The Chicken Shack

I don't know why I'm always surprised when I see something that I have walked past time and time again, but I am. Every week I walk down the lane to the village at least three times, often more but I can't recall noticing the chicken weather vane on a garden shed until today. I took a couple of snaps but determined to make a better fist of it when the rain eased off. Whenever I plan anything it goes wrong, and although it's only five minutes away by the time I returned, after setting off in bright sunshine, a large black cloud had rolled in. I used the lighting geek's most hated tool (the pop-up flash) to make the white chicken stand out more. I know I'm a Philitine but I quite like the way a pop-up flash makes things look. I'll have another go sometime, when the wind is more from the west, but for now this will do.

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Or maybe I'll go for a wider view?

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The short visit to the feed merchants got me a couple of pictures I wanted to improve for the files, and the notice board informed me of another auction next weekend. On my way home I came across another roadside egg sale and was particularly struck by the pink honesty box for some reason.

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On this afternoon's wander I turned off a track onto the lane and there was bloke carrying a chicken! One of Simon and Debbie's new hens had escaped. Although the pics I took are no more than snaps wing clipping is something I'd like to try and photograph at some point. The gate made it impossible to get a decent angle on proceedings this time. Even when the photos aren't up to much I find they can give me more ideas of where things can go with the project, and stumbling on the wing clipping means I'll have a better idea of what to expect and where to position myself next time. Everyday's a schoolday as tghe saying goes.

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The wider view of the weather vane.. definitely. The first one is just too conventional.
 
The wider view of the weather vane.. definitely. The first one is just too conventional.
Ta. I'll ask them to trim the hedge a bit so I can get a clearer shot of it. Or take a pair of step ladders along. :D
 
Smaller aperture too... trees and fence look out of focus to me.
 
It was an afterthought that I just grabbed on the fly. It's all soft TBH. :(

How many words should I be aiming at for an intro/statement? I could easily write a short essay but am trying to keep it concise - under 500 words, preferably around 300. More editing!
 
Depends what purpose it will serve. It's just to accompany an exhibition, then less than 500 words... usually around 200 or so. If it's for a website, maybe less.. 150 or so.

Look at the short statements on my website for examples.
 
I was thinking two or three paras for the web and a bit more for an exhibition (if it ever comes to that!). When I have something near to what I'm after I'll post it here or a link.
 
Sure... post it up when you're ready and I'll have a read.
 
Bloody hell I'm out of practice with this writing lark. Oddly enough, while I'm very sloppy with my photography I'm really picky about my writing - trying to avoid the overuse of 'poultry' is a nightmare!. This is what I have at the moment. Liable to change at the drop of a hat.

Short version for http://poultryplease.blogspot.co.uk/p/info.html (this is aimed at poultry keepers who I give a link to in order that they can see what I'm doing):

Poultry Please grew out of a chance visit to a poultry show in 2013 where I was immediately struck by the dedication of the owners and the clear affection they have for their birds.

Fascinated, I soon became aware of how popular chickens are and how support industries beyond the traditional animal feed merchants have sprung up to meet the needs of a new wave of poultry keepers.

As this project progresses I hope the photographs will provide an insight into small-scale poultry keeping in the 21st century as well as the pleasure and interest which chicken keeping brings to many people's lives.​

Longer, more 'serious' version (for ???) (Words to avoid using; explore, examine, investigate. ;)):

Poultry Please grew out of a chance visit to a poultry show in 2013 where I was initially fascinated by the chickens themselves but soon became aware of the dedication of the owners and the clear affection they have for their birds.

Following that and subsequent shows I discovered previously unknown poultry keepers among my friends and neighbours – be that a couple of back garden hens to provide a supply of fresh eggs, a few former battery hens scratching around on a small holding or a flock of rare breed chickens on an allotment. It now seems to me that poultry keeping is more widespread and popular than ever, in both town and country, but often overlooked.

This ongoing project is aiming to show the variety of 21st century recreational poultry keeping and poultry keepers and the support industries which they rely on, both traditional and modern. In doing so I hope the photographs will provide an insight into what is involved in the keeping of poultry along with the pleasure and interest which chicken keeping brings to many people's lives.​

I have thought about mentioning the historical association of humans and chickens which somehow seems relevant to me as a connection with the development of modern civilisation through agriculture and the domestication of animals.

A couple of roadside egg sales from the Bank Holiday.

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I have thought about mentioning the historical association of humans and chickens which somehow seems relevant to me as a connection with the development of modern civilisation through agriculture and the domestication of animals.

Thinking about the above I realised that the changing relationships of people living in an increasingly urbanised society to livestock, wildlife and the natural world in general is something of a theme that runs through a lot of my photography. It's there indirectly in the Autoflora project in the way we speed past nature without paying it any attention, and more obviously in a couple of ongoing projects which I haven't posted on TP. Funny how you don't always realise what you're doing until you start analysing one aspect of it that makes apparent a connection.

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Win some lose some. 340 plus frames shot at today's auction, edited down to 40 that sort of tell the story (a few below the whole lot here) with even less worth filing for use in the project. So it goes.

Struggling again with low light and nigh on impossible white balance issues. Not to mention a camera that decided to change shutter speed of its own accord when in manual for a few minutes. :thinking:

It would be easy to single out 'characters', either as candids or by asking permission, but that would just be a collection of pointless pictures of people to my mind. What I'm trying to find are people doing things or interacting. Which is bloody difficult.

I'll see what tomorrow's auction brings. Then it'll be time to make a start photographing people with their birds. I hope the longer evenings will make that a bit easier to arrange.

This ones blurry as owt, but I kinda like it.

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1 and 2 work well for the story I feel.
 
It's always a bit of a conundrum knowing what to photograph and how as it can depend on the audience that will see the pictures. Poultry fanciers will appreciate a different sort of picture to the sort of people who buy photobooks, for example. Pictures for a feature Lancashire Life would have to be different to pictures for Photoworks or Source. Not that I'm planning on my pictures ending up anywhere really, but it does make me wonder what sort of person might look at them.

That said I got another copy of the book I did on Blurb printed and gave it to the chairman at he bantam society's auction today. It seemed fair to give them something in return for them putting up with me at their events. I think it was well received, it certainly got passed around and raised a smile or two.

The auction was completely different to the big one yesterday. More relaxed, and somehow taking photographs didn't feel like work for some reason. Which was good because I have an aversion to work! After feeling like things were going backwards yesterday I'm more positive about things today.

Four from today below - full set here.

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One of the places I first photographed a sign has gone up-market and had a sign made professionally. Not quite the same effect. Mind you they had no eggs today and had to improvise.

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I passed by the 'community farm' to see what was happening. Which was nothing. However, the chicken run has been repaired and some chooks installed. Not being very bright they all came rushing to the gate of their run when I pulled up outside the place. Time for me to arrange to meet up with Graham to take some pics.

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Love that last shot with the leaning chicken shack... LOL
 
Probably the result of four or five feet of flood water at Christmas! But it does make the picture.
 
Communal organic eggs are more expensive than yer average back garden eggs. £1.50 a box compared to the more usual £1.00.

I used to be indecisive, but now I can't make up my mind. I would have preferred a different angle, but also wanted to exclude a car from the shot. It still looks like allotments to me. :D

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At last the sign I've been waiting to reappear has done so. Now I can put the roadside egg sales to one side.

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The signs could be a project on their own.:)
 
One step forwards, one step back. I only set out late today and took a turn past the community farm. The step forward was being introduced to the chap in charge and getting permission from Graham to stop by any time to photograph his Marsh Daisies (a rare breed of local origin). Hearing how and why the farm came about and hat their aims are was really interesting - it would make a good subject for a project. Coincidentally Neil, the guy behind it all, used to be a photographer but packed it in when the recession hit him hard in 2009. So the good news is that I have secured access to the farm and am on their e-mailing list.

The step backwards was me failing to get any worthwhile pictures owing to being unprepared through not expecting to find anyone around and not knowing there'd be a hen sitting in a nest box in the dark! On the positive side I have determined a couple of things I want to photograph better. Graham's egg chart for one.

Marsh Daisy cockerel.

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Marsh Daisy hen in upcycled nest box (water bottle with the bottom cut off by the looks of things).

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Graham inside the chicken run. The fence is sunk two feet down, six feet tall, flagged all round and electrified when unattended to keep Mr Fox out.

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These next ones aren't part of this project, just snaps from the farm.

Neil in the polytunnel.

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Neil's photos for an open day on display in the barn.

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I loved the last 'to do' item on this list!

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Apparently he is a good example of the breed, his tail's tatty but he's one of the few chickens that survived the Boxing Day flood when the site was under five feet or more of water and the hen house floated away. When he moults and sprouts new tail feathers he should be even more splendid.
 
It looked set to be a bright, if cool, evening when I popped out today. But in the distance there was some foul looking clouds obviously depositing precipitation of some sort. I thought I'd drive out past the community farm and see if I could get some dramatic cloudscapes, but my landscape skills let me down as usual. However I noticed the new chicken shed had arrived and Graham had just turned up to put the finishing touches to the installing of it. It seemed impolite not to offer a hand so that's what I did, camera over shoulder. Then the weather hit and there was an almighty hail storm. After it passed and turned to rain we got back to work and slowly getting soaked.

However I think I got a few pictures in between getting wet and holding planks of wood, some of which might fit into the project. A few more ideas too. And the structure of the project is beinging to coalesce in my mind.

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It looked set to be a bright, if cool, evening when I popped out today. But in the distance there was some foul looking clouds obviously depositing precipitation of some sort. I thought I'd drive out past the community farm and see if I could get some dramatic cloudscapes, but my landscape skills let me down as usual. However I noticed the new chicken shed had arrived and Graham had just turned up to put the finishing touches to the installing of it. It seemed impolite not to offer a hand so that's what I did, camera over shoulder. Then the weather hit and there was an almighty hail storm. After it passed and turned to rain we got back to work and slowly getting soaked.

However I think I got a few pictures in between getting wet and holding planks of wood, some of which might fit into the project. A few more ideas too. And the structure of the project is beinging to coalesce in my mind.

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3 and 5 work well.
 
Thanks David. Those are the two I have marked down for potential inclusion in the project proper.
 
It was the bantam club's annual egg show today. For some of these people poultry keeping is an obsession a way of life. :D

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It was also the juniors' poultry and egg show.

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I shot over 300 frames, edited them down to around half that, then picked 25 for a gallery (http://dlst.co.uk/eggshow2016/index.html), then a selection for this thread. As usual I made a load of technical cock-ups and missed a few shots I'd have liked to get. My biggest failure being too slow a shutter speed. but so long as I come away with four or five pictures which I think will fit the final project I'm happy. The copy of my Blurb book which I gave to the club at their last show seems to have been well received (it was passed round at the last committee meeting), and I get fewer odd looks than I used to. I've also been offered some hens!

The main egg show had the best entry they've ever had, over 500 eggs I think, and judging took almost three hours. Judging is s a serious business involving scales, callipers, a keen eye and educated hands.

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After the judging the 'post mortem' begins.

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All the while committee members are hard at work.

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All in all another enjoyable and productive day. No more shows until autumn, unless I go to country fairs and the like, but a couple more auctions. So probably not much to appear here for a while.
 
Taking a wrong turn today lead me past yet another sign for free range eggs - both hen and duck. :)

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Hens must be laying well at the moment as a new stall has appeared beside a lane I drive down regularly. My research tells me that corn fed chicken lay eggs with very yellow yolks. And... Shell colour is breed dependent - Marans lay the darkest eggs. Reading up on chicken keeping is as fascinating as taking photographs of it! :)

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I almost forgot about the auction today. I wasn't feeling up to it owing to a lack of sleep, but I had nothing else to do so off I went, not expecting to be function very well as a consequence of my tiredness. As it turned out as soon as there were things to see I soon got into the swing of looking for pictures and thinking of subjects that would add to the project.. A cup of tea in the mart café when I got there perked me up to start off.

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There aren't a lot of chickens for sale at this time of year as they are raising chicks so there weren't as many folk present and the auction didn't go on so long. This time I was concentrating on finding details. Hopefully ones that will add 'colour' to the body of work.

As it was a quieter day I managed to get spend some time at the end photographing people taking their purchases away. Chickens don't always take kindly to being taken out of a small cage and put in a box. Which gives the chance for capturing some action.

I might not have added much to the project today but, as is often the case, the grey cells have been stimulated and more ideas generated.

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An unexpectedly busy day yesterday. There was a poultry and pigeon display at the village Rose Queen day again this year. I was expecting it this time so managed to get a few shots which I hope will prove useful. The display was certainly popular with people enquiring about keeping poultry.

I don't think I managed to get that across in my photos though. These people could have been looking in any marquee.

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This next one amused me. Which probably says a lot about my sense of humour...

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In the evening the poultry club held a box show. Unlike the usual shows a box show sees exhibitors turning up with their birds in boxes as usual, but to be penned in rotation as the various classes are announced for judging. After the awards are made for each class the birds are put back in their boxes. A far less formal arrangement. I'd like to get more pictures of the judging, but getting decent angles without getting in the way is tricky in the cramped space.

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There was an egg show too.

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I think I'm starting to go round in circles with this project. Despite visiting a different type of venue today a poultry show is a poultry show. It's the preparing and penning of birds and the judging I think I need to concentrate on more.


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I did manage to get one picture I've had in mind for some time, so all was not wasted.

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This is excellent work, Dave. You're telling the story of a group of enthusiasts with humour and candidness.
 
Thanks Dean. It's a lot of fun to do, too. There's a couple of country shows and another auction coming up soon. :)
 
Pics from today's auction still being sifted through, but on the way home I passed two more roadside egg sales, idiosyncratic in different ways.

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