photo challenge (27/30) – from a distance

Yesterday’s feature was a close-up – for which many would probably choose a person or something macro, and I chose a beach hut – and today it is ‘from a distance’.  I thought I would try to keep a common theme for both of these two parts of the photo challenge, as it was something I was recently told I should try with my photos.

I’ve also tried to keep a sense of symmetry to this photo as that is something I’m very keen on.  Earlier today I read something that really clicked with me: “To me, photography is an art of observation.  It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place.  I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.”

photo challenge (25/30) – something pink

Portraits and portraiture are like a foreign language to me, and are something that I never quite got to grips with. When I was at school it was an obligatory part of art class and even then I struggled with it.

As you get older you train your brain into a way of thinking that is almost like a foreign language would be to a child, and it seems to be more difficult to regress back to the child-like state of being able to absorb and adapt. So when I saw the amount of portraiture – or rather self-portraiture – involved in this photo challenge, I’ll admit that it freaked me out somewhat.

Most people would think of a flower when presented with the subject of ‘something pink’ – I thought of a girl. A girl named, Cortes. We work together and she lives for all things pink. So it was only natural to involve her in some way, and I’m glad I did as it made me realise that learning a foreign language as an adult is not so difficult after all.

photo challenge (19/30) – something orange

 

This particular part of the photo challenge was pretty difficult for me to decide on something, whereas most days so far (with the exception of two) have been pretty damn easy to decide upon.  I didn’t really want to go down the route of photographing fruit again – although I did, so I had a back-up – just because I had already done that.

Thankfully when I was walking home the other night, the lights on the carousel by the pier were still on, and they just so happened to be orange.  Job done!

photo challenge (11/30) – something blue

Thinking about it, I could have just taken a photo of the sky for today’s part of the photo challenge, but then it wouldn’t really be much of a challenge.  And as luck would have it, the sky is rather grey today.  So I go for a stroll, but there is a distinct lack of colour.  As I get closer to Westbourne I walk by all of the purpose-built apartments.  Some look like they were built in the 1980’s or possibly even the 1990’s, but a few nearer the Westbourne end of Grosvenor Road have an obvious 1960’s look about them.

They remind me of when I was about ten years-old – not so much the apartments but the garages – and the car owners on my street would all have an allocated garage.  I clearly remember them parking their cars outside their garage or in the street outside their houses on a Saturday or Sunday, cleaning their pride and joy like their lives depended on it.  You might be wondering what the relevance is to this photo challenge, and the truth is; there isn’t much, other than the colour of the garage door itself.  The nostalgia is purely for me.

photo challenge (2/30) – what you wore today

The writing in the post will be brief, after all, what can be that interesting about the clothes I wore today.  And how can you make a photo featuring said clothing that interesting either?  And who came up with this list of things to take photos of to feature in this challenge?  It’s beyond me. Anyway, here is the photo of what I wore today.

structure – part ten

Most of the time I have no idea what I’m doing, I just press the button and hope for the best – one of those point-and-click-and-hope-for-the-best kind of photographers. Most definitely an amateur in all definition of the word.

I don’t have the patience nor the skill to stand around for half a day setting up the composition of a shot. I really do admire those who do though. I literally do just point and click, but sometimes even I surprise myself with the results. I will say that since I started writing this blog, my photography has drastically improved from one of a near-hipster to one that receives actual praise. Most of the time I find that to be painfully embarrassing; never having been good at taking praise.

Enough rambling. These two photos were taken in London over the course of our anniversary weekend. I have always had a thing for architecture (of which you’re painfully aware by now); its logical and sometimes illogical structure. The new and old, modern and the ultra modern, what has been standing for decades and what is yet to come.

 

voyeurism – København style

There aren’t many times you go on holiday and almost instantly fall in love with the place you’re visiting – Copenhagen is one of those places.

Like stupidly excited children, we were awake at 3am on the morning of our departure, just a couple of hours ahead of our alarm clock. It’s always the way though when you’re travelling somewhere you’ve been looking forward to visiting for some time.

By the time we arrived it was quite clear that exhaustion wasn’t far behind us, but we ventured out nonetheless. After wandering around the city for a few hours, we decided to head back to our hotel and take a nap. Shortly after we got to out hotel, I declared “I could quite happily move here.” He looked at me with nervous eyes as if to say, ‘I know you’re joking – or at least I hope you are.’

One day we may move here, but for now, I will have to live vicariously through all of the photos we’ve taken of this wonderful city. There are plenty of them and it’s only day three, so there will be more to come.

voyeurism – the laines

Brighton is an escape for me and him, much like observing people is when I have the time to indulge. Combining the two and it’s near perfect for me.

We spent the day in Brighton earlier this year for my birthday (I won’t be revealing my exact age). The day began thick in grey cloud, evaporating to reveal a blue sky as the afternoon wore on. All of the usual favourite things to do were ticked off our list – shopping in The Laines, sitting on the beach drinking tea, wandering aimlessly through the crowds – great fun!

With just enough time for a quick spot of voyeurism and photography, I was a very happy thirty-something.

structure – part six

So, this is odd.  For once I’m actually leaving music alone for a minute or two and returning to my passion of photography.  Architecture has always featured highly within that passion, and this blog was starting to showcase that passion.  Then I dropped the ball (so to speak).  I thought it was about time that I picked up my metaphorical balls and started up again with this structure series.

This time I’ve decided to feature a photograph of a building or buildings from three of my favourite cities in the UK.

The first is London, and the featured building is the Park Plaza Hotel, Westminster Bridge.  The second is quite clearly the Brighton Pavilion.  The third is not quite so obvious, but is in fact a row of houses in Cambridge along Trinity Lane.

You’re probably wondering why I would choose three such differing types of architecture, and my answer is; why not? I’ve chosen them for the same reasons that I’ve chosen all the other photos to be featured on this blog – because I like them, and have found a connection with them.

The Park Plaza Hotel has a very simple structure, but there is something about its circular shape and the protruding sheets of coloured glass that caught my attention, that and the fact that we’ve stayed there several times.  It’s modern but has a certain style about it that’s almost borrowed from the 60’s.

The Brighton Pavilion is just a beautifully ornate building that I’ve always loved, from my first visit to Brighton, right up until the present day.  I love to walk around its gardens, or just to sit peacefully within them.

And finally, Cambridge.  We lived there for just under three years, and was a city that I felt instantly at home in.  I enjoyed nothing more than wandering aimlessly around the city centre, taking in the views of all the old buildings, narrow streets and soaking up the history.  It almost felt enriching.

october, in green

As much as I love this time of year, for the dramatic change this season brings, there are times when it just gets me down.  The weather is an obvious influencing factor in this.  And then there are times when I absolutely adore this season – it’s a bit like spring in reverse (all of the rain and half of the sun).  You get days where the clouds are so low in the sky, they brush against your face.  The misty rain in constant slow-motion free fall.  It coats everything and anything that it touches.

Yet despite the masses of grey and murky feelings this season can bring, you can also find an astonishing amount of vibrancy and colour (if you look hard enough).  I only had to go as far as stepping outside my front door.  We have a Holly bush that lines the drive way, and the berries are just starting to sprout.  It wasn’t this, however, that drew my attention.  It was the slowly dying Hydrangea bush that was standing so proudly only two months ago, and now droops ever-so-slightly under the weight and depression of the almost daily rain.