this time. You will remember Clisson from previous articles and will have seen the pictures, so it shouldn’t be a stranger to you. Who knows, it could even feel like revisiting an old friend. It certainly is for me.

But why Clisson I hear you say. Well, it’s not very far away from where I live. It’s also one of those market towns that is renowned for the beauty of its architecture with an Italian slant. It has the massive castle that towers above the river. It has me taking photographs of it.

Clisson, like most things, has options. On a Friday the main option is the huge market, and wandering around the 14th-century Halles, which can keep you out of the sun, the rain, the heat or the cold, depending on the time of year. I either go down to the river and wander along the river banks in the Garenne and Lemot park, or park at the top of town and stroll around the Halles and surrounding streets. In the series of photos at the end, you will see some stone steps that join the two options, but I have dodgy knees, and those steps are like leg day at the gym. You can avoid those steps by just following the road that wraps itself around the church, and going under the tree that just got tired and decided to rest on the house opposite.

But this time I decided to break out of my habits and visit the Quartier St Jacques with its decommissioned chapel, and garden. It’s yet another pretty place in a pretty town, and when I was sitting there in the sun, I felt that I didn’t have a care in the world. Serenity flooded my mind and all was well with the world…

Stonehenge is something different for most people. For some it is a historical site in Wiltshire, and despite not being part of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, still remains pretty special. For some more “alternative” folks, it’s an ancient spiritual centre, and just happens to be on converging energy lines. For some it’s a day out with the children.

We had come back from a cruise that had taken us around the Canary islands, Lisbon, and Galicia in Spain. Thank you Mummy, and thank you Daddy! I think they felt guilty about us always coming up to see them in Northumberland, and wanted us to get a different holiday experience. Well, different it was! But that is a totally different story, and the photos can be found in the Olympus Trip 35 article.

So our ship docked at Southampton and we still were in the holiday mood. I remember as a small boy visiting Stonehenge, and thought it was “the” opportunity to introduce my family to the site.

It seemed slightly smaller than I remember it. As do most things if I’m going to be honest with you, but the majesty of the stones remained. As did the wonder at the fact that these stones had been dragged overland from Wales, and put into place, with the joints still being “rock solid” and down to the nearest millimetre. I work in a factory that does industrial woodworking and I know what we can do with modern tools and technology and yet here, this massive construction was put together using basic tools.

The children were just taking in the whole experience, and rather bemused at the sight of Japanese tourists being shoved around the site and taking the obligatory selfie. They also seem quite bemused by the amount of school groups being led around.

I preferred, as often as I do, to just take my time and take it all in and get some photos of the place. With the 40 mm zuiko lens I was getting some lovely environmental shots that you can see below.

My wife, however, was in tears. Crying her heart out. She later confided in me telling me how she just felt overcome with emotion. Maybe those lines of energy for those alternative folks might have something in them…