Photo-a-Day  (Sunday, 16th September, 2012)

Nice clean shot of the town centre.Not many people around. Where was this from, could it be from the top of the old Midland Bank Building?

Excellent photo Dave, good depth of field shows the most picturesque part of the town.

Hello Dave, there`s no question that this photo should be on P-a-D !! Was wondering when we were going to see another of your photo`s.
Just look at all those street bollards - surely they don`t need to be so close together.
There are 103 photo`s of Market Place in Album, Places.
Would you please read my comment, the last one, on your P-a-D on 25th April 2010.

Your photo evokes memories,Oy,I can see the railings around the underground toilets and the Wigan Corporation red buses pulling in where we boarded for our 1 penny fare to the Plantations.I wonder if those toilets were sealed like an Egyptian tomb.

Lovely shot Oy, nice and bright and no rain in sight. :-)

Would make a good Wigan postcard, looks like its taken from one of them street light repair trucks.

Lovely POV day making for a great shot of the Market Place. I love to see pictures like this - as a beginner in photography, you can learn so much from other peoples photos. One for my POV and DOF folder!

Re yours and Jeans comments yesterday Ernest. Photography is and should be great fun, whether with a techno camera or mobile phone. I am just a lover of gadgets of all kinds!!. I have often heard people say - 'Oh I only have a camera on my mobile' Despite the fact that I have a DSLR, I would like a phone camera as the DSLRs are not for carrying about all day every day. I must change my mobile!

Photo #14100 on page 4, at end of 3rd row in Album, Places, Market Place, shows the entrance of the underground Gents toilet. Older viewers will remember it well. The entrance to the underground Ladies toilet is just off to the right. Read irene roberts comment.

A lovely photo. Don't remember it very well as I am in Aussie land and have been since 1964. Hi to all the Wiganers I knew when I was 14!!! Cheers all

Mick has the viewpoint correct. I booked a street lighting "cherry picker" and took lots of photos from 4 different spots in the town centre. More to come but I won't stick them on all at once. Maybe a few birds in between Hahahahaha...

You are only in your youth, Janice ! What do POV and DOF stand for?

Ernest: Bollards can be close together for a variety of reasons, 1) prevents cyclists casually moving on/off road and pavement, 2) prevents cars stopping partially on/off pavements to go to the bank cash machine etc., 3) protects banks/shops from car ram raids. 4) inhibits (but does not prevent) pedestrians (particularly children) from accidentally spilling onto the road by having a clear border. At the same time, crossing the road is not seriously impeded (as a railings would do) and there should be sufficient spacing for pedestrians with buggies and prams to cross the road.

dave marsh im look for the railings round the toilets and the red corporation bus . are you sure they are in this picture? im having trouble finding them.

Neil, 1) Cyclists ride on pavements and how I`ve not been knocked down by them is a miracle. 2) How wide is a car? Much wider than pitch of these bollards.3) same point as 2).4) can`t see the pitch of them affecting this.

I suppose you are right about my being in my youth Ernest - 20 years your junior but still eligible for a free travel pass. I actually love it because 1. I could retire, 2. I get discounts wherever I go - and I love a bargain. Sorry about the abbreviations. POV Point of view. DOF Depth of field.

C`mon DH .You know what Dave means.I am just about to say the same thing!

This is the sort of picture we "past" wiganers like.thankyou Dave.There are quite a few changes in that shot from when I was there in the 50`s.
On the leftside is where Lowes was? I waited for my bus there to go home via queensway and if I missed that one i went over to the right of the picture to catch the one via mesnes rd.happy days.

The recommended maximum spacing of bollards seems to be 1.8m, however if there are security issues (as there might be near a bank) then the maximum seems to be 1.2m. Depending on the amount of restriction or separation a planner wishes to achieve for safety reasons, the spacing will vary between these values. It is interesting to see in the picture that the two sets of bollards on the right hand side of the road have been joined to make barriers but not continuous. Presumably the planners considered this to be a dangerous place for the public to cross the road, but less so further away from the crown of the bend. The place where the woman is crossing the road is obviously a popular place to cross and is a clear candidate for a smaller spacing than the maximum. Further down the street, the case for small spacing is less strong.

Just got in Dave and seen your comment on the cherry picker, makes for a good view point, do you have contacts or is it a hire job. Like the pic too.

DH, read my comment at11:22

Harry C - I took the photos "professionally" for both Philips Lighting (I'll be repeating the same scenes at night later in the year) and wigan Council.

Ernest - read and commented Re; April 25 20120

im not a wiganer and not even english ( scottish ) but a great photo and i like the comments by dave marsh ( i remember the pugs and toby )

Jean, re your comment at 15:41, have you looked at photo #14100 re my comment at 11:22?
Neil,1.8m is 70.866" which is just under 6ft. To me this could be increased to 7ft 6" without detriment and save considerably on council finance. Have the bollard manufacturers had a say in this spacing I wonder.

Lovely picture - I never noticed that big crucifix in the ground in the middle of the open space. Good to see the Political Corrects haven't changed that yet!!

Dave, I`ve put a comment, in reply to yours, on 25th April 2010 P-a-D

Skeets, there is a better view of the Cross Mosaic at http://www.wigan.gov.uk/pub/planning/art-trail/pdfs/no6.pdf

I think that you'll find the "Crucifix" is actually a compass bearing, North, South, East & West..;o)

Modern Wigan...wipes the floor with Wigan of the past. A town fit for the 21st Century!