Although I've skipped a poultry show and an auction in favour of sheep dog trials of late I still found myself at the mart for yesterday's poultry sale. It was probably the lack of a better offer because I wasn't all that enthusiastic. What is there left for me to get photographs of? As it turned out, there were a few things. Mostly the booking in and cataloguing of the hatching eggs and deadstock. They take entries on the day for this part of the sale and the numbers of eggs arriving took everyone by surprise. There weren't enough tables to take them all and some ended up being stashed on the floor.
There's a lot of paper involved in these sales. Both booking in and booking out. This was the scene as the eggs were arriving.
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Each sheet relates to a lot, which has to have the correct number assigned to it. I'm in two minds about low angle shots. They can have impact, but at teh same time can look a bit like a trick. I've probably not explained that very well. Does the form trump the content?
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It took a lot of attempts to get a clear picture of a number being applied to a lot.
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Then there are the buyers making notes in their catalogues of which lots they are interested in. I liked the repetition in this frame.
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The sale ring for the eggs and deadstock isn't the best location for getting a decent angle on anything once the auction is under way. It's not much better in the big shed where the poultry cages are, but this time I decided to do the obvious thing and photograph people in the throng when I could get a decent angle. I guess these sort of pictures add a it of 'seasoning' to the project.
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Early on the light coming through the doors and the slats of the shed was making for photogenic effects. Somehow, to me, this kind of thing is a bit obvious and kind of 'so what?". I still couldn't resist a taking a few frames though.
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I even liked the light in the mart café!
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As ever the eight picture per post limit leaves me wondering if I've picked the best, or most relevant, frames. I've started shooting a lot more than I sued to - the result of a faster PC which makes editing the haul down less of a chore. 600 frames were easily reduced to 200, and 45 for
a gallery on my website. I don't delete also rans or near duplicates. This is a hangover from the days of slide film when I used to ensure I had 'spares' when I sent pictures to magazines which had a reputation for damaging or losing slides. I also developed the habit of keeping similar pictures as they can sometimes be different enough to work better in different places or layouts. Not knowing where (if anywhere) my pictures might find an audience I still operate this way. And some pictures serve as a reminder to make a better version of them in the future.
Thanks for reading this self-indulgent drivel and looking at the pics if you've got this far!