Today I went on a birthday meal, even though it's not my birthday until Saturday, when I turn 47 (How did that happen, I was in my 20's last time I counted lol).
Anyhow, my brother came with us and he wanted to get out with the camera, I gave him a camera a few years ago, but he's hardly used it. I decided to give him a new lense (new to him) seeing as it's not doing anything, I gave him my Sigma 17-50 F2.8 lens, as it was just sat in my camera bag doing nothing as I am now shooting with a Sony full frame and not a crop.
The weather was lovely, very very warm for a mid january day, so I decided to take the drone up too, the pictures in this post are from today and a couple of days ago when it was very cloudy (and a bit cooler).
So, the monument in the shots is a local one called "Hoober Stand", it is one of 4 monuments in the area, the largest being Keppels Column, however Keppels is being renovated, so has all scaffolding around it, although I am excited once it has been done because we can then go up it, for the first time in probably 50 years, if not longer.
So here's a little history about Hoober Stand.
Information from www.WentworthVillage.net
"Designed in the 18th century by Henry Flitcroft, situated on the highest ridge in the Wentworth area (some 157m above sea level) and commanding fine views all around from the viewing platform at the top of the Stand after climbing the 155 internal stone steps. Of pyramid construction, roughly 30m high and almost devoid of architectural ornamentation on its exterior but with the true dignity of 18th century craftsmanship revealed inside.
The Stand itself was built in 1747-8 to commemorate defeat of the Jacobite rebellion in 1745, when the 1st Marquis (then plain Thomas Watson Wentworth) fought on the side of King George II. In recognition of his contribution, the King elevated Wentworth to Marquis, and the new Marquis decided to build the 30 metre tower to show his gratitude."
Just to show a size comparison, on the image above, the two small dots lower mid centre of the shot are myself and my brother.
They say on a clear day that you can see York Minster from the top of the monument, although I couldn't see it when I went up lol.
The monument is usually open from the Sunday after Easter each year, for the summer months, however, due to the covid pandemic, I've heard that it hasn't been opened for the last year or two.
I made a little video that I've uploaded to youtube, please check it out:
As you can see, the weather wasn't as good when I shot the video as to what it was today.
All my pictures are shot with a Sony A7iii (with a Canon 24-105mm L lens, although, the some of the shots in this post are with the Sigma 150-600 lens).
Aerial shots are done using just a DJI Mini 2, I do want the Air 2s, but still saving and tbh, I am quite surprised with the shots I'm getting with the Mini2, they are on par if not better than my old Phantom 4 drone (Although the Phantom 4 is an awesome drone, just a bit big to carry everywhere).
Anyhow, I'd just like to thank you for reading my blog, I am off to the coast at the weekend, so hoping for more shots then.
In the meantime, please feel free to follow me on Instagram
Thanks for reading.
All the best :-)