Ansel Adams, Greenwich Maritime Museum, Thames21 and me!
Photo Walk at low-tide
The Greenwich Maritime Museum is showing the Ansel Adams Exhibition until the end of April 2013 – I visited back in November last year (see blog post here).
It’s slightly awkward getting to Greenwich from where I live but I seem to have visited the area rather a lot recently and I do get to ride (at the front) of the DLR Train.
I’ve been twice to travel on the Emirates Cable Car which is rather fun and then I went along to a photo walk with Thames21 – a charity that educates and help clean up the Thames.
Thames21 is one of the country’s leading waterway charities. We work with communities across Greater London to improve our rivers, canals, ponds and lakes for people and wildlife. (click to visit their webpage)
They run several groups and I attended one of their photo walks at low-tide – Woods Warf which is next to the Cutty Sark.
Here’s some of the images I took that day.
Shortlisted!
Out of 250+ entries I got shortlisted with 20 other photographers to show along side the Ansel Adams Exhibition at the Greenwich Maritime Museum.
This is my entry that got through:
Private view on Thursday 4th April 2013 for the shortlisted.
Ray Wise – 2nd place runner up collects his prize. (main pic) Ben Fenton gives a small speech before hand (Thames21 Organiser – 2nd pic)
My Entry at the top (main pic) Ben Fenton in the right bottom image (Thames21 Organiser)
Books – I love books!
The last time I was at the Museum I brought Adams book:
I have these three already -
and I couldn’t help myself by buying the Exhibition version at the Museum shop.
The shortlisted entries will be shown next to the Ansel Adams Exhibition until the end of this month and after this they will be at the Millers House Cafe in Bromley by Bow.
See all of the shortlisted entries on the Thames21 Flickr group if you can’t get there (with all the snow who knows but it’s worthy trying!).
Here’s the Thames21 blog post about the Competition winners - here
Related Reading:
The Shard – looking down across London
I finally got to go up The Shard – “The View”… well it blows the London Eye out of the water… sorry!
The London Eye is overpriced – if it was lower then I would go up there more but I think I’ll just plan to go up the Shard instead.
£24.95 for advance booking of tickets online (tip: if your print off ticket has a barcode at the bottom you don’t need to use the giant ticket machine which is up the first stairs as first entering the building – which is underneath the Shard itself – don’t go in the main Shard entrance as that’s for the offices).
£29.95 for on the door tickets – kids tickets are a five pounds less than the adults.
Looking up out through the ‘Shards’
I looked up through the ‘Shards’ which are exposed to the elements – the top viewing platform is only ‘open’ at the corners and quite high up. Did get some hit with some snow whilst viewing the South London side! A few people noticed that I was taking photos upwards and did the same… you can’t but help look downwards to see the little London town toys moving around!
The lower viewing platform is enclosed and I did hear several people say they felt more secure than the London Eye in terms of being scared of heights. (why do I always know people who fear heights… it means I have to go up things on my own!)
Looking up even when I reached the top!
Lots of piping and cable ties in the Internal structure of the Shard’s spire and radiator floors.
View from floor 72 of The Shard
If you can take a polariser filter to help get rid of reflections in the glass and if the sun is out then that will also add more glare.
Looking up through the ‘Shards’ that are exposed to the elements
Another Photographer looking up – it is a beautiful structure!
View from floor 72 of The Shard
Tiny Town! well actually it’s huge – Paris feels tiny compared – I will have to go up the Eiffel Tower again next time I visit my Brother and baby Niece.
Everyone is a Photographer!
Everyone stands in this same position – camera, compact, DSLR so expect lots of images to come from the top of the Shard – it will be all over flickr too (including mine 
)
I definitely recommend the Emirates Cable Car and The Shard – I’ve just realised I didn’t blog about the time I went on the Cable Car – will do that soon.
I have lots more images but I have a long queue of work to do – freelance, friends engagement, Scotland and the rest from today… I HAVE TOO MANY IMAGES!
PS: don’t buy the official guide book from The Shard’s shops as not only do you pay £2 more than the selling price (£9.95 in the shop but under the sticker it says £7.95) but Amazon also sell it for half the price!! Cheeky as just paid for the actual ticket but bump up the price in the shop?! oh well… I do know better than this usually!
They do sell the little Fox plush toy though – a fox lived in the Shard for two weeks.
Related Reading:
The Squirrel infestation in the Houses of Parliament…
Runners dressed as squirrels have been jogging past London landmarks to publicise the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon. They were off to St James Park after this. (click image to view a few more pics via my flickr photostream)
you do get to see weird stuff in London – I saw a giant chicken (advertising a chicken restaurant chain) the other day… it looked very dejected and couldn’t eat his sandwich!
Londoners expression never changes when they come along such sights but that’s the way we are!
Related Reading:
Soggy and Cold
Today’s walk was a lazy one in that I just did my usual route – the London Eye was closed and the staff were having a snowball fight – I would have gone up as I would like to see London covered in Snow.
Related Reading:
Vauxhall Helicopter crash into St George’s Tower
I live about a mile and half away from Vauxhall and walk past there a lot – I’ve taken images of this building and surrounding areas so I’m shocked that it wasn’t even worse for the time and place!
I heard about it around 10am but didn’t walk up there until after 2pm … I don’t like to get in the way – most of the roads were still closed but the station and buses were operating.
I’ve lived in London for years but I’ve always managed not to see anything terrible – for which I am very thankful for!!
Helicopter crashes into Crane fixed to St George’s Tower in Vauxhall, London.
click to see gallery of images which can be downloaded for editorial use.
Related Reading:
Two Photographs from my walk today…
Gritty and dark drama … controlled by me!
I did take more but after spending all day cleaning old 35mm positives I’m a little tired of sitting in front on my computer so I need a break!
Vauxhall Bridge, Lambeth crossing over the Thames showing the Tower on the right and M16 on the left.
Vauxhall Bridge, Lambeth crossing over the Thames showing the Tower on the right and M16 on the left.
Related Reading:
Olympics London 2012
Crowded much?
After missing the torch in my local area I thought I’d have a walk up to the South Bank to see the final day of it’s tour of the UK.
well… how many people were out… blimey! I thought the Jubilee was crowded until it started raining and cleared slightly.
I’m not tall enough even with my camera waving over my head blindly snapping pics along with several million (?!) others to get a clear view but did manage to glimpse the golden boat – the £1 million Gloriana, which arrived in front of City Hall and waved its oars in the air in salute to the crowds. I did wonder how they were moving the torch to City Hall but it turned out it doesn’t go anywhere and actually ‘rests’ until later that evening where they displayed amazing fireworks… which I missed as I was daft enough not to find out what was happening before hand… I think the last image, the children in the fountain – looks far more fun than trying not to step on anyones toes and not get crushed!
Olympics 2012 Torch Final Day on the Thames
get back to work! lol
skiving staff
Related Reading:
Jubilee 2012…
I thought I’d go for a short walk up to Vauxhall Bridge which is quite close to me … the crowds where huge so I walked down to Battersea which was just as bad… so then I walked up to Lambeth Bridge, which was slightly better but this was due to the rain and that most of the boats had already passed.
I ended up walking over 12 miles and my jeans absorbed liquid up past my knees… which was nice!?!?!?!?
hobbled home as catching a bus in rain is practically impossible and spent the next two days not going anywhere
here’s a few pictures from my walk!
Jubilee 2012 - a wet and soggy day!
I can supply prints or the digital file if anyone is interested in purchasing any of my images.
Related Reading:
Budget 2012 protests outside Parliament…
I took some images at the small green space near the House of Parliament which had several groups who were protesting about the cuts and human rights that are affected by decisions made by MP’s for the Budget 2012.
They have been uploaded and you can find them here Budget 2012 Images which can be purchased for download (please use the correct credit if used, thank you!)
Budget 2012 protests near Parliament
Related Reading:
Thames ‘beach’
I always think that I should go down to the Thames ‘beach’ when it’s low-tide but I’m usually wearing converse shoes – not so good in muddy wet conditions but I thought sod it… last Monday I popped down to a part that wasn’t too muddy but the stairs were covered – so now my converse are covered in mud, the back of my coat and my jeans were splattered yet all that happened when I was going back up the steps lol… oh well… I did get this picture though:
a quiet moment in a noisy city...
Prints can be brought from my website – if you get stuck or have any questions (or would prefer it as a digital download instead of printing through one of the available linked printers then let me know – email me and I’ll try to help )
Related Reading:
Walkies…
a Monday morning walk which ended up being 9 miles… I think the chocolate croissant was well deserved after that!
some ‘modern trees’… the lovely birch trees outside the Tate Modern, London and below shows the sky reflected in some office buildings near London Bridge. Prints can be brought from my website – see the photography link or from Society6
Related Reading:
too tired for snow… noooooooo
I had insomnia so I missed the fresh snow on Sunday as I woke so late so it was the first snow day where I didn’t run out of the door early!
I eventually had a short walk around my local park and took these…
I would love to find a hilly area and take a shot of London covered in snow… maybe next time?
Related Reading:
Private View at Open House W12 Pop-up Exhibition.
I went to the Open Doors Pop up exhibition which featured Owl Knit You – Emily Spence’s web installation and prints at her first show!
Lots of other Artists were there and creators of the pop up who decided they wanted to create a platform for artists to show their work and also help people create and understand their own communites.
I took a few pics which can be seen in this slideshow below which also shows a few abstract shots of Emily’s Web!
Unfortunately, a couple of images from other artists didn’t come out very well but hopefully the other people taking photos would have got those as well!
I had several favorites… click ‘more’ to see individual images and links (if supplied) cont…
Related Reading:
Textile Web Epidemic in London!
Whilst I’m floating around Emily’s ‘Owl Knit You‘ website I thought I’d share her fluffy bits with you – hopefully she won’t mind.
Emily is from Pittsburg and finished studying a MA last year in London – feeling somewhat lost in London (as most people do – it is the place to congregate when you have no roots… just like me!) she decided to embark on a creative project that would help her feel more connected… and how connected can webs be?
Webs can either be comforting (as long as you are not terrified of spiders… but let’s assume the webs are spider free and were created with warm fuzzy feelings). They can make us feel cocooned in a safe place or they can feel like traps that are impossible to get get out of leaving you with a sense of fatigue from all that fighting for freedom – or hopelessness that you are on your own with no connections to anyone or anywhere!
Emily started off with small webs that she yarn bombed around London… (all photos by Emily Wilson @Owl Knit You unless otherwise stated).
In Emily’s words:
“Graffiti is rather like marking your territory. It’s leaving a mark for others to find and identify with or against. It’s a bit like a conversation between the maker and finder. For me, it’s identifying myself and claiming my existence the foreign city in which I find myself living. It’s about becoming a Londoner. “
Owl Knit You - yarn bombing around London (photo by me!)
she even web bombed a police horse (I would never have the guts to even ask!!)
Owl Knit You - yarn bombing around London
Owl Knit You - yarn bombing around London
Owl Knit You - yarn bombing around London
She then moved onto installations of larger web structures
Owl Knit You - Web Installation
Owl Knit You - Web Installation
Her next plan of action is to create a social workshop at the IndieTracks festival.
you can read the interview for IndieTracks here: http://indietracksblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/workshop-interview-3-owl-knit-you.html as well as hear more on her blog and Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Owl-Knit-You/148062365243204
you can keep up with Emily at her website http://owlknityou.com http://hellopixy.wordpress.com/
https://twitter.com/#!/owlknityouxo
http://www.tumblr.com/tumblelog/owlknityou
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hellopixy/
Related Reading:
Webby yarn tagging…
I have an American friend who is feeling a little alienated during her stay here in London – I’ve tried explaining that is what London is about (just kidding) but she decided to embarked on a creative journey to help her connect to London.
I don’t know if many people have heard of Yarn bombing and yarn Graffitti
“Knit graffiti” is an international guerrilla movement that started underground and is now embraced by crochet and knitting artists of all ages, nationalities, and genders. Its practitioners create stunning works of art out of yarn, then “donate” them to public spaces as part of a covert plan for world yarn domination. by Yarn Bombing
Graffiti (singular: graffito; the plural is used as a mass noun) is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property. Graffiti is any type of public markings that may appear in the forms of simple written words to elaborate wall paintings. Wikipedia
In Milly’s own words on her blog about this endeavor:
ReCLAIMation of the City
Graffiti is rather like marking your territory. It’s leaving a mark for others to find and identify with or against. But for the maker and the finder, it’s a bit like a conversation. For me, it’s identifying myself and claiming my existence in a city that can seem very cold and one in which I rarely feel like I belong. And I hope for the finder, they feel less alone. Alex noted that one thing that’s nice about this project is that each piece is a little out of the way, a little out of sight. So the people who are more likely to see it, are more likely to enjoy it. Serendipity.
Here’s Milly hanging up one of her webs on the South Bank of The Thames:
Webby yarn bombing in London
visit her blog here
Related Reading:
Modernist/post modernist buildings in London
Modernist/post modernist buildings in London
Brief: To take a photograph of a modernist and post modernist building and write why I chose those particular buildings.
Modernist – all photos by Lenny Carter – RunnyCustard
The Design Museum – night & day – Photography by Lenny Carter
The Design Museum is an international modernist (1930′s) styled building built in an old Banana Warehouse.
The Design museum started of as the Boilerhouse which was housed in the basement of the V&A, created by Terence Conran but then expanded to the point that it moved to the South Bank in London. It’s shaped like a small minimalistic cube like building.
I like buildings like this as they are clean and have such striking lines but they can sometimes look rather cold too. Some people think it’s ‘ugly, inhuman, sterile, and elitist‘ – I guess it really depends if all the design elements come together or not… I think they do in this case!
Post Modern.
Lloyds of London – Photography by Lenny Carter
The Gerkin & Lloyds of London – photography by Lenny Carter
The Lloyds of London & Swiss Re Tower
I’m starting to see why post modernism is seen as a backlash to modernist styled buildings.
Modernist buildings can look rather ‘boring’ next to a post modernist building – The Gerkin and Lloyds of London are rather dramatic and striking whereas The Design Musuem’s white cube structure seems rather subdubed in comparison, but then the Gerkin and Lloyds reeks of huge egos and elitism.
I’m sure we can guess which buildings have had their photo taken the most!
The Gerkin (Swiss Re Tower) wiki
