Walking to work, I spied this lonely boot, by the side of the alley way. Why just one? I wondered about its owner all day.
Submitted to the Photo Friday challenge ‘One‘.
Author: Mike
The Past Is Bright
Walking past the National Museum of Scotland on Chambers Street, I was struck by how modern the rear of a building for preserving the past is.
Meeting in the Turbine Hall
I love the Tate Modern gallery in London.
A re-modelled power station, the main exhibition space used to house giant turbines, generating power for thousands of homes and businesses. Now it is a meeting space for friends, about to embark on an afternoon voyage of discovery.
I had sneaked my tripod onto a walkway above the main space, as I had visualised a long exposure with the movement of people below. I wasn’t quick enough, and a security guard stopped me from putting it up. To his credit, he did allow me to continue without the tripod. So I hand-held this one, and managed to get a stationary couple surrounded by movement. It turned out better than I had expected, and this remains a favourite.
Submitted to Photo Friday challenge ‘Public Space‘.
54, Knock at the Door
Another from my trip to Barcelona. This was shot on slide and scanned.
Balanced
Back in the days when I mostly shot and developed my own film, I visited Barcelona for a week.
My main reason for going was to see the architecture of Gaudi. I’m a secret design and architecture nerd, and the prospect of seeing his wonderful buildings, the Sagrada Família and the Picasso museum in a few days was too much to miss. What I hadn’t reckoned on was the wonderful sea front with a man-made beach (La Barceloneta), which had this curious sculpture by Rebecca Horn called ‘Homenatge a la Barceloneta’.
I loved that this bizarre-looking object was thrusting out of the sand, yet to locals it was perfectly ordinary, and this person was using it to change into his swimming gear on.
I think this was shot on Ilford film, and I scanned it with my very cheap flat bed scanner later. Real film grain – isn’t it wonderful?
A Weekend At The Turnberry
I had double luck earlier this year – my parents came to stay and looked after our son while we had a rare night away at a secret location (my wife is much better at keeping surprises than I am).
The secret location turned out to be the Turnberry hotel on the Ayrshire coast. Apparently well known if you are a golfer, it’s a wonderful 1920’s style hotel, with the best breakfast buffet I have ever had – whisky and cream on your porridge or a Buck’s Fizz with your cooked breakfast of local specialities? As I was due to drive home I avoided the alcohol, but the view out towards the golf course and beach was fantastic, and we decided to go for a good walk before we left.
I was drawn towards the lighthouse. They are functional, but often beautiful structures, and seem to symbolise mankind’s battle against the elements.
The beach was deserted, apart from a lone horse rider, and we enjoyed just listening to the waves break.
There was a lot of gorse just behind the sand. Not only was it an incredibly bright hue of yellow, but it gave of a strong scent of coconut. Wonderful!
Waiting For The Train
They say the best camera is the one you have on you, so here’s a fun one from my iPhone and using the Tilt Shift Generator app.
This is Waverly station in Edinburgh, from the mezzanine/walkway.
Submitted to the Photo Friday challenge ‘Little’.
Tiny Fingers
It’s nearly midnight, and our son has come into the bedroom, upset.
“I had a bad dream”.
I take him back to his bed, and offer to lie down beside him while he falls asleep.
“Will you hold my hand?”.
Of course I will.
I was reminded of this photo from when he was small. Really small.
I’m not sure who gets most out of holding hands, him or me?
Submitted to Photo Friday “My Baby”.
