Click/tap the image above to view a panoramic 360° view of the scene in your browser
Taking advantage of some welcome sunshine and very little breeze early on a Sunday morning, I made it to a nearby Pennine clough to capture this verdant carpet of wild garlic.
We’re almost at the end of the wild garlic season, which normally runs from March to early May. Their allium aroma still permeates the woods but now their delicate white flowers punctuate the woodland floor, heralding their imminent demise. The last decade or so has seen a resurgence in interest in foraged and wild foods in the UK, celebrating fresh, local flavours. Ramsons, or wild garlic, remains one of the most abundant and yet underused.
This is one of my favourite times of the year: the greening of foliage above and on the woodland floor; the gentle waving of the ramson fronds, and wild native bluebells appearing under the protective canopy of the trees, soundtracked only by songbirds and the odd bleat of spring lambs on the slopes above. That helps to underline that spring is (finally) here…
Click/tap the image above to view a panoramic 360° view of the scene in your browser
Possibly the best off licence in the North? Well, it’s certainly my idea of a well-hopped heaven… a true beer nirvana nestling on a quiet back street in the leafy suburbs of Leeds.
Beer Ritz has long been on my list of places to visit, due to the incredible selection of craft beers, real ales and imported rarities. Set up by acclaimed beer writer Zak Avery in the 90s, there’s one thing that’s not in doubt: these guys really know and love their beer.
And tastes are changing across the UK too; celebrating our brewing heritage, revelling in the fruits of the revolution from across the Atlantic from dynamic young craft breweries in the US, and enjoying more esoteric and exciting European brewers. After years where beer was largely synonymous with bland, base and bubbly lager, pubs and retailers are now catering for a public hungry for new tastes. Outlets like Beer Ritz, and the great beers they carry, are at the forefront of this change. I for one’ll drink to that. Cheers!
Back in 2008 I shot a panorama of Barry aka TheHangGang’s toy room, and gawped at the selection of carded Star Wars figures he had displayed next to his vinyl toys. Fast forward a shade more than four years and his collection is bigger, better and badder than ever. As a kid, I had a decent collection of Star Wars figurines, and the imagination to transport them and I to wherever I wanted to be, but they were loved, used and abused rather than left box-fresh. So seeing a the range of pristine figures, and the accompanying vehicles, all displayed perfectly was enough to bring out the inner child in me once again.
Click/tap the image above to view a panoramic 360° view of the scene in your browser
I attended the latest of the ongoing Brunch Bytes sessions at Lancaster University’sInfoLab21 this week – this was about Interactive Surfaces and Tables. I’m always interested in the intersection of design, technology and interactive content; and found this session particularly informative and inspiring.
After the session, I caught up with John Hughes and Chris Bull, the two PhD researchers who’d delivered the seminar. While their main focus had been on the ‘Coffee Table‘ project, they also briefly referenced another research piece – an interactive table gaming application – during the talk. Their enthusiasm was infectious, piquing my curiosity, so I asked if I could take a look and shoot a panorama.
Inside the HighWire Doctoral Training Centre I saw the interactive table, which is very cool. The demo allows two users to play against each other, driving 3D vehicles head-to-head around a course. You can see each user’s vehicle displayed on their respective monitors, as they control them with gamepads. The really cool thing, though, is the real-time 3D object and collision detection… the vehicles are navigating around and interacting with real objects on the table’s surface. So you can drive up the wooden ramps (and fall off them, even feeling the impact with the controller’s force feedback), or stop a car by placing your hand on the table as an obstacle. Better still, the CG elements are projected onto the table surface in realtime… so you can drive your car around, smashing into CG wooden boxes and dodging around real-world objects, all whilst trying to race, avoid or ram your opponent. The mix of real and CG terrain and objects is compelling and the gameplay is rather addictive. Exceedingly clever stuff.
I understand the core of the system uses an overhead-mounted Microsoft Kinect, the graphics were built with the OGRE engine, the projector is an off-the-shelf number, and there’s a lot of smart home-brew code holding it all together. I hope to be able to link to more technical details, and I also shot some video which I’ll post here soon, to better show the whole kit in action.
It promises to be a great launch, with 1982-flavoured food and music; family-friendly activities; an inspiring range of wonderful products on sale; and English Electric and Thomas Thorp joining the musical dots from the last thirty years. If you’re in the Northern Quarter in Manchester on Saturday it’ll be a grand afternoon out, so pop in and check it out…
I’ve had a soft spot for the Craft Centre since I first came to Manchester in the 90s… to me it’s the best place to look for inspiration, original gifts and craft pieces. Plus Oak Street Café’s food is wonderful as well…
Anti Limited shot a virtual tour of the Craft Centre last summer (we tried our best to catch the summer sun, but to no avail. To preface tomorrow’s launch, here’s one of the views: an aerial shot from the centre of the ground floor, just outside the café. Check out the mouth-watering array of food on the serving hatch. We’ll put more views online next week, so be sure to check back and see more. Or follow antilimited on Twitter or subscribe to our RSS feed to ensure you don’t miss out…
And if you’d like to see more in the meantime, here’s another panorama I shot just over just over two years ago, showing off the Yarnbombing exhibition at the time…
A small selection of images from a recent shoot at the Headen & Quarmby production facility in Greater Manchester. Recently featured in Mary Portas‘ new show on Channel 4, “Mary’s Bottom Line“, the building’s filled with reminders of the rich heritage, skills and traditions of clothing production in the north of England.
Trading for almost eighty years, the building is full of materials, fabrics, machinery and memories which harks back to the glory days of British textile production in the mid 2oth century. There are reminders everywhere of a close-knit community of skilled workers. Now, as the machines operate here once again, age-honoured manufacturing techniques sit cheek-by-jowl with modern computer aided design.
After a decade when the machines were mothballed and production moved overseas, once again the factory is resonating to the sounds and sights of undergarment manufacture, staffed by a group of new apprentices tasked with making Kinky Knickers in Blighty. And right now, these knickers are hot…
Lovingly made using authentic Nottingham lace, the new Kinky Knickers collection flies the flag for British manufacturing. Championed by retail guru Mary Portas, each pair is handcrafted by local apprentices, and comes in a gorgeous vintage-inspired gift box. Leading retailers… including Liberty, Marks and Spencer, John Lewis, House of Frazer, ASOS, Boots and others… have embraced the chance to carry the cheekily retro, 100% British underwear. Public demand for the new lines is incredibly high, and everyone was working flat out (though not getting their knickers in a twist) when I was onsite.
Acclaimed creative agency Mill Co are delivering a new Headen & Quarmby website and brand development, and Anti Limited was commissioned to photograph the detail and character inside in the company’s headquarters in Middleton. As well as a range of intimately observed stills, taking full advantage of the natural light and unprepared working environment, we also captured a 360° panorama of the production floor. This gives vistors a chance to see the story behind the knickers…
Click/tap the image above to view a panoramic 360° view of the scene in your browser
This is a superbly positive project; a great story of British talent and optimism, and it provided an evocative selection of details to capture and highlight. The subject matter gels closely with many personal and professional projects we’ve worked on, and it’s always good to support a scheme which promotes locally made, quality products. There was a tangible pride and professionalism with everyone I met – deservedly so, judging by their products – and I hope they maintain their position as a successful, well-respected British manufacturer for the next few decades. Thanks to all the staff at Headen & Quarmby for their unbridled co-operation and enthusiasm.
You can view a larger gallery of photographs from the day’s shoot here on Flickr…
A selection of 360° panoramic views from the Northern Restaurant & Bar 2012 show at Manchester Central Convention Complex on March 13th. Many of these are aerial shots, providing a unique perspective on this event. If you were there, look around and you might spot yourself. If not, these views will put you right in the centre of the show…
To launch the full panoramic view, simply click/tap on each preview image. Fully compatible with desktop computers and iPhone/iPad, as well as many other mobile devices.
Keeping it local, I managed to make the most of a brief window in the weather and shoot a couple of panoramas on my doorstep in Todmorden this weekend.
(Click/tap the image above to view a panoramic 360° view of the scene in your browser)
Firstly, the outdoor market under some welcome blue skies. We’re lucky to still have an active indoor and outdoor market, unlike many similar-sized towns nearby. Although it faces increased competition from faceless supermarkets encroaching on the area, Tod market provides a great selection of goods & foodstuffs for local consumers. Campaigns such as Incredible Edible Todmorden have proudly promoted locally produced and sourced products, tying this in with greater awareness and action about the welfare and sustainability of foodstuffs.
The panorama below shows four traders, all of whom sell superb fresh local and regional produce. In the marquee you can see local free range pork farmers Porcus serving up one of their amazing rare breed hog roasts, and as you pan around you’ll see Paul the fishmonger (bringing fish direct from Fleetwood), Christine from CN Produce (who sells Porcus bacon and sausages amongst other regional delights) and Hazelwood’s greengrocers. Definitely the best place to shop in the town… totally local, and great value!
Incidentally, here’s a timelapse video I shot of a previous Porcus hog roast in Rawtenstall last year…
Secondly, inside Todmorden’s glorious Victorian Town Hall (which I originally shot back in 2008), was the annual Made in Tod show, organised by Todmorden Business Association to showcase local companies and producers. The event was well attended, and I decided to take capture this panorama from high above the exhibitors, using an aerial pole rig. I particularly like the ‘mirrorball’ view below, which provides a unique perspective on the event…
(Click/tap the image above to view a panoramic 360° view of the scene in your browser)
I recently attended a ‘Food Inspirers’ open day at the Porcus farm, a wonderful sixteenth century barn on the moors high about Todmorden, as part a range of activities by Incredible Edible Todmorden. We watched (and tried our hand at) sausages being made, playful porkers frolicking in their free range pens, listened to the importance of proper porcine welfare, and heard about the occasional escaped pig.
It was a great opportunity to meet like-minded people, and it certainly helped to engage the visitors and give them an idea of life on an ethically-run free range farm. Most people also left with some of the great bacon, sausages and pork on sale, inspired and enthused after seeing how much care and consideration goes into these pig’s lives.
You can read much more about the day in a great write up on Culture Vulture, and you can view 360° panoramas of the group, and Dan from Porcus making sausages by clicking the links below…
Click/tap the image above to view a panoramic 360° view of the scene in your browser
Click/tap the image above to view a panoramic 360° view of the scene in your browser
I only found out about this old stone cross last year when I was researching for another project. It stands on the hills between Todmorden and Cliviger, near the Lancashire/Yorkshire border. There’s some debate about how old Mount Cross actually is, with locals suggesting it may originally date from the 7th century, although other estimates date it from the 11th or 12th century. Either way, it’s the most ancient religious monument in the area, and may have stood weatherbeaten and resolute looking down the valley for close to a millenium. Pre-Schism, pre-enclosure, pre-industrial – there were still wild boar and wolves around back then – I imagine even in those days the silhouette of this priapic religious feature may’ve raised a smile or two, earning it the nickname of the ‘Rude Stone’.
Click or tap the image above to view a panoramic 360° view of the scene in your browser
Since shooting the video below (a short HDR timelapse of the sun setting here last year) I’ve harboured the desire to get back and capture a really stunning sky. One late Saturday afternoon, as the sun set quicker than the temperature, I grabbed a couple of DSLRs and set off up the hill. First I shot some bracketed stills, then, just as the sun dropped over the hills, captured this HDR 360° panorama.
The new Anti Limited website is launching in May 2012. In the meantime you can browse a recent selection of projects here on the Anti Limited blog.
This blog showcases a mixture of personal, and professional projects (often works in progress) by Joby Catto of Anti Limited. Subject matter and techniques vary greatly, but the predominant focus here is on 360° panoramic content.
All recent content is HTML5/CSS3 compatible, so will display on iOS and many other mobile devices, as well as Macs and PCs. Please look around: hope you enjoy what you see here.
