The Blight of the Countryside

Brocket Hall Estate is a fine example of 18th century parkland in the English county of Hertfordshire. The stately home in its grounds had been residence for two British prime ministers. The expansive land around the hall with its ancient and exotic trees had been later developed into two championship golf courses. Both now carry the names of these politicians - The Melbourne golf course and The Palmerston golf course. However, even this famous luxury resort had been affected by a terrible blight in British countryside: illegal dumping of waste.

Plate I

Last year on Christmas Eve I joined my friends for an enjoyable walk in English countryside. Part of the route, which is also public right of way, was leading through Lea valley and Brocket Hall Estate. In the woodland called Flint Bridge Plantation, visible from public footpath we glimpsed rubbish covering vast area of the forest floor. The extent of waste spread in this woodland was completely incomprehensible. We recently walked the same route again and seeing the damage to environment repeatedly I decided that I need to document this area photographically.

Landscape painting and to a large extent landscape photography is dominated by “pretty pictures”. However, some artistic endeavour is devoted to depicting landscapes during or after human interventions. Such representations are certainly not idealised views with ability to enhance positive emotional states. Quite the contrary. But these perspectives should inform the public, document the scope of some problems or critique systems in our civilisation.

Quick search online revealed that this particular fly-tipping incident happened here over several days more than five years ago (in 2018). In the BBC article it was estimated that there is 400 tonnes of rubbish on one acre of land with potential cost of a clean up at £80 000. Even though the Fly Tipping on Private Land Pilot Fund had been introduced in 2018 unfortunately this fund is not available for private parks and estates. It may be that the cost of much needed clean up operation is really prohibitive but the fact is the waste is still here and causing inevitable damage in this place.

This is however, not an isolated incident. The whole UK is affected by actions of unscrupulous individuals or companies illegally disposing of rubbish to fields, forests or streets. According to organisation Countryside Alliance, “there was over one million incidents of fly-tipping recorded in 2021/2022 alone. This is equivalent of 124 incidents of fly-tipping every hour.” DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) recorded in the same time 37 000 incidents involving ‘tipper lorry load’ size with the cost of clearance £10.7 million.

What could be the cause of this problem? Well, it could partially be the official policies themselves as in 2017 some UK county councils very much increased the prices of bulky waste dumping and at the same time the construction and commercial waste was being banned from council recycling centres as more rigorous segregation prior to dumping was introduced. In other words, tighter regulation around correct waste disposal may have led to massive increase in fly-tipping. There was also one more occurrence that affected how the UK deals with its waste. In January 2018 China banned import of waste from other countries. Until that time it was standard practice to export various waste there not only for the UK but also for other European countries, the USA, Australia and Japan. According to article The waste ban in China: what happened next? Assessing the impact of new policies on the waste management sector in China written in Environmental Geochemistry and Health (Na song, Iain McLellan, Wei Liu, Zhenghua Wang & Andrew Hursthouse) “One of the main reasons for the ban of waste imports is the serious environmental contamination and the associated human health derived from handling Waste electrical and Electronic equipment (WEEE) imports.” The export of waste, also known as global plastic waste trade, continued to other Asian countries like Malaysia. And in a lot of instances according to Greenpeace organisation which commissioned the report into this practice, it was being dumped and burned illegally. Then the export of waste from the UK found different routes to different countries, some actually in Europe (like for example Netherlands or Poland).

Returning to the forest with the tonnes of waste on the forest floor the conclusion for the natural world is that it had been contaminated by various inorganic materials which have a lasting negative impact on local ecology and wildlife. As it is very hard to decompose it makes the top soil layer impenetrable by new plant roots. The water from rains is also retained by the waste and is not draining properly down into the soil. Absorption of minerals that normally end up in the soil decreases and as a result the number of microorganisms that make the soil fertile declines.

The public naturally call for larger penalties or longer sentences for people committing these crimes and that may be a good deterrent but at the same time that would only be addressing these issues partially. What is also needed is change in policies, perhaps with incentives and streamlining the systems in dealing with waste disposal in general. These days the local problem can be a global problem and vice versa.

Plate II

Plate III

Plate IV

Plate V

Plate VI

Plate VII

Plate VIII

Plate IX

Plate X

Plate N

Camera Obscura - The story behind the photograph

The principle behind camera obscura has been known to people for more than two millennia. The effect consists of rays of light travelling through tiny aperture into darkened chamber following the laws of optics and then being projected on to opposite wall as an inverted image. What is outside of the chamber may be inside it. This phenomena still continues to produce wonders when seen with one’s own eyes. And so one day it appeared to me to try and examine this effect for myself.

Camera obscura, these two latin words can be translated as darkened chamber and practically it is what it says. The only condition for the effect to appear in such darkened room is to have a small hole through a wall or hole through temporary covers hung over windows. This darkened chamber with small aperture therefore acts like a giant camera and becomes “alive” with projected image from the outside.

The first man to describe this phenomenon was Chinese philosopher and founder of Mohism, Mozi (470-390 BCE) 墨子. He noted the image is displayed upside down and from left to right. Since then it had been many others like Aristotle, Euclid or Al-Kindi who noticed the effect and expanded on the study of this mystery. However, the first to really analyse the effects produced by camera obscura was Arab mathematician Hasan Ibn al-Haytham ابن الهيثم (1040-965), who had been using it as a device for observing partial solar eclipses. He published his findings in essay called On the shape of the eclipse. As a device, camera obscura was therefore developed as scientific instrument first. Several centuries later it was artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) who published in his major work Codex Atlanticus description of mechanics of camera obscura device. This rather scientific instrument had been slowly utilised by architects, draughtsmen and painters (notably by Rembrant, Vermeer, Canaletto or Guardi) as it proved to be very useful in creating detailed sketches of landscape and architecture as well as great help in capturing accurate linear perspective - a stylistic achievement that begun to appear in western art since the 15th century. Today there are countless examples built in as visitors attractions, be it Camera Obscura in Edinburgh, Camera Obscura in Photographer’s Gallery in London, Giant Camera in San Francisco or Cloud Chamber for Trees and Sky in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The influencing factor for making my single but significant image has been mainly the work of Cuban-American photographer Abelardo Morell (1948) whose ongoing photographic project Camera Obscura got me interested in the first place to try this technique for myself. It is de facto using “a camera within a camera”.

I started off by testing and creating first photographs in my home in London but as the view outside of my room was not as interesting I began to look for something different and more thought-provoking. The idea came to me after I visited my friend Monika who lives in Hampstead Garden Suburb, an area in London known for the early 20th century domestic architecture initiated by social reformer Henrietta Barnett. Her place proved to be ideal conceptually as the typical brick building is “mirrored” by another building opposite and both of them are of the same design with exactly the same features. The resulting photograph did not come easily but it depicts how the house looks in interior and exterior at the same time.

Example of camera obscura effect similar to situaion in photograph “Camera Obscura, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London” above.

Bohemian Pilgrimage to Santini's Baroque Gothic Architecture

Baroque architecture in Europe is relatively ubiquitous. But among the grand buildings spread throughout various European cities there is also unique approach to this style in the form of Czech High Baroque branch that connects Bohemian Radical Baroque style with gothic elements. Naturally, it is simply called Baroque Gothic. The main representative and creative mind behind this style was Jan Blažej Santini Aichel who worked in the beginning of the 18th century on many projects of sacral architecture.

Pilgrimage Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary and Cistercian Provost Office in Mariánská Týnice (1707-1710), Czech Republic

Jan Blažej Santini Aichel (1677-1723) was born in Prague and was baptised in St Vitus cathedral. His father came to Kingdom of Bohemia from what is now Italy and became acclaimed stonemason with his own workshop. Santini started his career as an apprentice in his his fathers’ workshop together with his younger brother František. However, due to Santini’s disability which consisted of paralysis of half of his lower body, it was difficult for him to continue in his father’s footsteps and the workshop was later taken over by his brother. In teenage years Santini took up painting and studied under court painter and copyist Christian Schröder. When he was 19 years old he set off on travels to Austria and Italy where he came across works of architect Francesco Borromini who was leading figure of Roman Baroque architecture. It was during his stay on Italian peninsula when he adopted his father’s name Santini and this name stuck to him ever since.

Santini started to design buildings in 1700 and participated in many reconstructions as well. He is well known for using complex geometry and symbolism as well as numerology and great acoustics in his designs. Some of his buildings display elements of Christian mysticism as well. The playful use of natural light helps to depict the grandeur of interiors in astonishing ways and details. Santini was also no stranger to deployment of elaborate technological solutions. For example, the Convent of Cistercian Monastery in Plasy is uniquely built on marshy ground in floodplain of local river Strela. The foundations are made of 5,100 oak piles on which he laid a grate consisting of nearly 1700 wooden beams. This structure is permanently flooded in order for the oxygen to be kept out (without the oxygen the submerged oak wood solidifies) and to this day the water levels are checked twice a day as without constant replenishment of water by the canal dug here from river Strela, the building would crash down. This convent reconstructed by Santini during 1710-1740 is a technological marvel not only due to its large scale but also small details within the premises of the place.

Santini died in Prague in relatively young age of 46 years old. Throughout his life he designed 80 architectural works and the Pilgrimage Church of Saint John of Nepomuk in Žďár nad Sázavou is now UNESCO World Heritage site. Many of the convents and monasteries he designed, are accessible to visitors as part of guided tours. Some of the churches with marvelous acoustic properties also host musical concerts.

Asteroid 37699 Santini-Aichel, discovered in Kleť Observatory in 1996 is named in his honour.

View of the dome of Monastery Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary, St Wolfgang and St Benedict in Kladruby (1711), Czech Republic

The ceiling above altar in Monastery Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary, St Wolfgang and St Benedict in Kladruby (1711), Czech Republic

Monastery Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary, St Wolfgang and St Benedict in Kladruby (1711), Czech Republic

Altar in the Monastery Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary, St Wolfgang and St Benedict in Kladruby

The nave in Monastery Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary, St Wolfgang and St Benedict in Kladruby

Pilgrimage Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary and Cistercian Provost Office in Mariánská Týnice (1707-1710), Czech Republic

The dome of the Pilgrimage Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary and Cistercian Provost Office in Mariánská Týnice (1707-1710), Czech Republic

View from the cloisters of the Pilgrimage Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary and Cistercian Provost Office in Mariánská Týnice

Interior of the Pilgrimage Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary and Cistercian Provost Office in Mariánská Týnice

South view of Pilgrimage Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary and Cistercian Provost Office in Mariánská Týnice (1707-1710), Czech Republic

North view of Pilgrimage Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary and Cistercian Provost Office in Mariánská Týnice (1707-1710), Czech Republic

Convent of the Cistercian Monastery in Plasy, Czech Republic

Model of the Convent of the Cistercian Monastery in Plasy, Czech Republic

Nave and altar of the Convent Church in Plasy monastery

Nave and organ in the Convent Church in Plasy monastery

Study in Library wing of the Convent of the Cistercian Monastery in Plasy, Czech Republic

Dome of the St Bernard Chapel in the Convent of the Cistercian Monastery in Plasy, Czech Republic

The statue of Dream of St Lutgardis is plaster copy of the statue of the same name carved by Matyáš Bernard Braun for Charles Bridge in Prague

The ceiling frescoes in cloister of the Convent of the Cistercian Monastery in Plasy, Czech Republic

Capitular Hall in the Convent of the Cistercian Monastery in Plasy, Czech Republic

Great Hall in Benedictine Monastery, Rajhrad, Czech Republic

Hubenov (1734) - inside the roof frame

Hubenov - inside the roof frame

Hubenov (1734) - inside the roof frame of Abbot’s Manor tower

Hubenov (1734) - Farmstead with Abbot’s Manor

St. Prokop’s Church in Všehrdy (1723)

Kozojedy Church (1727)

Mladotice Chapel (1710) - the first Santini’s building

Mladotice Chapel

Mladotice Chapel (1710) - ceiling view

Treak Cliff - The Stream of Time

Looking down on the streams of vehicles moving through the Winnats Pass in Derbyshire I can hear only a slight humming noise from all the car’s engines produced below. Here at my level above the gorge, sheep’s bleat is still more dominant clamor. This part of the Peak District National Park in England is busy with traffic, especially in summer months when tourists come over here to enjoy the hills and numerous karst caverns inside them.

The name Winnats Pass (now also known as Arthur’s way) is derived from words ‘wind gates’. Its highest point is 383 meters and comes with impressive maximum gradient of 28 %. Such steep climb was the reason that this road was not being used as much as the nearby road designated A625 which went around the Treak Cliff hill. Over the 20th century, this road, routing on eastern side of Mam Tor (517m), had been subject to countless repairs due to many landslides on the flank of this hill. And because of the constant problems with these landslides, this road was finally closed in 1979.

View from Mam Tor on Treak Cliff with the entrance to Blue John Cavern

The view from the side of Mam Tor to its foot reveals the extent of landslides in more clarity. The hills are still ‘breathing’; they never stay still as the geological processes are in slow-moving action. And thanks to geological processes, there are now three caverns inside the Treak Cliff hill that are accessible to general public (Treak Cliff Cavern, Blue John Cavern and Speedwell Cavern).

The Fossil Cave with crinoids

The Dream Cave with stalagtites

The Witch’s Cave and rock with Blue John mineral

Aladdin’s Cave with multi-coloured flowstone

Blue John stone table top (fragment), Treak Cliff Cavern museum

Digging deep started in this area near Castleton village with led prospectors leading the way underground. By 1750’s there was more than 15 working mines in Treak Cliff alone. However, rather than mining led, these mines specialized on finding Blue John stone (fluorspar) which is a semi-precious mineral that had been largely used for making jewellery, ornaments, goblets and parts of furniture. Even in the height of mining production in the 18th century, the leases limited output to about 20 tons per year. When Blue John artefacts ceased to be fashionable in the early 20th century production did not stop entirely. Today the output is limited to one ton per year, and is mined mainly in Treak Cliff Cavern during winter months when visitors to these caves are scarce. Phasing out mining hasn’t stopped exploration of local underground. Since the 1920’s numerous new caves, routes and chambers have been discovered and today’s visitors can admire stalactites, stalagmites as well as various other rock formations and even fossils such as crinoids on routes through the show caverns.

Former mine in Treak Cliff Cavern near Castleton

Deep gorge where the Winnats Pass makes its way had been created by force of meltwater from glaciers running down at the end of last ice age about 10 000 years ago. Water has also been instrumental in creating the caves and passages in limestone rock over the course of millions of years. In Carboniferous period, about 350 million years ago, this area would have been at the bottom of a shallow tropical sea, still at the beginning of a journey forward to our times.

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Treak Cliff and Winnats Pass at night, Peak District, England

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Treak Cliff and Winnats Pass, Peak District, England

Edward Burra (1905 - 1976) - English Country Scene I.

Lidé a Země Magazine - Article and Photographs (London) published

My photographic essay about London’s buildings built in culturally different architectural styles to majority of structures have been published in the Czech geographical magazine Lidé a Země. It is in April edition which is significant this year due to magazine celebrating its 70th year anniversary since the beginning of the magazine in 1952.

Here is preface of the article which explains the cultural significance of these buildings and their history (the article itself in the magazine is in Czech language only):

Just as history itself, the development of architecture in London with its growth for nearly two thousand years, is very complex. When walking in the city today, one can behold homogeneous and inhomogeneous architectural wholes that mostly evolved according to the will of rich elites, due to whims of powerful businesses or on political commissions. And alongside the gothic, classical or modernist styles, also visible in other European cities, one can find Tudor, Georgian, Victorian or Edwardian architecture, styles designated by the names of then governing monarchs.

Should one ever try to get further and explore the city full of noble buildings or ordinary vernacular, it is possible to stumble upon “tiny pearls” with interesting stories attached to them. These, now often listed and culturally significant buildings, are built in “alien” architectural styles. Where do they come from?

Title photograph published in Lidé a Země - Fatboy’s Diner at Trinity Buoy Wharf, London

Diner is designation of American restaurants traditionally serving fries, hamburgers and other foods of American cuisine. This restaurant, prefabricated in New Jersey in 1940’s, eventually came to London. It is currently based in Trinity Buoy Wharf. The interior is of a typical design of 1940’s and the food is served with flavours of nostalgia. In the 20th century such restaurants were used predominantly by American working class.

Lidé a Země magazine - Article and Photographs (Suffolk and Norfolk) published

My article and photographs about English coastlines in Suffolk and Norfolk have been published in the Czech geographical magazine Lidé a Země. The text describes raising of sea levels throughout the ages as well as landscape-making and landscape management from historical and present perspective.

Here is the preface of the article (the article itself is in Czech language only):

East coast of England abounds with long and excellent sandy beaches. Twice a day these places are laid bare by massive ebb tides appearing in the North Sea. Many of these beaches are transformed and resemble desert landscapes. This strange zone between landmass and the sea lures people all year round. They come here not only to relax on the beaches but also to discover ancient times, recent history of Cold War and to watch for animals or birds. However, due to constant erosion of land these places are literally hanging by the thread.

The places described in my article include: Covehithe, Happisburgh, Norfolk Broads, Orford Ness, Blakeney Point and Snettisham.

In the same edition of this magazine I also have the short interview about the life in the UK.

Covehithe, The Beach at the End of the World

Remember the Museums?!

Living in London has always been a cultural experience for me. Great and enriching one, indeed. The metropolis exerts its influence not only on myself but on other people living here, on any visitors and to a certain extent on anyone who pays attention to civilization in its broad sense as London isn’t mere capital of the UK but also a world city. Museums here are abundant, multifarious, big and small, opulent and austere. But museums are everywhere and when it was still possible to travel, in the UK and abroad, I always had time to go to local museums as they perform a great service to the past, present and future generations. That is, when they were open.

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Reconstructed remains of temple of Mithras (240 AD), Bloomberg building, City of London

The museum(s), in any village, town or city is an integral part of that particular place and community. The museum and people who run it and participate in its workings help with accumulation of historical knowledge through objects and ideas it collects, displays, conserves and maintains. Many of these institutions are being tasked with advancing new knowledge by further research into various subjects they have been set up to perform for the purposes of education. This knowledge is then interpreted, communicated and passed to other researchers and visitors who absorb it and share it with their human circles in spoken, written and visual form. What arises is the shared cultural values of society, the bases and anchors of our civilization.

Michelangelo’s Taddei Tondo (1504-1506) or The Virgin and Child with the Infant St John at Royal Academy of Arts, London

Heliocentric model in Nicolaus Copernicus book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (1543) in Royal Astronomical Society, London

The word museum is of Greek origin. It derives from mouseion which means ‘seat of the Muses’. The ancient Greeks worshipped nine sister goddesses, each of whom was called a Mousa. They believed that each Muse or Mousa was the goddess of a particular art or science. A place dedicated to these Muses and their arts and sciences they stood for was therefore called mouseion. It was a place of contemplation. Later on the Romans started to use the Latin derivation and the word museum as we know it was born. The first museum, if we can call it that way, was Ennigaldi-Nanna's museum, established circa 530 BC and devoted to Mesopotamian antiquities. It was built in ancient city of Ur for the Babylonian princess Ennigaldi. Ashmolean Museum became the first British public museum and was established in 1677 at Oxford University. The United Kingdom has now over 2500 museums or similar institutions nationwide. 1700 of them are officially accredited with the scheme overseen by Arts Council. According to the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (Alva) there was a 77% fall in visits to museums and galleries in the UK in 2020 due to Covid national and regional lockdowns and restrictions imposed by the government. How many museums would survive without the visitors in 2021?

Recently I looked online to find out what cities in the world are leading in the museum count (http://www.worldcitiescultureforum.com/). There isn’t much surprise in Paris (having 297 museums in the city). Other notable cities included are Moscow (261), Seoul (201), London (192), Tokyo (173). Perhaps little surprising may be Chengdu (150) and Buenos Aires (132). All of the cities above are megacities which can afford to have so many different institutions cater to knowledge and leisure seeking citizens. But even in many smaller places there are usually great museums to be found. To my great pleasure one of the best best local museums I have ever visited was The Wick Heritage Museum in North Scotland. The museum describes its building as something of an ‘Aladdin’s cave’, which I think sticks well as it had been a revelation to me. This place is ran by volunteers and it had been a memorable visit for me.

Royal Academy of Arts, London

Natural History Museum, London / female blue whale in Hintze Hall

Dolphin skull in Natural History Museum, London

Dolphin’s fin in Natural History Museum, London

Darwin’s pigeon specimen / Natural History Museum, London

Natural History Museum, London

I like going to the museums as they are important to my practice as photographer and it is that museums are intersections between fields I am concerned with like landscape and architecture. Another aspect of frequenting the museum buildings is to gain knowledge and also to immerse oneself in acoustic ambience which particularly those museums with large halls are known to have and this may help to better psychological well-being. Listening to a hum of different human voices muddled together is contemplative and in a way similar to listening to a waterfall or perhaps trees in a wind. At this moment as museums (and nearly everything else where culture is being created, and these places include cafés, pubs and restaurants) are closed it is difficult to envision what would happen if they remained closed. There is a theory in sociology called cultural deprivation. But could this condition now affect people who used to be very active in creating and consuming cultural experiences? We’ll see in near future whether such condition will appear in medical journals, and in vocabulary of medical practitioners as observed by them in general population. We already know that culture contributes enormously to economy but positive contribution to one’s well-being have not been much discussed in the past. Of course, when we look at the museum web sites there is still many events available online like for example presentations videos, audio talks, photography, blogs and virtual tours. All that for general audience using computer devices with screens. Perhaps I am old-fashioned but I believe that the screen fatigue would settle, especially now when increasingly large populations are forced to spend more and more time working and educating themselves and others using screens. The real experience would still be needed to explore and learn using all our senses and have fellow humans around not just for ambience. That is what makes us human, at least for foreseeable future.

James Nasmyth’s telescope in Moon exhibition at National Maritime Museum, London

Replica of Galilean telescope in the Moon exhibition at National Maritime Museum, London

Hasselblad magazine ‘S’ used on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission

Hasselblad camera used by Michael Collins, Apollo 11

Map of the Moon (fragment) by astronomer Mary Blagg in 1935

Seven-foot reflecting telescope used by William Herschel 1770-1790

Astroscopia, Christian Huygens (1684) in Moving to Mars exhibition

Science Museum, London - Mathematics: The Winton Gallery designed by Zaha Hadid

Bletchley Park, England

Model of Bombe machine in Bletchley Park

Design Museum, London

Model of the Rosalind Franklin ExoMars rover and model of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter Moving to Mars exhibition at Design Museum, London

Hassell pod - prefabricated inflatable pod for kitchens, laboratories, bedrooms and rooms for leisure / Moving to Mars exhibition at Design Museum, London

3D-printed furniture for Mars habitat, Mars exhibition at Design Museum

Functional furniture in Hassell pod

Antony Gormley room in Tate Britain, London

The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis by Alan Turing at Bletchley Park, England

Lot of museums have millions of specimens and in combination we can see and learn about billions years of evolution and our short history. So maybe one day when the pandemic is over there would be an exhibit of artistic representation of enlarged SARS-CoV-2 exhibited somewhere in the world for the purpose of telling another part of continuing human story as using electron microscope to display the real live virus for the view to general public would perhaps not be ethically and technically feasible.

The museum, in general, play great part in displaying and keeping universal heritage of humankind and I hope this would continue with curious visitors being able again to access the ‘magical’ buildings some day soon.

Box of glass eyes used in lab by Francis Galton in Design Museum, London

Galton introduced the use of surveys for collecting data on people

“Study the past if you would define the future”

— Confucius

Return to Political Landscape

Brexit: Parliament hill panorama

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London_Parliament Hill_Before Brexit / After Brexit_31.12.2020

A month ago I walked up to the Parliament hill in Hampstead Heath in London to photographically commemorate an event that came twice in the span of one year - Brexit.

The so called Brexit - The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as United Kingdom) — leaving political and economical organisation of European Union.

In my first blog from February 2020 (here) I wrote:

“The land of what is now The United Kingdom (UK) has been located on island(s) for at least 8000 years. The city of London was founded as Londinium by the Romans nearly 2000 years ago in the Thames valley.From the long-term historical viewpoint, the so called Brexit (UK leaving political and economical institution — the European Union) is most likely a small blip of an event. However, this recent political exit has been process stretching over three and half years, culminating on 31.1.2020 at 11pm GMT when the UK symbolically left the EU. Nevertheless the political process still continues…”

As the negotiations for a trade deal came to head before the new year of 2021 had started its course, The United Kingdom officially left the European Union on 31.12. 2020 at 11pm Greenwich Mean Time.

In my visual perspective, at the foot of the Parliament hill, this event ran through unceremoniously. The youth around and some other people slightly more higher up, had rather been waiting for midnight, to celebrate and to invite the new year 2021 in. It is true that I had seen lit up individual fireworks inside the city when the hand stroke 11 pm, but otherwise the moment had passed from the past to the future, quietly.

Shrouded in mist — the story of Snettisham nature reserve

The story of Snettisham nature reserve isn’t completely natural. This landscape had been transformed by people and subsequently by nature’s course of events. Today the salt marsh, saline lagoons, mudflats and beach make up a place devoted to wading and migratory birds who live next to people in bungalows and static caravans. Both governed by the sea, climate and geological processes.

New day was beginning in Norfolk. Crisp and freezing morning made the fresh hot brew just a little bit more appreciated than normally. The sky was clear and with the first light we started to see pink-footed geese flying in V-formations above our heads. Scientists think that their typical honking cry enable them to maintain integrity of the flock and to co-ordinate position shifts in the V-formation they fly in. After we looked up several times at flying geese, mist began its slow descend, exactly as weather forecast for today.

We had been on the way towards the Wash, the largest estuarine system in Britain. It is situated in the north-west corner of East Anglia where Norfolk meets Lincolnshire County. The frost dressed surroundings into white garb and mist was occasionally penetrated by the sun rays. Listening to classical music the drive through Norfolk countryside resembled a fairytale. Number of pink-footed geese standing on the thin ice covering part of the pond in Bircham Tofts made us stop by. This small body of water was paradise for other countless waterfowl. Nearby, the gaggle of geese was much larger and with loud honking made their way through the pond towards the open field behind it. It was feeding time.

On the crossroad we stopped again. In front of us was St Mary’s church, its spire hidden in mist. This church in Snettisham was built in 1340 and its tall tower still acts as a beacon for sailors in the Wash to this day. We drove into the village which is known for ancient archaeological finds. It was nearby on the Ken Hill in 1948 when a farmer who was deep ploughing a former lavender field unearthed a piece of twisted metal. First he thought that it may have been just a part of an old bedstead and left it lying on the side of his field for several days. Eventually he came back with local archaeologists who uncovered Iron Age gold and silver torcs inside shallow pits cut into the carrstone bedrock. More discoveries followed around the village later and these finds are now known as Snettisham hoard. Some of the artefacts are now housed in Norwich Castle museum and in the British museum (room 50) in London.

Snettisham hoard, British Museum, London

We arrived in the car park of Snettisham nature reserve which as the nature reserve itself is managed by RSPB (Royal Society for Protection of Birds). As a conservation charity they are responsible for protection of birds in their environment and they manage over 200 nature reserves throughout the whole of UK. Narrow path from car park led us towards elongated lagoons. On the way through mist we walked alongside bushes covered by frost. Only rose hip with its bright red colour was breaking the ambient uniformity. Looking at the lagoons, it is not easy to see that they were created artificially by people extracting shingle for building industry. The Etna Stone and Shingle Company operated here since 1920s and quarried gravel, stone, shingle and sand. An interesting fact is that it was here on the beach where by extracting shingle the foundations of a bungalow was found. It had previously been owned by Alexandra of Denmark who was Queen consort of the United Kingdom as the wife of King-Emperor Edward VII. This bungalow was built in 1908 and demolished in 1925, the year in which Alexandra died in nearby Sandringham Hall - the private retreat of British monarchs since 1862. Some of the materials from her demolished bungalow were used to build Shernborne village hall within the Sandringham estate.

Later in 1930s whole series of holiday bungalows started to grow on the land owned by the Etna Stone and Shingle Company. Some were also built on the bank along the sea. With the World War II. coming, the whole area was requisitioned by the Military. At the beginning of the war the RAF (Royal Air Force) have moved in and established a gunnery range. Later on the area housed 8AF Provisional Gunnery School under the USAAF (United States Army Air Force), providing training for soldiers to operate B-17 heavy bombers. At some point during the war this area was also POW (Prisoners of War) camp. According to the Snettisham Sailing Club, “the prisoners were employed as part of the war effort to excavate the shingle to build concrete runways for new airfields. Twenty years of normal supply of shingle was taken out in just three years, leading to the formation of the lakes.” The sea water has partially filled these artificial lagoons during 1949 surge when the storm was initiated in south-west of Greenland and again during much more severe and devastating event in 1953 which affected the whole east coast of Great Britain.

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Snettisham jetty, Norfolk, England

Wooden remnants of jetty in Snettisham beach extends into the misty mudflats of the Wash. The structure was still in use for loading the extracted shingle onto boats for transport during the first half of 20th century. In more distant past the local beach was also exploited for smuggling operations to avoid docking with illicit cargo at nearby seaport King’s Lynn.

The Waverley report presented in 1954 by John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley says that the flooding which took 65 lives in Snettisham area alone was caused by combination of factors. Relatively high spring tide together with rotation of the Earth ensured that the water was deflected to the west of the tidal currents, thereby hitting the east coast. Another factor which may have contributed to this disaster is a process called isostatic adjustment. According to The ‘Coastland Map’ produced by scientists from Durham University and published in the Journal GSA Today (2009), the retreat of the ice sheet since the last Ice Age 20,000 years ago means that the release of this enormous weight resulted in the landmass slowly tilting back up in the north or down in the south. The team led by professor Ian Shennan predicted that [sea] levels will continue to rise as the land falls, at a rate of 0.4 to 0.7 millimetres a year. “Subsidence and rising sea levels will have implications for people and habitats, and will require action to manage resorts, industrial sites, ports, beaches, salt marshes and wetlands, wildlife and bird migrations,” stated Professor Ian Shennan. (Durham University. "New Coastland Map Could Help Strengthen Sea Defenses." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 8 October 2009. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091006201354.htm>).

Tide predicting machine, Science Museum, London

This is the special purpose analog computer designed in 1872 by Sir William Thompson to predict the ebb and flow of the sea tides and the irregular variations in their heights in order to create tide table. Thompson’s work was later further developed by George Darwin (the second son of Charles Darwin). Similar but more complex tide predicting machines were continued to be used until 1970s when they were surpassed by digital electronic computers.

When I am standing between the heightened sea bank and one of the shallow lagoons I can just make up in the mist the row of houses along the beach. Here I find the warning sign saying: “This area is at risk of tidal flooding — a precautionary evacuation of this area may occur at any time.” Right below this sign in Pit 2 as the lagoon is formally designated are the remnants of concrete blocks sticking out of the water. These blocks were once part of the road built by USAAF between Snettisham and Dersingham during the World War II. When the road was destroyed in the flood in 1953 those large pieces of concrete were carried here by receding water. Some time after the war the northern part of former military camp had been built over and turned into caravan park. Then in 1961 the quarries finally closed. However, despite the adjustments of the land this area is still prone to flooding from the sea and the last precautionary evacuation due to this risk happened in September 2019.

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Snettisham lagoon (Pit 2), Norfolk, England

The concrete blocks are the fragments of the road built by USAAF personnel between Snettisham and Dersingham during the World War II. When the road was destroyed in the flood in 1953 those large pieces of broken concrete were carried here by receding water. The brackish shallow lagoons of Snettisham nature reserve attract hundreds of thousands of birds throughout the year. These gravel pits were formed by people extracting shingle, gravel and sand for the building industry.

We continued walking alongside the mudflats laid bare by ebb tide. The wading birds like knots and oystercatchers were busy feasting on shellfish and prawns, but they were far away. The birds could be heard but not seen through prevailing thick mist. Solitary peregrine was circling the area above in cold air looking for its late morning meal. Sitting on a foldable chair a bird watcher equipped with a telescope and camera was observing the scene patiently.

We have moved on again and met Phil. The RSPB warden told us a lot of interesting information about bird’s behaviour and this nature reserve as a whole. It is advised to check the local tide table as the best time to come here to see the “whirling wader spectacle” is about two hours before the spring tide. The incoming seawater pushes knots, dunlins and oystercatchers towards the beach and they, at certain moment, take off in their thousands. Today the high tide was only 4.25 meters but the height needed for the birds amazing spectacle is over 6 meters. Anyway the bad visibility would have prevented us seeing this spectacular phenomenon.

Snettisham wader spectacular

Snettisham wader spectacular

Up to 400,000 pink-legged geese are wintering in the UK every year. And about 40,000 spend the winter near Snettisham. These migratory birds fly in from Greenland and Iceland in late October and go back in February. They stay in nature reserve overnight as this place is safe from predators or other disturbance. In the early morning they fly into interior to graze in the local fields on post-harvest sugar beet tops. There are no records about the pink-legged geese here prior to 20th century. Also records for the first half of the 20th century are a bit sporadic. Then in 60’s when co-ordinated censuses of wildfowl started there were sightings of flocks with 200-300 birds. Subsequently the number of pink-legged geese started to increase steadily. (Mitchell, CR & RD Hearn. 2004. Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus (Greenland/Iceland population) in Britain 1960/61 – 1999/2000. Waterbird Review Series, The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust/Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Slimbridge)

Pink-footed Geese at Snettisham, 1960/61-1999/2000: peak counts (bars) and British index (line) (circles denote years with no known data)

During the time in the reserve we surveyed all four hides. Two of them had to be rebuilt after 2013 storm deluge destroyed one of them, while the other one disappeared completely. These hides have a perfect location for observing the wildfowl in their environment. RSPB had crowdfunded the project which was designed by Norwegian architectural studio Biotope specialising in bird hides and other buildings with aim to connect people with nature through architecture.

The shallow brackish lagoons are not only habitats for various birds but also support specialist invertebrates like lagoon sand shrimps, starlet sea anemones and various plants which add to the UK’s biodiversity. Since the 1972 when the RSPB acquired the land this organisation has enhanced the wildlife habitats by enormous measure. Today the nature reserve gives refuge to over 450,000 of birds in total and that makes this place one of the most important inter-tidal zones in the UK.

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Snettisham lagoon (Pit 3), Norfolk, England

The brackish shallow lagoons of Snettisham nature reserve attract hundreds of thousands of birds throughout the year. These gravel pits were formed by people extracting shingle, gravel and sand for the building industry. During the 1953 North Sea surge the pits filled with flood water from the stormy sea and this circumstance created habitat for diverse animals.

LPOTY 2020 Photo Competition

My image “Full Moon at Merrivale, England” has been Commended by judges in photo competition Landscape Photographer of the Year 2020. As a Commended image it has won the place in LPOTY 2020 exhibition which started in November at London Bridge train station. My image, among other successful photographs, is exhibited here until February 2021 and then will be touring nationwide.

As part of this photo competition AA Publishing has published book Landscape Photographer of the Year - Collection 13 which showcases a selection of British landscape photography.

Due to success of this photograph portfolio of my images with interview about my landscape practice has been featured on Czech news server aktualne.cz (interview in Czech language only). And subsequently double-page spread with the image “Full Moon at Merrivale, England” was featured in December (2020) edition of Czech geographical magazine Lidé a Země.

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Full Moon at Merrivale, England

Full moon illuminates gently floating fog that has developed below the Great Staple Tor near Merrivale – an area in Dartmoor National Park rich with prehistoric monuments. Dominating landscape of today is the North Hessary Tor transmitting station built by the BBC in 1955. This is the second highest transmitter in the UK. This mysterious and often foggy landscape was an inspiration to sir Arthur Conan Doyle for his book about Sherlock Holmes - The Hound of Baskervilles.

LPOTY 2020 exhibition panels

Landscape Photographer of the Year book - Collection 13

Aktualne.cz portfolio and interview

Double page spread in Czech geographical magazine Lidé a Země (December 2020 edition)