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October 2008 Archives
photographic exhibition this weekend
what are you doing this weekend ? well, if you are in the south of england you could do no better than pop in to this two day photo exhibition in All Saints Church, Swallowfield.
i've got 6 pictures on display and will be attending myself on midday on sunday. with over 120 prints on view i think it's going to be quite interesting !
escalator explanation
this is a classic paddington station sign with a page number (page 12) but also a fantastic explanation of why the escalator is shut for those who want to know more (gear-drive has been removed). even the 'lift on your left' is really helpful.
well done nick hartnell, station manager. i salute you and your signs
slow portrait 1 - kevin
inspired by a visit to the Andy Warhol exhibition i've decided to start a series of 'slow portraits'. each will be around 4 minutes and consist of someone just looking at the camera as if posing for an old fashion photograph. only small movements like twitches of the eyes reveal you are looking at a movie instead of a picture. all sound will be removed.
the idea is that you should slow down and study the picture in more detail. sort of forcing you to rediscover photographs like they used to be.
i'll see how i get on - it's a bit of an experiment. i'll probably make a specific website for it once i've got a few more.
first up is bother-in-law kev
part 20 reading tescos to sonning lock
ahhh. part 20 of the thames path was a short one
i had the day off yesterday so we could go thames pathing with jane's sister's family whilst they were visiting.
we picked up where we left off last time at tescos in reading before heading over a hideous bridge where some alcoholics were enjoying the location where the kennet canal meets the river thames.
if we'd turned off here we would have ended up in bath rather than london.
this swan was interested in jane's dad's photography technique (and creeped up on him whilst he was looking the other way, leading to some good expressions from the people he was photoing - a top tip i shall not be using myself)
then we passed reading's glorious gasometers
there was another angry swan
and plenty of puddles
which the youngsters made the most of
we soon got to sonning lock which was the end of the episode, but not before we stopped and watched a boat coming through the lock
we were incredibly lucky with the weather which made for a great walk.
due to the shortness of the walk and early start we didn't end up at a pub (again) so instead we went back to our house where all 12 of us sat round our maximally extended table. (the 12th person was in a high chair just out of shot plate-counters!)
evolution
cyclists and pedestrians are often at odds. as seen here in these conflicting signs
weighing up an argument
these are brilliant devices. you sit on them and have a row with your partner. and the machine decides who is right.
x-ray chef
if you look carefully you can see what this chap has been eating
hassock of the week
very autumnal. as it is.
liverpool
ferry (a)cross the mersey
skating
i had the day off yesterday so i took the girls ice skating. exhausting stuff, although esther and kezia are now much better than me which helps.
IWF awareness day
(click on image above to visit the IWF)
golden hnd
we're all looking for that gilt edged qualification. how about a golden hnd ?
have done for over 12 months
why go to the trouble to say your opening hours aren't anything new ?
strange machine
there's an empty office with glass windows near my old office which has this mysterious machine in the corner. i think they used to have something to do with robot wars there. anyone know what this is ?
what's inside a bin
inside those street bins is another more sinister wheely bin. it's like the darleks and their gloopy body thing.
small spooky girl
i had lined myself up to take a picture of this strange wedding shop with it's lose 'A' and this small girl in a spooky cloak floated by.
just after i'd taken the picture a police car whizzed by, but it didn't stop to arrest me.
queuing for their treats
i'm reading animal farm with esther at the moment. these swans have learnt to queue up for their treats
very small writing
these signs are on the side of the canal near my office. to read the writing on the white stickers you have to stand on the canal-side of the footpath and crouch down to read the small writing ...
which tells you to watch out for bicycles
luxury coat hanger
i love lost coathangers and this one was a beauty. a real once-in-a-lifetime street find. look at the luxury padding.
the cigarette tab-end suggests this upper class model went off the rails (literally) and has hooked up with the yellow line
record decks on a bench
soggy decks
multi channel tv
a strange chain of events concluded with me stumbling across these stirrers on double yellow lines. it started with me finally listening to a podcast from stephen fry which had been sitting on my podcast for months. it was all about broadcasting (specifically this) although i hadn't realised in advance it would be. so rather than being just fun, it was unexpectedly work-related and fun instead.
in the podcast he referred to a sketch he did in his old fry and laurie days about multi-channel television involving plastic stirrers which is on youtube here (relevant bit is around 2mins, then just after 4 mins - language on video perhaps completely safe for work)
Anyway what should i see yesterday, but a load of stirrers. if stephen fry had been standing next to them then it would have been a perfect circle.
(disclaimer - views expressed above are not even my own, let alone my employer's!)
Enis's fantastic cafe
i read about enis's cafe on the excellent 'nothing to see here' blog and a few days later found myself walking past its entrance at lunch time so popped in for a sausage sandwich. it was as fantastic as i'd hoped and just as mysterious.
i asked whether there was any story behind the decorations and was told "look around you'll find lots of stories".
then i was presented my sandwich wrapped in a piece of tissue paper with the words "you'll find this is spot on". And it was.
i'll be back ...
10 bottles sitting on a fence
a good international selection of beers (and ciders) here.
end of survey
i can see me using this photo in some work presentations feedback consumer research or somesuch
kirby and west
my brother and i were sitting in a cafe in leicestershire the other week when he suddenly exclaimed 'oh, wow'. i looked and had the same response.
i'd totally forgotten about Kirby and West milk floats and their yellow and blue livery. it was suddenly like being old and young at the same time, with memories of chinking bottles and the fun on snowy days when these light weight electric vehicles couldn't get up a nearby hilly street.
makes you wonder what else we've forgotten. i think the fear of forgetting is part of my obsessive archival of the mundane
closing down
never mind, there's a giant ice cream to cheer you up
passport photos
i was delighted to find a photo for my davescollections website. although sadly the website itself is broken behind the scenes so i can't update it at the moment :-(
modern future
can you guess where this photo was taken (clue in the title)
what is london now but a heap of dust and rubbish ?
can you guess the event to which this refers ?