London day by day

andy borrows' photos from life in and around the capital
 

Moore at Hatfield

Given that the bits of London I've been 'in' lately have been less than photogenic, I figure I can stretch the 'around' part of this blog's strapline to cover Hatfield, and the current exhibition of Henry Moore sculptures in the West Garden at Hatfield House.

(download)

Think of Moore, and you probably think of Reclining Figures in one form or another.  There were certainly plenty of those:

(download)

Then there are the more abstract pieces.  It's rather a shame that notices tell visitors not to touch and to keep children under control; I'm sure I read somewhere that Moore encouraged children to touch and explore the shapes.

(download)

The garden provides a wealth of placement opportunities, both formal and informal.  I'm not convinced some of them were chosen as well as they might have been (tree trunks appearing out heads when viewed from what would otherwise be an optimum angle) but it makes the photography all the more interesting.

(download)

Posted May 30, 2011
 

View from the office window

(download)

The new office, that is.

Lunchtime perambulations, camera in hand, seeking out the photogenic corners of WC2 will regrettably be no more.  Whether W12 throws up any equally worthy scenes - or rather, whether my poorly trained eye can spot them - remains to be seen.  But I'm not holding my breath.

This experiment was fun while it lasted, but I think it may be over.  We'll see.

 

Posted May 10, 2011
 

Rear entrance

Lr3-1010024

This corner of London, around The Strand, seems to be particularly well-endowed with alleyways like this.  This one constricts to a one-person-wide slot at one end, then broadens out into this gathering place at the back of a pub before slimming down again to exit through what seems to be little more than a doorway without a door.

Posted May 6, 2011
 

Bloomsbury

Lr3-1010015

Great Russell Street.  Home, once, to Charles Dickens, amongst others.

Posted May 4, 2011
 

Discovery

After a while, the message starts to sink in: don't go out with the intention to photograph this or that subject, or the aim of producing photographs to convey any particular preconceived notion; just go, with senses receptive and mind open, ready for discovery.

Lr3-1000994

Today's unsought discovery, brought to you courtesy of feet that were wandering nowhere in particular, was light filtering through leaves onto the stone of Temple Church:

(download)

That first shot was already a crop of an original that was quite a bit larger.  And in spite of the further loss of resolution, this crop-of-a-crop seems to work well too:

Lr3-1000994-2

 

Last week I was a long way from London, hence the break in posting.  But I still had a camera in my hands; the results can be seen here, best viewed as a slideshow.

 

Posted May 3, 2011
 

Bug-eyed

(download)
Maybe not quite in London, but my garden pond just about qualifies as being around London.

For best effect, click the image to enlarge.

Posted April 24, 2011
 

Cooling off

Enjoying the fountains at Somerset House.  

Lr3-1000540
Just too late to snap one with a wing raised for an under-wing shower.  Apparently there's safety in numbers - not very many yards away, the children's enjoyment was much more energetically displayed.

(Actually taken a couple of weeks ago, but it seemed very appropriate for today!)

Posted April 23, 2011
 

Southbank-on-Sea

(download)

A little touch of seaside, in the heart of London.

Lr3-1000734

All part of the 60th anniversary of the Festival of Britain, apparently.

Posted April 22, 2011
 

Flying (momentarily)

It feels good that places like this exist.  Free, no written rules, no-one to tell you what you can and can't do, just a line on the ground to mark where pavement stops and skate park begins.  Skateboarders, BMX-ers and hordes of passers-by in peaceful co-existence.

Lr3-1000733
Southbank skate park

Posted April 21, 2011