Monthly Cobra's 12 (My MK Challenge) And I'm off......

Cobra

Cobra

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I've been tempted a few times to do something like this, but never had the "inspiration"
But now I have a dream an idea.

I live in Milton Keynes, the butt of many jokes due to the concrete cows and roundabouts.
But there is also a lot of history within the boundaries, dating back pre Roman times,
and of course, more recently, the "code-breakers" at Bletchley park, that reputedly shortened the war.

And did you know that the 1st successful heavy oil engine (diesel)
was actually built in the Fenny Stratford foundry ? (within the MK boundary)

So, I am going to be looking mostly at the "old MK" rather than the new.
Unfortunately, I doubt that I will get my signature "Gob shot" unless I
can catch a concrete cow yawning..................... ;)

Jeeze I'm gonna regret this :D
 
Think I will keep one eye on this, see how you do ;)

As wont ge time for a chalange this yea myself :)
 
Good luck Chris... you don't fancy doing a 52 then :D ??
 
Thanks Guys (y)
And I guess that would be pushing it just a tad John :D
Besides a new contract dictates I spend quite a bit of time working away from home.
(best excuse I can think of at short notice ;))
 
it'll be an intersting project an nice to see another side of mk good luck ,and if all else fails we could always get concrete cows and roundabouts
 
andybod said:
,and if all else fails we could always get concrete cows and roundabouts
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Thanks Andy (y)
And yep there are loads of roundabouts to choose from fall back on..
Each with their own individual character :D
(Some even have their own name, tis true ;))
Actually I must admit I am quite looking forward to getting "stuck in"
over the week-end now :)
 
Talking of old milton keynes chris , have you been to the 'wilderness' - if you go along the railway walk heading east , after crossing the GU canal its on your right between the canal and the walk - you need to scramble down quite steep embankment but theres a bunch of old statues and a series of ponds in there... It used to be part of linford manor gardens when they ran down to the river, but was cut off by the railway and canal and then abandoned.
 
Good luck m8.

As an AFC Wimbledon supporter I trust none of your pictures will show MK Dons!!
 
big soft moose said:
Talking of old milton keynes chris , have you been to the 'wilderness' - if you go along the railway walk heading east , after crossing the GU canal its on your right between the canal and the walk - you need to scramble down quite steep embankment but theres a bunch of old statues and a series of ponds in there... It used to be part of linford manor gardens when they ran down to the river, but was cut off by the railway and canal and then abandoned.
Click to expand...

I think I know the area you mean Pete, but no, not been there.
Landscapes / architecture are most certainly not my thing.
Thats what makes this attempted so "challenging"
But I might just have to check it out anyway ;)


King of Groove said:
Good luck m8.

As an AFC Wimbledon supporter I trust none of your pictures will show MK Dons!!
Click to expand...

Cheers Clive (y)
Actually I have access to the stadium as I do pest control there
So you never know;)
I'll ask my mate Pete Winkleman for a signed picture for you if you like :)
 
Theres also interesting shots to be had arround the peace pagoda at willen - I once took one of one stone lion framed by the legs of another for example

also when they do the hiroshima day floating candles thing thats quite photogenic ( I used to work for the Parks Trust , so i exploited my position to shoot that from willen island rather than the shore so i got a bunch of floaty candles with the peace pagoda in the background)
 
action photography on the ski tow at south willen ? - if you speak nicely to jamie at whitecap he might let you shoot from the pontoon - I used to do that in return for a cd of pics , also their regular jet ski races

carvings in Gt linford wood (theres 8 IIRC, some quite hard to find)

Gnomnon and chain reaction in campbell park - very good at sunset
 
jgs001 said:
you don't fancy doing a 52 then :D ??
Click to expand...

personally i think a big pink 366 is in order (its a leap year) - just take a compact wherever you go - simples
 
Thanks for the tips Pete. I've lived here many many years and seen the
farm land and villages swamped under the boot of Commission for new towns / MKDC.
So I'm gonna try (mostly) for the old stuff with a bit of history behind it.
Nostalgia and all that.
 
plenty of that arround town - I actually think they've done an okay job of preserving the village characters despite surrounding them with a city - if you think of somewhere like woolstone/woughton/simpson it doesnt feel much different to the villages out in the sticks (apart from the traffic noise)

Talking of which there's some nice old architecture on the old road (now redway) that comes out of the OU campus going towards simpson. and woolstone chapel/church is norman in origin IRRC correctly.
 
:LOL: Pete, I think Chris has probably got all that already on his to do list seeing as he was probably there before the romans ;)

Chris, if you do pop along to AFC Wimbledon, say hi to big Jase for us :D
 
This has been on my list of "to do" concidering I don't live far I haven't been here since it was actually completed.

The Peace Pagoda, was built in 1980 by the Monks and Nuns of the Nipponzan-Myōhōji and was the first to be built in the western hemisphere.



Buddhist temple with its ornate (miniature) Japanese garden
(in the same area)





And finally the stone healing circle

 
And the rest are here, if you are interested, click the thumbs.

 
nice set there chris - the peace pagoda allways makes me a bit sad as i alwauys remember the head monk Handa , who died a few years back when he rolled a tractor while cutting the grass on the slopes arround the temple. :crying:

Makes me hope that he was right about reincarnation and that he's come back as a swan on the lake to watch over his creation
 
Thanks Pete (y) and yep it was a real shame :(

But who knows Eh? ;)
 
Yep tragic waste - if only he'd had a roll cage :shake: - I used to be the area ranger for the nort west quadrant (before the parks trust was restructured in 04 - after that i was the volunteers scheme coordinator), so many's the time that I dropped by the temple and had tea with the monks

Did you go inside ? (the temple - not the pagoda ;) )
 
The temple wasn't there when I was "involved"
They were still at newlands farm at the time, and technically yes,
I have been inside the Pagoda.
But of course it wasn't fully constructed then ;)
 
LOl - I meant this time - did you go inside the temple and take pretty pictures
 
big soft moose said:
LOl - I meant this time - did you go inside the temple and take pretty pictures
Click to expand...

Not this time Pete, it looked as though something was going on,
so I stayed a respectful distance ;)

King of Groove said:
Good start Chris. Never knew the temple existed.
Click to expand...
Cheers Clive Its not obvious but there is a small sign for the car park.

^Joe said:
Nice pics Cobra and a cool set of stories!!

The first two are slightly wonky though aren't they?

Nice vibrant colours.
Click to expand...
Thanks for dropping by and commenting Joe (y)
I think you'll find it an "illusion" they were shot at 24mm, and not "dead square on" so there is a little barrel distortion.
The uprights are upright when placed on a grid though.
 
Nice job Chris... Looks an interesting place and you've captured it.... I was thinking like Joe that it looks a bit wonky... I get the barrel distortion along the bottom edge... unless it's cos the pagoda is on a slope ??
 
jgs001 said:
Nice job Chris... Looks an interesting place and you've captured it.... I was thinking like Joe that it looks a bit wonky... I get the barrel distortion along the bottom edge... unless it's cos the pagoda is on a slope ??
Click to expand...

Thanks John, (y)
unfortunately the ground is far from level, in all plains.
I tried various crops and rotations and this one looks the best, although
I do understand / appreciate what you and Joe are saying though.
As far as I can remember it was actually built without any modern equipment whatsoever,
(and that probably includes a spirit level :D).
I went there many times during the building process.
I never saw any plant or equipment there.
But boy, could they unload 10 tons of scaffold, by hand, in record time!
 
Good start Chris - i think that Peace Pagoda would look fab at sunset or rise with a low angle of light and a long exposure to get some dramatic sky blurring. Your image has lovely light, especially with the sun and the dark clouds, but I think it could be even more dramatic (y)
 
wallyboy said:
nice set cobra (y)
Click to expand...
Thanks its appreciated (y)

Yv said:
Good start Chris - i think that Peace Pagoda would look fab at sunset or rise with a low angle of light and a long exposure to get some dramatic sky blurring. Your image has lovely light, especially with the sun and the dark clouds, but I think it could be even more dramatic (y)
Click to expand...

Thanks for dropping by and commenting Yvonne (y)
And you are quite right, I think that its so photogenic that
there are so many (Too many :D) possibles with light and cloud variations.
 
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