Saturday 30 July 2011

Monday 11 July 2011

Plenty and Diverse

When people talk about the landmarks of London, the usual suspects they immediately remember are Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the Tower, maybe the Gherkin if they want to be generous.

If I were asked what to mention, I would miserably fail to give an appropriate answer, not being able to decide where to stop a list that is in fact endless.

For example, what about this one ?



Surely you know this sight! The mighty St Paul's Cathedral, sitting at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London.

At 365 feet (111m) high, it was the tallest building in London from 1710 to 1962. 



This building definitely is a landmark. For me, it is a reference point for the beauty of human imagination, its longing for aesthetics, symmetry, and surprise - always falling short of perfection  (as you might spot at the front of the Cathederal ..)




The father of this Masterpiece was Sir Christopher Wren. Educated in Latin and Aristotelian physics at the University of Oxford, Wren was a notable astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist, as well as an architect.
He was a founder of the Royal Society (president 1680–82), and his scientific work was highly regarded by Sir Isaac Newton and Blaise Pascal. 

(Thank you Wikipedia, you're always there when needed).


Obviously someone else was of even more importance.

But on the other hand, something has to stand in front of buildings - at some point.


So why bother ? 
And anyways, when it comes to things standing in front of my lens, these charming guys are the ones I most often encounter in London:


This time I met two of them, not willing to step aside and free the sight!


Just over the last couple of weeks, a huge 15 - year lasting marathon of cleaning and repair of St Paul's was finally completed - so I highly suggest to head over and enjoy this architectural masterpiece in all its glory!




If you were me, instead of heading into the Cathederal after a walk around, you would turn your back and wander towards Millenium Bridge ( .. no, I could'nt take that off the list either).


Then you'd fall in love with this scene of landmarks - 



.. reminding me of  David and Goliath, as tiny Tower Bridge fights bravely the Shard for its place in modern London.

Finally, you'd end up in the Bar of yet another corner stone .. 


Well, whatever path you follow, 
take care, and enjoy :) **

Thursday 7 July 2011

Play Me, I'm Yours

Caught the other day as I stepped out of Liverpool Street Station into the Square Mile's Rush Hour:




This City Boy completely made my day, playing the Chopin Valse Op 64. No 2. Waltz in c sharp minor 

on one of the Street Pianos that are placed all over the City.

They are part of the Art Project "Play Me, I'm Yours", created by British Artist Luke Jerram.

You can read more about this cool idea at www.streetpianos.com,

Enjoy !

Sunday 3 July 2011

Never Mind

Watching other people doing great things is always a joy .. and doing this on a warm summer evening in Hampstead Heath is a proper holiday.

Hampstead is worth a post on itself (one day), such a cute village right at the doorstep of the big smoke!



This time though I was too busy climbing through the woods of the Heath, squeezing my eyes as I was blinded from all those shoots against the sun.



But I couldn't help it - being dazzled by beauty can be such a cruel thing!

Anyways, coming back to watching other people doing great things -

one of those is surely being joyful for no reason other than a blue sky and some free time to spend together.




Another thing people do, which I GREATLY admire, is to be good listeners.



This is SUCH a great thing! Imagine the world without having someone to talk to ..



 I couldn't stand it.




Another world that I couldn't bear ? The one without people that relax and just space off for a while ...



Oh, and last but not least, I LOVE it when grown ups could'nt care less about being grown up


such that their dogs appear more grown up then they do .. what a great skill !


Well, and after all those deep thoughts I felt tired but happy as the sun was getting low.. 


.. hopped into my car and drove off into the sunset.


 .. the last words are thanks to the most marvelous human skill - the power to imagine and dream.

Take care ;)

A little tour through Kensington W8

These are just some pretty random shots taken on a little stroll through W8. I really like, how much 
variety the architecture of such a small proportion of London has to offer though !









As you can see, all these shoots were taken in W8. This density of interesting scenes really makes it a pleasure to take a stroll with the camera in London wherever you go !


take care.