Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for December, 2011

“Architectural Curve” : Lisbon, Portugal, 5th September 2011

Getting up close to things looks really good when your camera is equipped with a wide-angle lens. In fact they work best that way, drawing you into the picture, rather than more of the scene.

Here at the National Pantheon (formerly the Church of Santa Engrácia) in Lisbon, I took things to extremes by actually squeezing myself into this narrow dip in the huge building’s side, then pointing the camera upwards.

Check out the larger version of this image here.

Read Full Post »

“Stark Steel” : Hiroshima, Japan, 28th December 2011

Went out for another photo shoot yesterday, hoping to get some good cloud pictures from a location I’d scouted out before, but the weather didn’t cooperate, and not a cumulus was to be seen.

However, as I got off the train at a minor and somewhat dilapidated station, I discovered a whole world of abstract possibilities and got really inspired.

Here we have the ultimate in minimalism: just a steel railing with blurry gravel in the background. Cold and inhuman, just the way I like it. ;-)

Get a look at a bigger version of this photo here.

Read Full Post »

“Concrete Wave” : Lisbon, Portugal, 5th September 2011

These modern but elegantly shaped concrete steps lie in front of Lisbon’s impressive National Pantheon (formerly the Church of Santa Engrácia), an enormous 17th century white edifice that, in contrast with the surrounding red roofs, gives the place that particular Mediterranean look.

The church and the spacious square surrounding it were strangely silent and devoid of people when I visited, although I’m not sure why, since the rest of the city was heaving with tourists.

I suppose the answer could be that this place is a little less central and therefore takes some time and effort to hunt out, not to mention a fair bit of leg-work, and that’s enough to deter most of the lazy-arsed galoots with cameras. ;-)

Check out a larger version of this photo here.

Read Full Post »

“Car Service” : Hiroshima, Japan, 17th December 2011

This used car dealership in a nondescript suburb of Hiroshima featured some of the shiniest car bonnets I’ve ever seen.

I just had to stop and frame a few shots with the yellow banner reflected nicely on the dark highly polished surface of the cars and the telephone logo lurking in the background.

How much elbow grease went into getting the paintwork to that astonishing degree of smooth glossy perfection?

You can find a larger version of this image here.

Read Full Post »

“Curious Canine” : Lisbon, Portugal, 5th September 2011

I’m not a great fan of dogs as a rule. I prefer cats (and live with five of them), but I couldn’t resist taking a few shots of this photogenic little fellow in a Lisbon side street last summer.

Looks like he was checking me out as much as I was him…

See a larger version of this picture here.

Read Full Post »

“Abstract Shelter” : Hiroshima, Japan, 17th December 2011

The foreground of this image depicts the edge of a bus stop shelter along a major roadway in northern Hiroshima.

Behind is the entrance to the monorail system which runs elevated above the road on enormous concrete stilts, its logo comprising the sixteen orange discs visible in the background, nicely blurred against the grey metalwork.

This monorail, which could have been such a useful transport asset for the city, turned out to be something of a fiasco. It was built some fifteen years ago for the Asian Games which were held in Hiroshima, and the priority was to link the city’s major stadium in the north with the centre, but they ran out of money and it never got as far as the train station on the other side of the city, thus rendering it of limited use in its connectivity.

To make matters worse, during construction, one of the concrete supports toppled over and killed a number of motorists in their cars below. All for the temporary prestige gained for the city during two weeks or so of second-rate sports competitions – what a waste…

A larger version of this photo can be found here.

Read Full Post »

A NEW BLOG…

I’ve just started another photo blog, this time devoted to my iPhone photography, which I want to separate from my DSLR work.

It goes under the ungainly title of ‘Souvenirs from the Surface of Last Scattering,’ but those of you with an unnatural love of cosmology will know what that moniker refers to…

Anyhow, have a look if you want some cheap ‘n’ cheerful app-enhanced instant imagery.

As an aside, I released an album of melodic techno music with the same title a while back (yes, I’m a musician as well as a photographer), and made a primitive video for one of the tracks with my Nikon D90. As a special Christmas treat I’m now going to inflict this upon you….  ;-)

 

Read Full Post »

“Street Festival” : Lisbon, Portugal, 5th September 2011

The rabbit warren of narrow winding streets in Lisbon’s Alfama district owe their character to the Moorish medina upon which they are based, and exploring them can give you the feeling that you may have already left Europe for parts more exotic.

The district had been celebrating some festival or other and was decked out in cheap-looking but colourful decorations as I wandered about, frequently, but enjoyably, lost…

A larger version of this image can be found here.

Read Full Post »

“Telegraphic Tree” : Hiroshima, Japan, 17th December 2011

Urban Japan is severely starved of nature: nobody maintains grass lawns, parks are just expanses of concrete, and trees can be hard to find.

Widespread, though, are spaghetti-like tangles of wiring like the one pictured here.

For whatever reason, it was decided not to bury such arteries of telecommunication under the roads, but have them draped along poles, which is great for the birds, but not quite so great for those who like uncluttered views of the heavens.

It does, however, provide interesting material for the urban abstract photographer…

A larger version of this image can be seen here.

Read Full Post »

“Cotton Wool Cloud” : Hiroshima, Japan, 17th December 2011

Another shot from last Saturday: this is one of the most amazing clouds I’ve seen in a long time.

Suspended there alone in a pallid winter sky above the urban sprawl, this wispy mass of water vapour looked as soft as cotton wool…

Clouds are fantastic, and I never get tired of watching or photographing them, since they are never the same twice: indeed, their very ephemerality adds to their beauty and mystique.

If I’m not wrong, this fine specimen is a fair weather cumulus.

A larger version of this photo can be found here.

Read Full Post »

Older Posts »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 74 other followers

%d bloggers like this: