Richmond upon Thames Daily Photo

String of Pearls - # 142/2011

2011-11-24T18:44:00.001Z

Not the finest macro shot in the world (hand held and the camera waving about all over the place) but nevertheless very, very nice indeed.

The recent heavy fog covered Europe from England across to Norway and all the way down over France and Germany to Vienna, Austria. That's a very big cloud of fog - which is an excellent metaphore for the fumblings of European politicians failing to manage the Euro-crisis.

Unlike the efforts of Sarkozy and Merkel this string on the spider's web hangs together extremely well and does not unravel within milliseconds of the next (bad) decision being taken.

The look of Hanoverian England - # 141/2011

2011-11-19T18:05:00.000Z

Marble Hill House - classic 18th C England. Night shot.
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/marble-hill-house/

Thames at Richmond - # 140/2011

2011-11-16T10:41:00.000Z

No "big deals" here, but it's time to re-visit the usual scenes and show them as they are right now on certain days in November.

This is the time of very low tides and the river is almost totally "switched off" by the closure of Teddington Weir to allow inspection and maintenance. So the low water is both natural and also managed by modern man.

Here's the view of the Thames opposite Petersham Meadows. The Sun is brilliant but there is that noticeable and delightful mistiness in the atmosphere that adds something to a photograph. It's just a snap, but it sums up why the area has been loved and appreciated by poets and painters for hundreds of years.

Bath - Pultney Bridge - # 139/2011

2011-11-13T15:23:00.001Z

A short trip to Bath this week supporting club members presenting their panels to gain Licentiate of Royal Photographic Society distinction. All three gained the Licentiate.

I took this night shot of the Pultney Bridge in Bath which, as many of you will know, is famous for its hot water springs enjoyed by the Romans: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath,_Somerset

Camolflage lesson - # 138/2011

2011-11-12T10:00:00.000Z

Nothing posted for a week: busy etc.

Yesterday I snatched a chance to walk deeper into one of the more densely wooded areas of Richmond Park to see who was hiding there.

The rut is over, and the stags are once again gathered in peaceful groups of "All Boys together". Fighting? What? Us? Never! We're mates!

I almost walked past this quiet group hunkered down in the bracken, their antlers looking exactly like the fallen tree branches, and their coats the same colour as the Autumn vegetation.

After the rain in London - # 137/2011

2011-11-03T16:51:00.000Z

This one looks rather good in B&W but the colours are so attractive I decided to stay with colour.

We've jumped back from Richmond and Twickenham in November, and are revisiting Central London in August. The weather is (it seems to me) a bit better now than it was then - well sort of, plus a few "Ah, well, Yes, if that's what you want to says" thrown in.

Anyway; a nice touristical snap showing from right to left, the Ministry of Defence, Old Scotland Yard (the Police HQ before they built New Scotland Yard) the new parliamentary office buildings and then of course Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament themselves.

The wide angle lens has given it all a bit of a curve, but who cares!

Mud, mud......- # 136/2011

2011-11-02T14:47:00.000Z

It's the season of very low tides again, and soon the Thames will be "switched off" by closing Teddington Lock. The Annual Draw Down will allow inspection of banks and boats and no doubt will yield the usual haul of discarded firearms and other ammazing finds other than engineering "issues" for the city's engineering department.

More London - # 135/2011

2011-11-01T15:27:00.000Z

In stark contrast to yesterday's image of quiet Twickenham we have this view of the modern architecture in the new development called More London close to Tower Bridge, in the centre of London.

Twickenham riverside with nice sky -# 134/2011

2011-10-31T15:07:00.000Z

Just a nice standard "City Daily Photo".

Weird ice cream - # 133/2011

2011-10-30T09:37:00.000Z

Yesterday I heard on the BBC News a report about a Dutch farmer who is starting to export camel's milk ice cream to Britain. The reporter tasted it, declared it very good, with its own unique qualities that made it recognisable and highly acceptable, and the farmer said that it is essential for the camel to be happy. "A happy camel gives plenty of good milk". Unhappy camels do not. So that's good news about the farming method.

This ice cream, in the photo, was made from buffalo milk. I tried it several weeks ago. It's also very good. It has a very substantial constistency and a fully rounded flavour that is not overpowering - a fullish start with a light finish might be a good description (if my memory serves me well). It leaves you well satisfied but not over sated.

I liked it so much that I actually tweaked the sky in the photo to enhance the image of the ice cream!! ;-) So let's give it more !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!marks.

Sunlight through trees - # 132/2011

2011-10-29T10:47:00.000+01:00

I know it's hackneyed - everybody does one at this time. But it's nice to see. The sun cutting through the trees on a brilliant Autumn afternoon in Richmond Park: no shafts of light created by mist or smoke, or points of light created by using a very small aperture, but pleasant shadows.

The lone tree - # 131/2011

2011-10-28T17:08:00.000+01:00

'nuff said.

A corner of a field - # 130/2011

2011-10-26T19:04:00.000+01:00

Rupert Brooke, the First World War poet, wrote "If I should die, think only this of me: that there's some corner of a foreign field that is for ever England".

Rememberance Day is coming up on the 11th November. I am constantly amazed by the capacity of Britain to continue to shed its blood in foreign fields. These fields near Oxford reminded me of the poem.

Mediaeval - # 129/2011

2011-10-25T11:26:00.000+01:00

We're now going back a long way. A pleasant day out near Oxford brought me to this ancient landscape where the impact of ancient farming and village organisation is clear to see but not so simple to photograph. I dithered for ages about which shot to choose.

I settled on this one. You can read about medieval Ridge and Furrow here http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba33/ba33feat.html The fact that its remains can still be seen amazes me.

Having a scratch - # 128/2011

2011-10-20T16:25:00.000+01:00

Seeking an iconic "Monarch of the glen" I found nothing but this chap scratching his nose. I even had to put up with a bit of fencing where the Parks Management is doing restoration work.

Teapot c1672 - # 127/2011

2011-10-17T10:57:00.001+01:00

......just messing about: but.............I love this teapot, so I've tried to give it some special treatment. It is in Ham House. It was made in China in about 1672 and exported to England as a "luxury good". The crackle on the glaze is rare and unusual, and done on purpose by the makers, thus demonstrating their high skill as makers of expensive, decorative ceramic ware. This alone, apart from the other attractive features adds to the quality and aesthetic value of the pot. Even more remarkable: this teapot was made in about 1672, so you see, the design of a good teapot has not changed. It is believed that tea has been served from this pot, in Ham House, where it sits, since 1675.

All the fuss is over - # 126/2011

2011-10-16T09:57:00.000+01:00

A few weeks ago a fellow Richmond area photographer, Robert Piper, captured some moments of extremely violent aggression in Bushey Park as stags fought during the annual rut. His photos made the national press and went even further around the world.

My trip to Richmond Park, during the same period, was obviously poorly orchestrated! I found nothing but peace and harmony. I kept my distance from this huge bruiser as he sat with his 20 or so hinds. I didn't want to annoy him. However, this extreme crop from the 400mm lens has come out well, to show that life is not always "total war" - depending on the precise moment when you view it.

Richmond Bridge - # 125/2011

2011-10-15T09:57:00.000+01:00

.......a nice B&W of Richmond Bridge.

Junk - # 124/2011

2011-10-13T11:06:00.000+01:00

We're still at Richmond Palace. I hope you enjoyed discovering the comment about the 16th C flushing toilets in the wiki notes.

I chose this rather harsh looking treatment for the B&W photo because I wanted to enhance the texture of the ancient brickwork - which is also why I took the photo. You can clearly see remnants of the very old structure (filled in arches). I guess that what we are seeing here are windows put in during a late 17th or early 18th C development. I also notice that a car roof has sneaked in.......arrrrgghh!!! The grey overcast weather (cloudy but surprisingly warm) was ideal for B&W photography.

Richmond Palace 1501 - # 123/2011

2011-10-12T16:45:00.000+01:00

At long last I'm feeling like getting out a about again, fit enough to walk about more and carry the dreaded "heavy camera". I can take very nice photos with the "little camera", but the "big one" gives me more exercise.

So it's time to get back to trying to show some more of Richmond and try it in B&W. Here's Richmond Palace - it's very old...............but not much of it is left: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond_Palace .

I chose this shot because it's got a figure in it. Nobody came along when I was taking some slightly better angles, and although I don't "do" people I felt that the archway needed a figure. These days the acursed car cannot be avoided and is too hard to clone out.

Be warned - more B&Ws (as opposed to BMWs) are on the way.

Changing London - # 122/2011

2011-10-08T11:29:00.002+01:00

"As solid as the Bank of England" used to sum up just about everything in the architecture of The City - massive, grey, somewhat dirty and still a bit smoke-scarred by WW2 bombing and not particularly "uplifting", but definitely "resilient". I liked working in The City but I didn't enjoy the built environment very much. That's changed. New Change was the site of some typically massive offices once occupied by the Bank of England (I believe) - the bank building itself is a little further down the street.

New Change was knocked down and this year replaced by a steel and glass marvel that prays to the gods of shopping as well as commerce: the circulation of money rather than the careful stewardship thereof.

I like this 6 floor miracle of modern architecture in the new City of London. Interestingly, the whole structure seems to fade away into nothing when given certain kinds of photographic treatment. Is that also symbolic of our modern, post 1945 consumer-capitalism.........an economy based on consumption rather than solid investment?

Your table awaits - # 121/2011

2011-10-04T16:11:00.000+01:00

Those who live in the London area will know that we have had exceptionally warm, sunny weather for the last several days (also some abnormally cloudy and nasty weather, too). Sun in September is normal, cloud is not normal, but temperatures of 28 degrees C are highly unusual and absolutely delightful! Delightful, too, is this little scene on a cafe-barge moored beside the bank at Richmond. Hot, sunny, and overall, very, very nice indeed.

Colour - # 120/2011

2011-09-27T11:33:00.000+01:00

Detail of rudder and rope "fender" on canal barge, moored at Little Venice, on Grand Union Canal, Paddington, London.

Cockle-shell hero - # 119/2011

2011-09-23T10:25:00.000+01:00

British lads of a certain age will recognise the title - a film about the British wartime submariners who as "frogmen" piloted midget submarines and tiny kayaks on dangerous missions to mine enemy battle ships.

This boat is traditional sail driven cockle dredger operating from Southend on the Thames Estuary. "Endeavour" was built in 1926. She sailed to Dunkirk in 1940 as one of the "little ships" which rescued more than 300,000 men of the British Army from the beaches of Dunkirk. She is still going strong and carries her Hero badge with pride. History of Endeavour

Park hues - # 118/2011

2011-09-21T14:15:00.000+01:00

Still at Pen Ponds, but looking at the colours that appear in the water and the surroundings. This spot didplays a million changes of mood.

Tonal exercises - # 117/2011

2011-09-16T12:47:00.000+01:00

At last we're back in Richmond (not sure for how long - there are so many other things to photograph).

Pen Ponds in Richmond Park are an ever changing scene. This shot is not supposed to be representational. I'm experimenting and enjoying the "tonality" presented by the Ponds under varying skies.

Tower Bridge after the rain-storm - # 116/2011

2011-09-14T17:05:00.000+01:00

Looking through the glass of the high-speed river bus the scene is slightly brown-tinted and shows some traces of rain and river water droplets. But this actually enhances the drama. The terrific rain storm has passed, the sky is blue, but more "weather" is building up.

At the railway station - # 115/2011

2011-09-13T21:50:00.000+01:00

Diagonal - # 114/2011

2011-09-07T15:53:00.000+01:00

Another abstract impression of a glass and metal marvel opposite the Lloyd's building in the City of London.

Here's the original shot. Sunlight shines on the aluminium and glass and produces are a wonderful effect. London is no longer city of heavy grey stone, blackened by smoke.

Squirly whirly - # 113/2011

2011-09-06T12:20:00.001+01:00

In the area roughly where Cannon St. and King St. meet we find this modern structure. Here is my photographer's view. Below is the everyday view.

All change at New Change 112/2011

2011-09-05T17:36:00.000+01:00

I'm experimenting trying to "see" things differently. Here is my vision of the magnificent glass and steel creation on the No. 1 New Change site that opened this year, opposite St.Paul's.

Below is what it looks like to the "unimaginative" eye. I really like the light, ethereal, ultra-smooth, smokey-glass structure. Packed inside is an Aladin's Cave of shopping and commercial delights. The previous post showed how it offered a new and enjoyable view of its neighbour, St. Paul's Cathedral.

Split St. Paul's - # 111/2011

2011-09-01T14:49:00.000+01:00

Another new, unexpected vista created by the new architecture in the City of London. "New Change" was a large office block and is now a major new shopping centre and commercial area. Looking out towards St. Paul's Cathedral the glass structure creates this vision.

Lost in the City - # 110/2011

2011-08-31T20:12:00.000+01:00

Over the last 20 years the City of London (the Square Mile - financial and trading district) has continued to go through a rapid and radical and highly expensive period of building renewal and transformation. Here, glass and stone and natural light work together to create a new vista, and a new way of seeing things in a very old part of London close to the spot where the Romans founded their first London quayside.

Bright City - # 109/2011

2011-08-30T19:21:00.000+01:00

Yes, it's real. While America was suffering from the severe storm that wrecked the east coast all the way up beyond NYC, I went down to the mouth of the Thames to photograph the views around the Thames Barrier - the massive defensive system built decades ago to defend London from rising sea levels. We need it and, it is regularly deployed, several times a year, to block the incoming waters that would under certain conditions devastate London all the way up to Richmond.

Looking west towards London and the Barrier we were confronted with the sight of this massive rain storm appoaching fast. The grey clouds above us were shedding a surprising amount of light that, unexpededly, illuminated the huge towers of the Canary Wharf financial area. In the left corner of the photo you can see that one of the massive grey walls of the Barrier has actually been raised, although all the other passages remained open.

The photo was taken at about 17.30 hrs. By 18.30 London was once again rejoicing under brilliant blue, rain-washed-clean, sun-blessed skies. Amazing!

On Whitechapel Station 108/2011

2011-08-29T21:18:00.000+01:00

Continuing my series of random shots from around London we reach Whitechapel in East London. The railway here, dating from 1876, so not as old as others in London which go back to 1854!!!!! has been totally renewed.

The Whitechapel area of East London is ancient and for centuries has been the settling ground for foreign refugees and immigrants - 16th century Huguenots,Jews, and now Bangladeshies and Somalis. The bright new enamel panels along the platform celebrate the immigrant and traditional local cultures of the area.

Elegant metal-work - # 107/2011

2011-08-23T10:24:00.000+01:00

The huge Paddington Station in west London is being restored and developed and all the glorious beauty of the massive roof is being put on display.

The station is huge and always extremely busy, so "artistic" photos are hard and maybe even totally impossible. However, I was able to capture the beatuful flower petal pattern that decorates the roof arches. The restoration work will bring these back to our view in all their glory. http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/7047.aspx

Oh dear - # 106/2011

2011-08-22T09:35:00.000+01:00

Oh dear! The tide is out and the muddy bank presents this weird image. Who or what is under the umbrella? Did they sink down into the mud?

Lamp light at Richmond Lock - # 105/2011

2011-08-20T12:16:00.000+01:00

Night falls and the lamps at Richmond Lock light up.

Slack water - # 104/2011

2011-08-18T16:10:00.000+01:00

Slack water - that period when the tide is neither flowing in nor out. The water becomes calm and the lighting effect becomes special. The setting sun begins to flood the sky with remarkable colours that change by the minute. For about 20 minutes every photo will be different. The air is still. The scene holds its breath waiting for the night.

Night fall at Richmond Lock - ~ 103/2011

2011-08-17T17:56:00.001+01:00

It's the time of year when night photography is getting interesting again thanks to the earlier hour and the rewarding bursts of colour in the sky. I missed the sky. Was using a fixed focus lens, but my companion, using a lens with a wider angle got a similar but far better shot which included a magnificent red sky.

Anyway, as the lights come on, the lock head watch house takes on a magical appearance.

Iron work - # 102/2011

2011-08-11T18:32:00.000+01:00

I've left you somewhat bereft for a while. There are reasons for that, but none of them bad.

Walking around London these days one sees that (not withstanding the nasty riots in certain areas - which will pass, and which for various reasons happen as history wends its way forward, always looking back) this great city is looking remarkably good these days, and will be looking even better by the time the Olympic Games open next year. That's an understatement: it's going to look super!!!

I'm taking a close photographic look at the architectural forms and how they work to create supporting structure and also to please the eye. Things went a bit wrong in the 1960s and 1970s but they are much improved now, and '60s-'70s monstrosities are fast being demolished.

Massive ironwork from the 19th century Canal and Steam age manages to endure and look eternally pleasing. Here is a detail of the ironwork in a bridge over the Grand Union Canal in Little Venice, near Paddington railway station. Take the Underground to Warwick Avenue, and walk 200 yards down to Little Venice.

The melancholy of the late evening hut - # 101/2011

2011-07-27T13:50:00.000+01:00

"It's time to pack up now, dear!": that dreaded statement at the close of a lovely childhood day on the beach at THE HUT! The smell of the interior of the hut, the warm cosiness, the packing up and plodding back home on foot. The lingering smell of egg and cress sandwiches and smell of Daddy's war time infantryman's primus stove for boiling water in the whistling kettle. The smell of salty sea air and the shock of discovering sea borne fuel oil stuck to your feet and swimming trunks.

a Strong Woman - # 100/2011

2011-07-22T15:29:00.000+01:00

...........a "feminist" term that seems to be increasingly popular these days. I've nothing whatsoever against "strong women", but I sometimes find the term a bit annoying.

Anyway, here's a good metaphor for a really "strong woman". It's a massive and immensely strong, traditionally built wooden "clinker hull" fishing boat; on the beach at Hastings, alongside the old bulldover used to push it down to the water and haul it out again when it comes home.

Hastings is the home of a very large beach-launched traditional-style fishing fleet that works the English Channel and catches fish in a sustainable and ecologically sound way. That's also a popular term these days, but it certainly does not annoy me!

End of the day - end of the line - # 99/2011

2011-07-17T09:42:00.000+01:00

At the end of a long sunny day at Hastings I came to the west end of the beach where the town has petered out and things seem to get a bit less busy. I found a few enthusiasts' fishing boats and this line of huts. (Heaven knows what the huge shed behind them is for - actually I never noticed it, I was so engrossed by the huts and the boats! Strange but true!).

I can't explain why I like this scene. I just do. It might have something to do with the quietness and the "end of the line" atmosphere. I don't know.

Little Venice - # 98/2011

2011-07-16T17:59:00.000+01:00

Before the railway age great canals were built to carry goods from the industrial midlands and the farm lands into London. The Grand Union canal entered the Thames at Brentford near Richmond, but a spur was built to travel around the northern edge (it is no longer "the edge") of London to connect with the docks and the canals serving the eastern side of England. Here at "Little Venice", close to Paddington Station, in West London the Grand Union met the Regent's Canal and a Y shaped basin was created. This is a delightful spot in the Capital. It's a "must see" for any tourist or even resident.

Police on call - # 97/2011

2011-07-13T13:10:00.000+01:00

The photo shows a London River Police boat streaking down river, blue lights and sirens wailing, past the 1980's Docklands apartments towards the distant towers of the mighty Canary Wharf finance district.

In the late '70s and early '80s the derelict docks of the old Port of London were developed into funky flats and "loft apartments" for City bankers. Rupert Murdoch busted the Printers' Union stranglehold on Fleet St. and moved to a brand new Dockland site, using modern computer technology in old dockland Wapping. A little later the financial "Big Bang" lead to the construction of a gigantic addition to London's financial district in the Canary Wharf development, on more derelict dockland, about 3 miles away from the old City Square Mile

The power of London as a world leading financial and news information hub was re-confirmed, and its might grew even stronger.

Move forward a few years - not so long after the flawed British politician, Gordon Brown, heralded the opening of Lehman Brothers offices in Canary Wharf the "toxic mortgages" crisis in America brought down Lehman's and triggered the current world financial crisis. Bankers were justifiably vilified, and now Rupert Murdoch's empire is under police investigation in Britain, America and Australia.

30 years is a long, long time.

Batman's London - # 96/2011

2011-07-12T15:01:00.000+01:00

You'll have noticed a lack of "content". While looking about for a bit more inspiration and something "different" I've been spending some time trying to take a look at "the new London", and trying to see what I can make of it. Richmond itself will come back one day, but I need a rest.

This week end took me to the area around Tower Bridge and London Bridge where they are building the new "Shard" tower all around there is stunning new architecture with creative view points and vistas. This is indeed 21st Century London, straight out of a 1950s Marvel Comic; and one expects Batman to turn up at any moment, or maybe Superman to snatch somebody to safety, away from an oncoming red London Transport bus. I like it.

And it's very photogenic.

City stunner - # 95/2011

2011-06-28T16:10:00.001+01:00

Nothing posted for a week. Naughty. But a good excuse. Weather, stuff happening etc. However, here's a little something I did recently while working up a project based on London and The City (you might have guessed).

It's a detail from a very fine Victorian building in the City. I'm keeping it anonymous. I'm more interested in the image abstract than the precise reality.

Pregnant pause - # 94/2011

2011-06-22T19:45:00.001+01:00

Shouldn't really do this. I said earlier that it was the last Dungeness image. However, I just liked the sense of mystery, anticipation, "what's about to happen?" that I felt when I composed this, and which I still sensed when I was looking at it again last night. So here is "the last Dungeness image" - until I accidentally stumble over another one that I like.

The North Foreland light - # 93/2011

2011-06-19T18:04:00.000+01:00

A landscape by the sea.

Essay on colour - # 92/2011

2011-06-18T21:21:00.000+01:00

Stay with me a while. I snapped this playing with camera settings to try things out. But I got something unexpected.

I grew up with this scene, and at that time, at low tide the beach would often yield unexploded war-time munitions and patches of fuel oil, some of which had seeped from ships and aircraft sunk in battle.

My memory is happy but the predominant colour in mind is grey. The ships that habitually anchored here to wait for the storm winds to pass had black hulls and white topwork and grey hatch coverers. Life boats on the ships were white and frankly very primitive. Metal marker posts were rusting and one wondered how anyone ever saw them or made use of them. The sea was grey or blue. The concrete was grey. A photo was always black and white.

Today we have a world of colour. The ships that still anchor for shelter are multicoloured often with blue hulls and red or vermillion cargo hatches, the topwork is still white but brilliant orange breaks out and lifeboats are high-tech and brilliantly visible. The marker posts are multicoloured red and white and clearly in business to be seen. And the sea has acquired unexpected colourfulness, thanks to the polarizing filter on a camera that a mere childish lad of the 1940s/50s never dreamt could ever exist.

This is just a snap, trying something out. But it is in fact much, much more as I stand, watch, and remember.

On the mud at Margate - # 91/2011

2011-06-16T16:16:00.001+01:00

The tide's going out and the fishing boat is resting on the mud at Margate Harbour. As you can see the usual brisk north-easterly wind is livening things up. These old seaside towns like Margate once had great charm, but air-travel and sunseeking abroad have brought them to their knees and they now struggle, and cope with dereliction, trying to find a way to revive themselves.

Tough at the seaside - # 90/2011

2011-06-15T18:00:00.001+01:00

This is typical for a day out on the English coast facing the North Sea. Bright sun, and a good north-easterly wind to make it nice and fresh (that's code for - "A bit chilly; I think I'll wear a woolly jumper"). However, the wind-sailor at Kingsgate Bay near Margate is having a good time. But notice the coastal cargo vessel: she's anchored waiting for the strong winds to die down before she dashes across to Rotterdam. It was ever thus, since Dutchmen and Englishmen and Viking Norsemen took to ships.

Dungeness Final - # 89/2011

2011-06-14T17:34:00.000+01:00

This will be the last image of Dungeness until my next visit which will have to be in winter. On a good bright day it is so colourful.

Stress and The City - # 88/2011

2011-06-13T15:49:00.001+01:00

You'll recognise the skyline from yesterday's picture. I'm not so sure about coffee and stress relief going together but it makes a good talking point for the photo.

Black Friars' Bridge, St. Paul's and the City - # 87/2011

2011-06-11T23:12:00.000+01:00

Another shot of the the City of London under a dramatic cloudscape. Brilliant sunshine, the time of day and the weather came together to produce this and reward my day out hunting for good images of London.

The skeleton - # 86/2011

2011-06-10T10:41:00.000+01:00

A somewhat quirky image, and probably not your normal "City Daily Photo", but the shape and startling skeletal form of the broken wheel house on a derelict fishing vessel at Dungeness seemed worth a photo and some B&W treatment.

Pretty Dungeness - # 85/2011

2011-06-08T12:37:00.000+01:00

............and the desert bloomed.

Lurid Dungeness - # 84/2011

2011-06-07T14:24:00.000+01:00

I think I overdid the tweak on the polarizing filter, but the startling effect on the sky doesn't spoil the atmosphere. We still get the essence of a typical Dungeness scene, with the derelict and the active, the old and the modern all functioning nicely together, and the wet and the terribly dry being baked under broad skies.

The Lugger - # 83/2011

2011-06-06T09:56:00.000+01:00

Let's stay for a while longer on the South Coast admiring the quirks of the English Channel (or, as the French call it, La Manche = The Sleeve - why on earth The Sleeve?).

Here's a lovely traditional lugger sailing safely and well in stiff breeze, just as the old craftsmen who invented the design meant her to do.

Lingering longer on Dungeness - # 82/2011

2011-06-04T07:33:00.000+01:00

Typical Dungeness scene - weird. I'm trying to imagine it on a wet, grey, Novemberish sort of day. That's a challenge. I'll have to risk it in November.

Dungeness derelict - # 81/2011

2011-06-02T14:39:00.000+01:00

Dungeness: a huge desert of shingle on the south coast of England, so large it's clearly visible from space. Look it up. It's a site of special scientific interest, a bird sanctuary, a Ministry of Defence live firing range, a strange community of artists and fishermen, the site of a nuclear power station and great for weird photography. The day I went, the sun was hot, the sea breeze was strong and fresh......

Changed times - # 80/2011

2011-05-31T11:14:00.000+01:00

Severley cropped for discretion - and so a little bit grainy: we see how times have changed. Taken during a recent walk through the City of London, we see an elegant black-suited lady banker pausing to have her shoes polished in the old fachioned way.

The Coastguard's cottage - # 79/2011

2011-05-29T15:24:00.000+01:00

I've taken you back to Seaford Head and the Cuckmere Haven where a few days ago we saw the bad weather closing in on the Seven Sisters white chalk cliffs.

I couldn't resist capturing this image of the old coastguard cottage with its red door and blue window frame set against the super-grey English Channel. It's hard to belive that if you keep on going south for about 900 miles you'll reach the sunny scenery of Menton DP. Ah, well; you can't have everything.

Richmond Bridge - # 78/2011

2011-05-26T13:48:00.000+01:00

Looking through the arches of Richmond Bridge up-river towards Petersham Meadows. Nothing execeptional in this scene - it's just an everyday sight for those fortunate enough to live here.

South Coast dreaming - # 77/2011

2011-05-24T12:31:00.000+01:00

For those of you who don't know, this is a classic "South Coast" view akin to the iconic "White Cliffs of Dover". This scene shows the coast guard cottages at Cuckmere Haven (where the Cuckmere flows off the South Downs into the English Channel) and the famous "Seven Sisters" chalk cliffs stretching towards Beachy Head light house and Eastbourne, Hastings and onwards towards Dover after the interruption of Dungeoness and Romney Marsh .

The scene is much photographed, in sunshine, evening light, frosty early mornings etc. My scene shows it as bad weather suddenly sweeps in having traveled rapidly up the English Channel from the South West. A strong "Souwester" is blowing - loved (and feared) by generations of British and Dutch sailors as this wind blew them hard and very fast up the Channel on the final leg of their long sea voyages towards home. The "day tripper" photographer has to take what he gets. When I started out to walk the cliff tops, the sun was bright. Suddenly this rough weather fell upon me within minutes!!

In the 1940s you could stand here and watch dramatic aerial battles between squadrons of German and British aircraft locked in mortal combat, swooping upon each other at 340 mph, creating the legends of the White Cliffs as they fought.

B & W photo - # 76/2011

2011-05-21T13:00:00.002+01:00

Study in black and white with four birds flying.

Making an impression - # 75/2011

2011-05-20T13:00:00.001+01:00

Trying hard to get noticed.

Broad Blue - # 74/2011

2011-05-19T13:00:00.001+01:00

A day out on the South Coast. We are at Seaford looking due South across the English Channel. The con-trails, narrow and fresh, or wide and decaying are numerous and show that this is major crossing point for giant airliners flitting across the world. The wide angle lens does justice to the sense of fresh air and the concept of the wide, wide world across the sea. The scene looks outward - a healthy state to be in.

No.6 - # 73/2011

2011-05-18T13:00:00.007+01:00

All things bright..........

Royal colours - # 72/2011

2011-05-17T13:00:00.001+01:00

Here's a bit of fun that's been around for a few years, but I've only just noticed it!! Look up, People!! Look up!!!!

On the lamp posts at Ham Gate, entering Richmond Park, they have placed these delightful little royal crowns, sitting on their sweet little tassled cushions. I've loaded the picture in a large(ish) size, so do click on it and enjoy the details in the crown and cushion. By the way, I think the gas lamp is never switched off. Who remembers gas lamps?

Three coloured umbrellas - # 71/2011

2011-05-16T13:56:00.001+01:00

Lunch time colour - # 70/2011

2011-05-15T14:00:00.001+01:00

Enlarge it. You can actually count the little half moon bites in the sandwich.

Saturated colour - # 69/2011

2011-05-14T14:01:00.001+01:00

We're back in Richmond. Who says the UK doesn't "do" colour?

Multi-coloured Spontaneous Art Installation - # 68/2011

2011-05-13T22:26:00.000+01:00

The painter's trestle in the boat-building yard at Richmond Bridge might do well in a gallery for expensive "modern" art.

Multicolour - # 67/2011

2011-05-11T16:07:00.001+01:00

The fruit market in Ventiglia. Typical!

Green - # 66/2011

2011-05-10T16:38:00.001+01:00

You'll have noticed I'm playing a game around "colours". Colour is essential to Mediterranean life. It must have something to do with the abundance of brilliant sunlight.

Blue - # 65/2011

2011-05-09T16:34:00.001+01:00

Walking through Ventimiglia Old Town.

Yellow - # 64/2011

2011-05-08T16:08:00.000+01:00

A quick trip across the border from France into the pleasant town of Ventimiglia, Italy, continues to show the style of Mediterranean life as we know it. But climate change is making the area drier and drier. Perhaps in 150 yrs from now it will be more like Muscat, Oman, with desalination plants and high energy consumption to power air cooling systems.

Fun in the night - # 63/2011

2011-05-05T06:04:00.001+01:00

I've already mentioned the how the Old Town of Menton lends itself to night photography. One evening I went out with Jilly of Menton DP and we wandered about practicing with tripods and ISOs and exposures and white balances and all those other engagingly exciting things that go with night photography.

The pleasing tonality of this scenes goes without saying, but the really totally exciting thing is the spaghetti of electrical wiring and plumbing above the steps in the doorway. If anything sums up France, this is it!! Weirdly ingenious and successfully functional in spite of itself and its quirky character. (Well, aren't we all a bit weird?)

Cote d'Az dreams - # 62/2011

2011-05-04T06:09:00.001+01:00

It's all too easy to over-romanticise and falsely idolise the Cote d'Azur, but it's also very easy to understand how it got and how it keeps its good reputation. For me this is a delightful scene that any Englishman fed up with the grey British winter will long to see and enjoy. Early morning, delightfully fresh before the day warms up. The scent of the bushes and plants. The sound of a torrent rushing down the canyon from the mountains. A terrace garden, high up and looking out towards the Mediterranean Sea where the blue sky is reflected. (I took lots and lots photos of this same scene with the hanging bird table, trying to capture the essence. I didn't get exactly what I was trying for, but so far this is the nearest).

The Buggy - # 61/2011

2011-05-03T06:50:00.000+01:00

I can't take Monte Carlo seriously. It's a bit of frivolous fun but it's not real. What serious person would do the week-end shopping on the High Street in this vehicle? (Well, ummmm, I might!).

Menton nostalgia - # 60/2011

2011-05-02T06:09:00.001+01:00

Colour film was almost non existant and a priceless miracle of chemistry in the 1930s and 40s. When I was a child I remember my excitement looking at Mother's old snaps and her showing me her little box of photo colouring pencils. I was entranced by the delicate colouring and the magical effect it had on the photo. I was eager to try it and remember the thrill of quick and realtively easy success, achieving a powerful effect for little effort.

This Menton street scene seemed ripe for some "creative" treatment, so I simply clicked on "Creative - Aged Photo" in Lightroom, and suddenly realised that in a micro-second, with one click, I had more or less achieved what my Mother did while passing the winter hours, looking through her photos, lovingly colouring them and listening to a grammophone record or the wireless: no television in those days!! It existed but was, like colour film, a priceless marvel of technology yet to be widely available.

Menton Old Town - night - # 59/2011

2011-05-01T10:27:00.000+01:00

A night-time foray up through the Old Town yielded this. (Not the finest of night time shots, but it still captures some of the atmosphere and the pleasing tonality of a night time-walk through the alleys - actually that's "climb" not walk.)

I've been neglecting the blog and my loyal "lurkers". I'm quite precoccupied weeding and reorganising my photo collection and still trying to short out my strenuous physical exercise programme to try to overcome the limitations caused by my fall on the ice at Christmas 16 months ago.

2 hours later - # 58/2011

2011-04-25T19:42:00.000+01:00

2 hours after dawn the sun is at a good angle to capture the magnificence of Old Menton, and the light begins to release the essence of the place. Of course an early morning walk out to the end of the harbour breakwater to catch the colours as they change minute by minute and to take in the whole width of the town is what dedicated "real" photographers would be doing.

Sunrise out of Italy - # 57/2011

2011-04-24T18:25:00.000+01:00

Having been away I don't have any images of Richmond to offer for the time being. So, from Menton, thanks to the well-oriented balconies of the excellent Hotel Napoleon, here is an image of the dawn rising out of Italy. Already, Genoa and Ventimiglia, behind the headland are bathed in morning light. The dawn is breaking over France and the town of Menton. For a few minutes the sky is liquid gold. The border is formed by the mountains as they form the headland sweeping down the sea, all nice and neat, to divide Italy from France. The road and railway to Italy must pass through the tunnel.

Girl on a motorcycle - # 56/2011

2011-04-23T11:03:00.000+01:00

All over France girls are riding motorcycles. They ride them in Britain, too - but not like in France. The best shot of all (which, of course I missed) was the girl in high heels on a motorcycle! Lesson.....never switch off the camera , and never put on the lens cover until the very end of the day. Next time I go to France I plan to photograph absolutely nothing but girls on motorcycles. I'll just sit by a road for 2 weeks and snap away. Every snap will be a winner.

The City of London, midday - # 55/2011

2011-03-30T17:01:00.000+01:00

"Waterloo sunsets (I am in paradise)" is a famous song by the Kinks. French impressionists (I think I'm right) have painted it.

This is "Waterloo lunchtime" - at noon.

Many will recognise it and love it. Those of you who have no idea about London will now see. This is London in March. On sunny days London's nice, but on grey days it's, well, just Grey! London has enormous amounts of culture and entertainment to offer the tourist, but the overall sense of London is "Business and Commerce"; "world Business"; and that's how I like it.

I am standing on Hungerford Bridge looking East towards Waterloo Bridge and the City of London in the distance. St.Paul's Cathedral, with its distinctive dome, is more or less in the centre and the towers of the city are clear on the right of it. On the extreme right we see the rising central core of the new "Shard" - the skyscraper going up at London Bridge.

Another one - 54/2011

2011-03-23T18:52:00.000Z

I'm not going to bore you with endless naff shots of Spring flowers. Unless something really super materialises, this narcissus will be the last one. But, it is indeed wonderful to be enjoying a very pleasant Spring. It's mild, the sun is shining: dare we hope that this will be an end to three years in a row of very bad doses of "eternal grey cloud". (At least that's how it has seemed to me).

The Go-Faster Tulip - 53/2011

2011-03-22T17:59:00.000Z

Spring! I started a few weeks ago by announcing a little series aimed at showing the transition from Winter to Spring. Suddenly Spring is here! It is magnificently manifest in the "go-faster" red stripes of this tulip which survived the attacks launched by slugs in February.

The Bar Fly meets The Stand-up Comedian - # 52/2011

2011-03-20T11:13:00.000Z

I enjoy "Stand-up". It's often a bit crude (and sometimes it's unnecessarilly crude). It's certainly not "politically correct" and that's good in a world where political correctness has got out of hand and needs a rap on the nuckles.

I have to thank the comedians at the Ram Jam Club at the Grey Horse in Kingston for kindly allowing me to photograph them in action, using only "available light" . This is the most charismatic image I captured during a laughter-filled Friday night.

The 1930s - # 51/2011

2011-03-13T20:28:00.000Z

I regularly walk past this doorway which is typical of the calming, elegant style of 1930s Britain. It's hard to imagine that at the same time the industrial towns of Britain and continental Europe were still, by today's standards, quite horrible.

Oak under winter skies - # 50/2011

2011-03-09T18:14:00.000Z

Pen Ponds, Richmond Park, winter.

Roofline - # 49/2011

2011-03-08T20:51:00.000Z

I am greatly attracted to rooflines in towns. Living high up in an attic also has a similar attraction. You can gaze out over the roof tops like a falcon, spotting your prey. (This photo also treats you to a good view of that "Great British Institution", the Surviellance Camera. There's an absolute masterpiece of the art on the pole, looking out for it's victim in all directions and angles at one quick glance of its multiple eyes.)

Red rider - # 48/2011

2011-03-06T17:22:00.000Z

The grey and the damp are still with us but the Spring is definitely in the air. The days are getting longer and the sun is breaking through. On the plus side the cool air is envigourating and provided you are well wrapped up and assured of a warm home and a good hot tea on the table when you arrive back, it's OK! (Oh, and don't you just love that flat grey sky?)

Winter colour pallette - # 47/2011

2011-03-04T15:40:00.000Z

Some mud, some leaf compost, water to reflect clouds and sky, damp grass, waiting for warm sun to liven it up. Some grey, some blue, some green, brown, yellow and tones in between.

It's that time of year - # 46/2011

2011-03-03T15:47:00.000Z

February high tides flooding the banks at Ham as usual.

How to take a photograph - # 45/2011

2011-03-02T17:19:00.000Z

The other day I counted about eight serious amateur photographers within about 200 sq meters. They were almost tipping over each other. I nearly tripped over this one!

Crossing over (Transition from Winter to Spring) - 7 - # 44/2011

2011-03-01T23:11:00.001Z

It's rude to stick out your tongue! (This one didn't quite come out as I intended, but it's colourful and fun). Anyway, it's a spectacular flower inhabiting the Winter Border around Pembroke Lodge in Richmond Park.

Crossing over (Transition from Winter to Spring) - 7 - # 44/2011

2011-03-01T23:10:00.000Z