Just popping in to see how the world is turning. I thought I’d throw in some images from a recent trip to london. We went there to see a play called The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Based on the book by Neil Gaiman, it was a stunning show, highly recommended. Being run at the Duke of York Theatre.
The trip was a great short break, I also visited the Cartoon Museum, and the display by Magnum photo’s at the Saatchi Gallery called America in Crisis. Both also worth the trip.
I always enjoy a stroll around London. Normally I’d pick an area to explore but this time we spread ourselves around a bit more.
Stay safe out there, things can change so quickly. But remember to enjoy the small things on the way.
Watching the audience, live music in Camden, London. Before lockdown when we enjoyed the proximity of people and music made us closer. Part of a set from my travels as an engineer, spending time away from home on a regular basis. Finding things to see and do in strange places. The camera had to work hard in this setting, but I love the result, digital grain and a softness I love, but with enough detail to keep the sense of what is going on.
A week ago I was in Borovets, Bulgaria. A cheap package tour that meant I could go to the mountains and do some walking up there, with the bonus of climbing the highest mountain in Bulgaria. But that is for later, I arrived late Saturday night after a good trip and was up Sunday to look around. I wanted a quick wander, to get a feel for where things were. So first day in Borovets, here are some getting the feel of pictures.
Main Street.
Side Street.
Here it starts, Ends about 1000m higher.
Afternoon shade.
The bottom of the slopes.
A Beast of a Hotel.
As a note, this hotel blocked any views out of the near mountains from my hotel. Very brutal building, that dominated the bottom of the slopes. The side roads and little lanes wee more interesting.
At the Eastern end of town.
Walking to the edges of this small town, you see some real life, broken buildings and other styles of living. Like the horse riding Butch and his band of rough coated horses. Selling trips of all lengths to people of all sizes.
The Yellow House.
Block built hotel ruin.
A faded grand house.
I’m always surprised by the buildings in Europe that will be left to collapse back into the ground, even when they are situated in such places as this.
Grand House, detail.
Earlier I walked the 4 miles to the famous “Black Rock” a viewpoint hanging high over a valley with views to Romania. Next time though, for now just keep enjoying the weather. It’s been interesting since I got back with some great swathes of freeze and thaw running across the UK, be safe, but brave the elements. You will feel better for it, we all need to feel the outside world around us from time to time.
A walk around the back streets of any town can be moody and atmospheric, some places though seem to have it in spades. Torquay here and now, from the South of the USA in Miami last time, to the South coast of England this time. Just a few images, hand-held at night but the High ISO works the effect well I think.
Passageway to the cliffs.
A haven of light.
Closed, go the other way.
Timetables vary.
Behind the High Street.
The light just emphasises the dark.
A way out perhaps.
Some places just need a little love.
Going where?
A cold and lonely pier.
The lights are on, but…
When you see these places, slanted by my vision to match some style I am trying to create, you might wonder about the place. The reality is we create the mood as we explore, the editing, the crops and pulling the image into some sort of notion. That’s us, me as the photographer, just because it’s digital now doesn’t mean it is different to how it was in some halcyon day of film and darkroom. The image has always been manipulated by the creator or designer to fit some idea we have in our minds eye.
A Fragment of How It Is
That physical skin to skin touch of a hand,
only the ghost of it in a call.
An empty chair in a restaurant,
willing itself to be someone.
Space, amid the noise, silence.
Tomorrow I will be home,
Tonight I am…
All you travelling people, be safe, and look around you. Enjoy the visit.
A walk through the world between places 