The Horses of Helios

The Greek legend of the horses of Helios says that each morning, Helios used to ride his chariot across the sky from the dawn in the east to dusk in the west. Each night he would rest to be ready for the next day. Once his son Phaeton had a go, lost control of the horses, crashed into the earth and set it on fire. You can find this statue at the junction of Haymarket and Picadilly.

You may have noticed, this was shot in film on my old Olympus Trip.

Discovering Elegance

Isn't it odd how you can find elegance in the strangest places, and how a photo can help show that? This small, inconspicuous statue is on the north side of Blackfriars Bridge, here is the Google Maps Streetview. Different, isn't it? Shot on my Olympus Trip, a little point & shoot 35mm film camera.

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.

See where on the London Daily Photo Map

For whom the bell tolls

I don't really need to say anything about this, do I? After all, we all know that this is the world's biggest four faced clock and that Big Ben is the name of the bell, not the tower. And you can find out lots (and hear the chimes) on Wikipedia.

Once again, the 30 year old Trip has acquitted itself well (any lack of sharpness is due to being digitised on my flatbed scanner)

No. 1 London Bridge

This Escher-like building was entirely surprising when it was built in 1986, and walking around it is still an odd experience. It sits on the south side of London Bridge; I was there for The Way We See It, with the trusty old Olympus Trip and film. Here is the building modelled in 3-D.

The Helm

There's a statue of a solidier in armour outside Southwark Cathedral that has been defyingmy attempts to photograph it for a long time. I wanted to try to capture some of the atmosphere of it. Turned out that a 30 year old camera was the way to go. Oh, and I also discover I don't know much about it, anyone?


I'm away for the week, but daily posts continue.

Trolls live under bridges

So I dug out my 30 year old Olympus Trip, worth all of £3 on eBay, and it still works. I'm quite pleased with its results. We are under the span of the new Blackfriars Bridge today and if you look at the tiles, they have reproduced the plans and drawings of the building of the original bridge. Chances are, even if you know the place, that you have just walked straight through. Stop and have a look, it is fascinating..