Broken - Thematic Photography

Once broken, never forgotten but rescued and restored to all her glory Brunel's steamship the SS Great Britain sits today in the dry dock at Bristol's Historic Quay

When launched by Prince Albert in 1843 she was the biggest ship in the world, At the time she was the world's first ocean liner and completed her first trip to New York in 1845 in 14 days and 21 hours.

Brunel had designed the ship to be run chiefly by steam but but she could also use her sails.Between 1852 and 1875 she undertook the role of Emigrant Steam Clipper taking families to a new life in Australia. !856 saw SS Great Britain carry troops to fight in the Crimea; in 1861 she carried the first England cricket team to Australia.

In 1882 her role changed again as she was converted to carry cargo, her engine and funnel were removed. With three tall masts and broad square sails she became a 'windjammer' carrying coal to San Fransico.

Badly damaged by storms  rounding Cape Horn in 1886 she took shelter in the Falkland Islands where she was used as a floating warehouse for coal and wood. Her working life ended in 1933. In 1937 holes were made in her hull and she was scuttled in a remote windswept bay.

If you visit the restored ship in its Bristol dry dock you can see the 'broken' state of the great ship below the 'waterline.'

SS Great Britain Scuttling Holes

SS Great Britian - c1968 'broken' but rescued

The ship came back to England in 1970 on a pontoon and now takes centre stage on Bristol's Historic Quay.

SS Great Britain - Bristol 2011

 A long way from that Falkland's windswept cove.

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 For more broken artifacts don't forget to look in on Carmi's thematic-photographic-205

SS Great Britain - Vertical Thematic Photography

Over the next week Carmi has chosen Vertical as his theme. It seemed to me that some shots I took earlier this year of Brunel's famous ship the SS Great Britain  would fit it perfectly.

SS Great Britain - abandoned in the Falklands.

This is a 'photo of a photo' in the exhibition aboard the ship as it lies in the Bristol dry dock today. It shows the condition of the ship before it was returned to its home port and restored.

The full glory of those vertical masts can be seen in this picture taken at the Historic Quay that houses the ship and the exhibition.

SS Great Britain

I've managed to maintain the verticals by including the quayside railings in this shot of the stern of the ship in all its splendour.

The first class dining room looks resplendent with its shining pillars.

Dining Room

Finally for this week the photographer was horizontal,on his back, to capture a worm's eye view of a mast.

I hope you liked this vertical tour. Check out more at Carmi's thematic photographic 152