Seen on the streets of London

So in an attempt not to feel too broken up over the fact that I was not able to attend my university graduation ceremony this last weekend I booked a flight to London to get my mind off home and onto the many adventures that lie ahead of me.

London was my first home away from home.  It was in 2004 that an eighteen year old me boarded a plane with my childhood friend, Jenna Berndt, with no job and only a youth hostel in Earls Court booked for a couple of nights. We were off to conquer the world and make our own way and as it turns out fall in love with London.

It's a city that dares you not to love it, with its seemingly unfriendly people and its at first highly confusing transport system.

Whenever I see the tube map I think how it is the incarnation of the city itself and I would not be surprised if it was London herself that inspired Harry Beck to come up with his innovative design for her rapid transit system. The tube map is a maze of coloured lines joining stations and showing where to change to move to other lines but the fascinating and innovating concept of this map is that unlike previous maps it does not conform to strict rules of geography. What you experience underground in London in not always what is happening on the surface.

Arriving in London late Thursday night I went to bed at my gracious friend's Claire and Alan's house thinking how I could spend my weekend in London trying to capture the sense of the city. How I could try and relate to my friends, family and anyone that reads my blog the very notion of being in London. And so the 'Seen on the streets of London' project was born.

I decided to use street photography to attempt to grasp the city in both hands as it allowed me to try incorporate both the city and its people together - hopefully exposing the nature of their relationship. For those unfamiliar with street photography I will get technical for a minute and say that it is linked to straight photography in the way that it is often seen as holding a mirror up to society. It is a form of documentary photography in public spaces that according to Smashing Magazine strives "...to capture the life and culture of city streets, searching for what Henri Cartier-Bresson, probably the most famous street photographer of all, termed the 'Decisive Moment'."

So this is my London project and I will build on it each time that I visit the city. I hope that you all enjoy it and feel that even miles away you are getting to know London a little better.

London - a playground for all ages. 

On the steps of the National Gallery during school break the city is heaving.



London is one of the most watched cities in the world with one CCTV camera for every 14 people (and that is a stat from 2008 so I am sure that there are even more in 2012). But London never loses its sense of humour with these rather odd 'big brother is watching you' statues that are looking out from St Martins in the field over to Trafalgar Square.

A lady browses the breath-taking photographs of London for sale in the market located in the Covent Garden Piazza. 

A passing pedestrian is reflected on a cafe table in Covent Garden. Rushing about is a London prerequisite but so is sitting a street side cafes, sleeping on the grass in the park and sipping a pint in the pub. 

National pride is everywhere in the UK at the moment even painted onto the iconic black cab. All in preparation for the London 2012 Olympic Games. 

"hmmm, hoodies are so last season! Don't you agree Alfred?"

That's more like it!



Polly Taylor on a 'Barclay's Cycle Hire or as Londoner's affectionately refer to them the Boris bikes. They are an exciting way to experience the city but not for the faint of heart and those that don't know the rules of the road. Oh and make sure you Mind the Gap and the pedestrians.  

Alternative ways of seeing London - great heights and street level in amongst the cabs, buses and people.

A city by the river. 

A international food market gives people the change to exchange smiles with faces from all over the world. It is a cosmopolitan city. 

And for those with a sweet tooth you could exchange money for delicious macaroons....

or mouth watering coffee! 

Ground Control coffee from Ethiopia. 

London to me is feeling accepted - like you are home. That no matter where you are from here in London you are part of a city of cities. 

Djamel is from West Africa and was drawing flags from all the countries in the world to raise money to take his sister out for supper. She arrived in London three days ago after being estranged for eleven years. 

Peace and Love 

Art, markets, bookshops, coffee and all things Saturday

I had planned on posting about castles this weekend as I have been working on my Dunnottar Castle photos from a couple weeks ago, but alas I am an idiot and left my already typed post at work on Friday. So the castle post will have to wait until Monday. But fear not! As I do have a post for you all, although it does not have any photos of my own in it I hope you will enjoy it just the same. 

After a very lazy, coffee in bed style, start to my morning I managed to get up, showered and into town with the intention of going to the international market that is on in Aberdeen this weekend. On arriving at the end of a street of vendors selling everything from pet collars to produce, meat and fresh fish I noticed a stream of people walking into a building - the Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museum. Standing on the rather chilly intersection of Belmont and Schoolhill Street the cosy art museum sounded like a fantastic idea. So in I went  and I was not disappointed, in the entrance hall the gallery has an amazing exhibition of modern art that is inspiring.  

And so I wandered through the rooms each bringing with them a new surprise and addition to my internal debate on what is my favourite art form. As soon as I had decided that watercolour paintings were my favourite, as the fantasy world that the colours created and the abstractness of it all was just up my alley, I walked into a room covered from floor to ceiling in oil paintings and my eyes were instantly tantalised by the vivid colours. Crimson red, aquamarine blue, sap green all beckoning me over to view them closer and decipher them, all the while remaining outside of my physical grasp (Am I the only one that wishes that we could touch exhibitions - I know logistically for the preservation of the artwork we can't but still).

And then I see the sculptures, bronze and marble works of perfection. There is just something about sculptures that gets me, I studied Classic Civilisations at university so sculptures and I have a long standing history of intrigue. The way the sculptors make a piece of cold rock come alive and make dresses look like they are flowing and silk veils are covering the figures is amazing. The three dimensional aspect of the work is also a winner as I love the fact that I can walk clean around the art piece and gaze at it from all angles. Thinking about this it probably feeds into a power structure as I feel that my gaze as the viewer is given more authority but I digress. 

The art gallery continued with each room inspiring me to new heights. I literally had to stop every ten minutes to scribble a photo shoot idea or thought into my note book. It also inspired me to start sketching and painting again, which is something that I have not done in four years. I went straight from the gallery to the hobby craft store and bought supplies to start. 

After all this inspiration and with a renewed love of art I made a pit stop at the secondhand book shop, Books and Beans, to grab a coffee and pick up a couple used books. I know that buying a brand new book is really awesome, but then so is getting a secondhand one. There is something to be said about buying a book that has lived. It has a history and if they could talk.... well let's just say that it would in any event be interesting. 

And so my Saturday adventure in town came to an end and I headed home to relax with a glass of wine and my thoughts, and to write this blog post. Below are a few images of the work of Joseph Mallord William Turner who caught my eye years back with his steam train painting hanging in the National Art Gallery in London.  He has a couple paintings in the gallery here in Aberdeen if you live nearby and want to check it out. To be fair I am no art guru and what I know about Joseph Mallord William Turner is not that much. But I know that he was called 'the painter of light' by some and for me his work just speaks to me. It catches my eye and makes me walk across a gallery ignoring all the other pieces. My curiosity and need to see his work better acts like blinkers, and that to me means that his work is something special.