Yesterday was another day with choices to be made. Having been to the Bentham Show last year I chose to go again as it's a bit different to most being held in the auction mart, with just a bouncy castle and kids disco for entertainment. One ice cream van, the mart café and a sausage butty trailer provide the catering options. The show is very much about local farming and community.
The sign for the show reflects the feel of the show for me.
Because the livestock are judged in the mart, the sheep judged in the main pens the cattle on one of the auction rings, it was difficult to get any pictures of their arrival. I grabbed one of some Charrolais sheep going past the hay and silage exhibits. Yes, that is something which has a section of its own! Being held under cover makes the light levels generally low, but when the sun shines brightly the light can become quite photogenic.
This is shot is just to show the main sheep judging aisle. The smaller classes were in more cramped and inaccessible aisles.
My best opportunity for photographing judging was with the Rough Fell sheep which were being judged on the outside edge of the pens. Apparently this was the first time there'd been a class for Rough Fells, and one took the overall champion's rosette.
It's good to see younger faces doing the judging.
Inside the procedure is taken seriously, with much debate over which sheep will be picked out as a winner.
I had intended taking some more close ups of sheep, but failed. The sheep wouldn't play nicely. Instead I went for wider views.
And took advantage of the sunlight.
Something I can never decide on is whether to take a series of pictures which tell the story of each day and end up with even more repetition than I do get, or if I should look only for 'new' pictures which help pain the bigger picture. That would probably be an easier decision to make if I'd set myself a clearly defined goal at the outset. Maybe that's what I should do next time I think of starting a project? Although I think I'd probably find that a bit restrictive, taking photographs to fit a predetermined format.