A Darker Docklands

As I said yesterday, there was a lot to see and do in the Museum of Docklands. I thought of showing you a picture from the Old Time Music Hall performance, as I took a short video, too. Then I thought, a shot of part of the re-creation of old Docklands scenes, but I realised that you wouldn't be able to experience the smells that they had added (!!!) that transform the experience.

Instead, here is a reminder of the casual racism that was part of the warp and weft of life until not that long ago. One of the things this museum does particularly well is its handling of slavery and its consequences. No over-sentimentality, no beating of chests, just the story straight down the middle, well illustrated by artefacts. It is all the more powerful for that.

The Museum of Docklands

This last weekend, the Museum of Docklands was celebrating its fifth birthday, and there were quite a lot of things going on, including free admission. I've long been interested to see it, but as a cheapskate that thinks museums should be free, I had to avail myself of this opportunity. (Normal admission is £5, valid for a year)

The story of the Thames and Docklands IS the story of London, and I'm pleased to report that this museum does it justice. These people are examining a model of the old London Bridge, crafted in amazing detail, including skulls on spikes. There is a lot to see in the museum, for all ages, and they cover a range of subjects interestingly and engagingly. So much so, I may well feature another aspect in coming days.

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Frank Gehry at the Serpentine Gallery

It's taken 77 years of Frank Gehry's life for the first of his buildings to come to London and England, the Serpentine Gallery is the site. I thought it would be an interesting challenge to photograph the newest structure with my oldest camera - the 1937 Voigtlander Bessa.

(warning: photographic ramble follows)

This is an astonishingly challenging building, both to experience and to photograph. The whole edifice (which doesn't leak) strains your ideas of what a building should be. And yet, it is there: wood, steel, glass, massive and foursquare. I didn't look at any photographs before I visited and looking at them since, most fail to convey the sense of the place. My digital effort is here, (from a similar angle) but this shot on film using a seventy year old camera with a fixed lens is my favourite. Not just because it is the only film shot I took - I walked and looked for a while before shooting - but because it seems to contain an sense of the improbable, that combined with the richness of tone from the film greyscale make it for me.

Do you prefer the film or the digital version? do let me know. I'm particularly interested in what you think if you've seen it - do let me know (don't forget to click and look at the larger version, please).

Which version of the photo do you prefer?
	The B&W film one
	The colour digital one
	Neither are very good
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Buckingham Palace

Let's start the week with a tourist shot - there can be few views that scream "London" as loudly as this. What's more, it makes a pretty picture.

There's been increasing controversy recently about the bearskins (the hat) which are made out of real bear. Moves to replace them with synthetic versions have been unsuccessful thus far. PETA staged several naked demonstrations to highlight the cause.

Although they are best known as worn by the Guard's Regiments, it turns out that eight other countries also use them, including the USA.

Pump it Up

There are old Victorian waterpumps scattered beside roads throughout London, from the city to the suburbs. For some reason, they have been left in place, although little information is available for them. Unusually, this one has a plaque on it that tells us: "...(it was) rescued in 1962 when the 1771 bridge was being replaced". Hard to think that one time, this would have been a life giving source to man and animals. These days, they are more likely to be ornaments.



Go on, you know you want to see the video and hear the music.



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Chapel Market

This week's TWWSI took me to Camden Passage, a place I have been before. So, I dusted down my trusty old OM1 to see what images I could make.



Just about all the film shots I post are shown full frame, as scaned without any post production.

A bespoke Tailor

Time was when you would find a tailor in most localities; having a first suit made was a rite of passage, Not many places like this now. It's hard to image going into Marks & Spencer and ordering a custom made suit as you could from Burton's. This tailor is hidden away from view in the alleys, behind Cornhill (see yesterday) - Castles in Castle Street.And todays useless fact is that "Bespoke" just means to order - to bespeak - the suit.

Step Back in Time

If you read Victorian novels about London, you will have built an image of a city of narrow, huddled, alleyways. You may have thought that they've been swept away, apart from the odd one here or there, but behind Cornhill there remains a maze of tiny streets and alleys, pedestrianised now, that you would miss if you weren't looking for them. Worth a meander if you haven't done so before, I felt this antique treatment gave the right feel to the picture.



In this shot is the Jamaica Wine House, which stands on the site of London's first coffee house (not the Dutch kind!!) opened by Pasqua Rosee in 1652 - twenty years before he opened the first one in Paris.



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A New View on Lloyds

The iconic Lloyd's building has featured here before, but it is one of those buildings difficult to photograph any other way that to say "here's a load of pipes". Passing by the other day I was quite excited to discover this image in the parabolic building just next door, like a world in a looking glass..

The Supply of Information

Paul Julius Reuter, as much as any other single person, helped shape the world we live in today. Born this day 192 years ago (as I write this), his early life seems to have been built on shifting sands. It is an irony that his organisation went on to become a byword for reliability and speed. His early news gathering used carrier pigeons, moving rapidly to the telegraph: whatever it took to get the news first. If the mood takes you, you can read more about the man here (Wikipediaa), here or here.



This memorial to him stands behind the Royal Exchange. See where on the London Daily Photo Map.

London's Elephants - No 25 in a series

'Tis elephant time again! This time, not just one, but a herd of topiary elephants are in Regents Park. They are on walkabout as part of The Survival Tour, an event seeking to highlight the plight of the elephant as its habitat disappears worldwide. Not to be confused with the herd of elephants currently rampaging through Norwich. If you want to see what the elephants are like photographed on film using my old OM1, that's here.

They're in Regent's Park through the end of July, when they move to Selfriges (!!) - you may have seen them already in St James Park.

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London Community Life

I've mentioned in the past that I'm fortunate to live in an area with a great sense of community - something all too rare in London and most other modern cities. Saturday was one of the highlights of the year - Music in Wanstead Park - a day of fun and music for all the family. These ladies were helping out at one of the food stalls, supporting the local Primary School PTA. When Diamond Geezer walked through on his Redbridge foray, he commented "this fascinating park ought to be seen and enjoyed by far more than an audience of local dog walkers" - well, I'm pleased to say it is. Another photo here.

Is this a dagger I see before me?

Towards the end of last year, a statue popped up on Southbank to commemorate Sir Laurence Olivier, one of the finest actors of recent years. And of course, he was one of the founders of the National Theatre

Temporary Eyesore

This is a view of a Work Of Art outside the Tate Modern. I know it's a Work Of Art because it says so on a Bit Of Paper. For a change, most of the words - the text on the Bit Of Paper and my short commentary - are on My Other Stuff. And if you think these colours are a little bit too vibrant to be real, you are right. I tried to make this an eyesore, too. I thought that might be Art.

Summer in Bloomsbury Square

For this week's The Way We See It, I found myself in Bloomsbury Square. Alongside my digital, I was shooting with the Voigtlander Bessa, now sorted and ready to rock. The huge negative (6 x 9 cm) contains a huge amount of information, that is lost on the small digital image you can see, but I hope you like it all the same. The camera itself dates from 1932 - 1938, as far as I can tell.

Watch This Space

The National Theatre's "Watch This Space" Southbank summer series of free entertainment is here again - for the tenth year. As my office is right by here, normally I manage to see a few - so far this year, I haven't seen any. I hope to change this, and report back to you all.

Funeral Splendor

London's East End villains are notorious for their funeral cortège, always with a coach and horses like this. Ronnie & Reggie Kray were two such, but they had six horses. Well, they would, wouldn't they. The urban legend runs that Reggies's funeral cortège went over the Bow flyover, as one of his adversaries remains in the concrete foundations. It is certainly possible.



(And as I would have been uncomfortable photographing a funeral for your entertainment, I was pleased to come across the empty carriage)

The Buxton Memorial

The Buxton Memorial sits outside the Houses of Parliament to commemorate the emancipation of slaves, you can reas more here in Wikipedia (sorry for the brief text today).

I know it's round here somewhere....

I would say it is fairly tough to get lost in New York. Paris? well, it's small, lots of Metro stations. London has to be the capital of the world for confusing tourists. What makes it still better is how few Londoners know more than their immediate route. Scurrying like lab rats, from home to work most Londoners are probably the worst people to ask directions - we don't even have maps on us. So this little tableau appealed to me - look at the wife's face. I dare say this wasn't the first time he'd got them lost, and son is NOT expecting results soon.

Limehouse Basin

Just a photo today, from the Bronica. A full colour daytime shot here.

War on Waste

Not another modern green initiative but a recreation of life 60 years ago, during WWII. It was a time when Britons were all encouraged to grow food in allotments, the Imperial War Museum have recreated the time in the middle of St James Park. Worth a look if you are in the area, the Harvest Fair might be fun in September.

DN-Anyone know?

This DNA-like sculpture appeared recently in Paternoster Square, next to St Pauls Cathedral. There's no information plaque, and I haven't yet found out anything about it. Suggestions?

Thanks to JK: "This giant sculpture by Thomas Heatherwick in Bishops Court (by Paternoster Square, opposite Amen Corner) is actually a cooling vent for electrical transformers below."

But if you don't believe this, alternative suggestions still welcome.

Can I Have Some Moor, Please?

I love the fusion of cultures that thrives in London. This colourful water basin sits outside the restaurant el Cantara in Frith Street. I've not tried it,but from the look of the menu, I may well give it a try.

If I Sad Please Smile

This eclectic poetic selection is not a photograph of my fridge door, but instead a communal fridge door. Let me explain - if you go into Neal's Yard in Covent Garden to eat or shop, you can compose your own ode. A sort of adult play area, without any jumping around. See a view in context here.



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The M(urder) 25

The M25 motorway girdles London, and is notorious for its accidents and jams. You would have thought, then, that the accident statistics for the M25 would be easy to find: they are not (that's a challenge for anyone who chooses). I came across this small tribute on a cycle ride today. Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Brother, Husband - that's what the faded cards say.

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Newman Street

This Banksy takes pride of place on a blank wall in Newman Street, where The Way We See It had taken me. I always find what other people see at any location fascinating - but nobody went for this striking image, although it raises issues close to any photographer's heart. It's difficult to make out, I'm afraid, but the police/security is taking a photo of the child graffiti artist.

Staying Local

Don't we often take our own immediate environment for granted? Where I live is steeped in history, as is so much of London. The building you can see has been there for 300 years, and seen a lot of changes. For a while, it was the Conservatives local HQ, and hence the bust of Churchill who was the local MP. Diamond Geezeer walked the walk and talked the talk here, too. The stone plinth was made out of a bit of the old Waterloo Bridge.

But the real reason I took this photo was as part of a test reel to try out another £5 special from eBay, after fixing it. It's an Agilux Agifold, a late forties/early fifties camera made in London (Croydon). In case anyone is interested, it has a 90cm f4.5 lens, here stopped to f/8, shot on Fuji Acros processed in ID-11.

Fishy Business

In Greenwich, just off the tourist track are a small group of some of the most excellent food shops you could hope to find. This fish is as good as it gets and passes the ultimate test for a fish shop - can you imagine these fish swimming? I can. A nice touch is the laptop they provide with a pen and paper so you can find recipes, like on their website,. I bought some Turbot, and very nice it was too, but I was too late for the samphire, it was sold out. Have the benefit of the Greenwich Phantom's experience here.



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