Photo Reports

  • Onsite: Tate Britain

    The Tate Britain in London is a treasure of a museum cum gallery of art. Its free entrance is a bonus but the special exhibits inside makes the short trek alongside the River Thames worth it. The use of open spaces and creation of new, modern rooms for the experience of contemporary forms is a breath of fresh air on London’s museums and galleries scene.

    The site has played host to visitors and art fanatics since the 1890’s, and it’s not dimmed since. The eclectic mix of crowds that often descend on it mostly enjoy its environs with enthusiasm. It’s said to elicit strong responses from some who count it amongst the greats in Europe. The focus on Britain is still strong, but it also has a contemporary flourish of international flavours.

  • Onsite: The Museum of English Rural Life

    The lazy days of the present are a far cry from hard days in the past. The majority of the work was back-breaking. It’s true that people built the country by the sweat of their brow. However, there’s charm to it still. The old ways often bring out the humour of life, too.

    If you take a look, there’s a lot to see about life back then. There’s interesting machinery and still further politics that made sense of the day. It’s not easy to take in all at once because there’s so much to find out. Yet it’s worth a try because life is enriched by it.

  • Onsite: What’s a local museum?!

    A local museum is an important part of any national framework of sharing and proving history. It may not rank alongside the British Museum, for instance, but it supports the existence of it there.

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    It also has an international role to play, however distant. This is proved by pieces of interest that come up every so often. The study of any type of period happens anywhere people lived.

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    Localism is crucial. Our awareness needs clarity. If “fact checking” is relevant anywhere, it’s also needs to be true in this. Otherwise, we risk losing touch in our actual values, and lose purpose.

  • Onsite: Tate Modern, London

    Level 0 is an eerie, open space. It used to house oil. Now, it has art. This is the stuff of imagination. It prods and pokes as to its meaning. It also leads you into new realms.

    This is because the themes are dark, and ultra modern. It’s not easy to focus because it’s hard to. The artists behind these works are not trying to make life simple.

    I liked wondering around, if not just to take it in. I don’t always see the point of photographing art. It’s supposed to be itself, and not ‘framed’ in any way.

    I don’t think all of meaning is in there, as if everything is in the eye of the beholder. It’s worth checking it out, though, for a different perspective.

  • Bookshop culture

    A walk into a bookshop is a pleasure for a large part of the shopping population. It’s more than picking up a book. It’s the delight of finding a new genre or discovering a new author. There’s so much on offer.

    A branch of Waterstones in Reading is a similar experience to many independent bookshops. It also has lots of gifts, cards, and trinkets on offer for those that want an extra treat to put into their shopping bags.

    The diversity of opinion, outlook, and thought is impressive. The number of female authors is rising too. If you thought J K Rowling hadn’t inspired writers to follow in her footsteps, you’d be proved wrong easily.

    The paperback market is an eclectic one. There are many different genres of books trending among the reading public. The kids books range is impressively broad. It takes into account a very diverse readership.

  • The way of shopping centres

    The dust of the shopping centre revolution has long since settled, but its effects are still here. There’s an increasing popularity for them and it shows in the increasing number of people that frequent them. The largest footfall event across the country continues everyday and peaks at weekends.

    The offer of everything that a modern life needs appeals to a local and regional crowd. It’s not uncommon to see sparkling jewellery, high-end watches, and other items on show.

  • Onsite: Westminster Bridge, London

    A walk down memory lane, or a stroll across Westminster Bridge? It’s the same difference to the people who take to it each year. The bridge overlooking Parliament, on the side of the London Eye, is a popular spot to have a photo taken, with Elizabeth Tower and the famed houses of our democracy poking out behind you.

    An historic name
    Time for photos
    A bit of fun
    A unique addition

    There isn’t a dull moment in which to do it – or time of day, for that matter. It’s equally brilliant lit up at night. The bell tolls, and folks just along the street also adjust their cameras to get their face in the frame. It’s a remarkable feat of Victorian engineering, a stunning backdrop for the city, and a real draw for eager visitors.

  • Town Christmas lights

    Looking at the Christmas lights is a delight and a joy for many. There are kids and adults alike who enjoy seeing them go up each year.

    It’s a community effort, and it makes sense. There’s no waste involved where there’s a need to lift spirits, and remind us of the season.

    Town pride
    Light touches

    It’s an extra ‘push’ needed to get us going at this time of the year. It’s an uplift. It’s an attractive, appealing look for a dark, and bleak, time.

    A diorama
    New shapes

    The colour, light changes, and the imagery is graphic of our ambitions to see hope and life in front of us. It’s also just a great scene for fun.

  • Onsite: Museum of Natural History, Oxford

    In a museum these days, it’s expected there are interactive elements such as sights and sounds, as well as the usual educational input. The excitement some children show is found in the ability to use or manipulate the objects on display.

    In a museum of natural history, we know the context is going to be different, but here it doesn’t matter. The awe is still in seeing a dinosaur skeleton, and curiosity in admiring examples of taxidermy, but there’s much more on display.

    The concept of evolutionary theory is shown for all to see in a walk-about way, helping visitors to see the novelties and factual points of the study of it in its full light. As I pace in a large atrium, and up flights of stairs, I can see it in colour.

    A statue of Charles Darwin is fitting, taking a casual glance over proceedings as his work is still perused today. However, the many objects available to see tell a story more of who we are, not necessarily how we are here, in my view.

    The Pitt Rivers Museum is a large room off the main focus of the museum, and is a delightful selection of curios from overseas. Obviously, they were collected and transported back a long time ago, but they still have a relevance here.

    The charm is the primitive culture, tribes, and spiritual communities represented here in such a broad display. There’s no let up in showing the varieties of what artistry and belief means to other people. There’s something of us all in it.

  • Onsite: Shaftesbury Avenue at night

    In walking in London at night, the usual places are lit up, but there are others much more so. It soon becomes apparent there’s a lot to do, and along Shaftesbury Avenue it has a lot to do with enjoying a night out on the town, but also as an extension of China Town just behind, finding a bit more to enjoy that’s culturally relatable.

    The accessibility of Chinese culture, predominantly, is clear as it is among the food halls and takeaway shops that line most high streets today. It’s a much stronger feeling, though, because it’s a conurbation of traditional and contemporary served up by people who know how. There’s not an amateur in sight because of its insistence on authenticity for the average patron.

    The atmosphere is the same as any other busy street, but it’s busier here because of its location and due to attractions such as theatres, cinemas, and pubs, all in spitting distance. The traffic is heavy, but there’s ample opportunity to disappear into a further street, leading off into other worlds entirely.

  • On location: London Fashion Week (UK)

    London Fashion Week is in its fortieth year, and by looking at it I can see it’s in rude health still. There is plenty for the casual observer to note. The cameras and flashes. The fancy sports cars. The famous faces that turn the fashion industry inside and out.

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    A short walk takes me to one location where a large group of photographers are waiting for stars to arrive. They’re here! They stride in their best outfits to take their places inside. It’s an exclusive affair.

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    The professional talent behind the camera is also evident. It takes skill to bring out the features of a new style of clothing, or a new range. If it’s your thing it’s worth seeing what the fashion world are showing off right now.

  • Onsite: Library of Birmingham (UK)

    The library in the city of Birmingham is an impressive looking building that looks larger than a treasure trove of books should be, but maybe this is the point; the value of books is enormous. The possessions many name “precious” are at present in a trend of serious popularity.

    As booksellers report shifting millions of copies of hardbacks and yet millions more of paperbacks, the adaptations, book-lover groups, and online posts that relate an enjoyment of reading continue to populate. This makes a grand central library an object of worth, too.

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    The interior atrium is clearly its biggest selling point but I feel all of it is functional. It’s a useful space to take an escalator to the upper levels or to browse its shelves. I don’t doubt many have taken to its different sections and enjoyed pulling out a tome or two.

    The work spaces are to be used, not just admired, because they work as small cubby holes for serious reading. I noticed a few folks on laptops studiously working away. The computer zones dotted around the building offer a laptop-less visitor a way to get online.

    The atmosphere is airy, which is different from the huddled feel of some libraries, but if it fits is up to you. It’s an airy building that doesn’t suffer the multiple floors and ceilings that make it feel too close. The seating areas – with tables – are spacious enough to not trip over things.

    A visit to a library like this is relaxed but formal. There’s a silence that is in any library but there’s a relaxed feel in different parts that makes it sensible to work in. I don’t know about you, but sometimes a library needs to be less imposing to get me in and get me reading properly.

  • Onsite: Winston Churchill statue, London (UK)

    The statue stands on a corner that is frequently busy with tourists and traffic.

    It’s a tall structure and the large figure of Churchill rears up and stands resolute above those looking underneath. It has a stone base that is a block of strength or support for the entire construct.

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    It’s a nice statue that evokes the strength and resilience of both military and political might. The Second World War was fought with hard graft and the grittiness of its appearance is a genuine appeal that sits well in the minds of those who understand this. The times of war and espionage are not easy to deal with or considered ‘light’ work at all.