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Winter Sun

17/2/2013

Crystal Palace Park, London, UK

The sun can be scarce in London, particularly during the winter months. However, today was what seemed to be a rare day full of sunshine. While I didn’t really feel like taking photos when I got up, I did make my way towards Crystal Palace Park.

There are many places in London I can easily go back and photograph many times and at any of the year. It’s one of the few places, however, that I can go and photography when I am in a period of contemplation with my photography – like I am now.

With winter, the park is in slumber, and I find that I am very attracted to it. The long shadows play well with the dull colours and sleeping nature. I didn’t wander very far today and walked through the part with the dinosaurs.

Before I went to the park, and even on route, I felt tired and not quite in the mood. However, I did have a sense that I needed to get this out of my system, even if my photos didn’t turn out. I am not sure whether they have or not – I was shooting on film, and the photo above is one I took last winter.

After having a cup of tea in the café and read part of the Sunday paper, I felt a lot better. I am sure the photos I took en route to the café turned out fine, but the mere act of just doing my photography and letting it be without any pretention or pretext was great, and felt wonderful. I just looked and was in the moment.

I hope the photos show this, even a little bit.

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Rainy Day

10/2/2013

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London, UK

On a typically rainy winter day in London, I happened to walk through Cambridge Circus after dropping off some film to get developed and on my way to have lunch in a café nearby. Because it was Chinese New Year this weekend, there was a certain buzz in Chinatown nearby as the events were getting ready to gear up.

The musical ‘Singing in the Rain’ is headlining at the Palace Theatre. As I walked by it, I thought it was rather appropriate, if not a bit cliché, given the weather. There were some other people passing by who were posing in front of it with their cameras – having their photo taken.

I couldn’t resist taking a photo of the theatre and the sign, even if it were a bit cliché. Rain can certainly dampen things, including feelings and the mood of someone or a community. Too much or too little rain can cause catastrophe, but it is necessary for life.

As a photographer, I often get frustrated when it rains. I can photograph in most whether conditions – even when it’s overcast. Rain, though, can damage equipment if a photographer isn’t careful. However, the bright side of rain is that it forces me to stop and reflect. Without giving my artistic side time to itself and to reflect, then taking photographs becomes difficult. It’s a bit like having writers block.

After a couple of Saturdays in a row taking photos, I was glad it was raining. Although I wasn’t singing about it, I was glad to have time to reflect and not feel pressured into taking photos.

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Reality Kissing Dreams

4/2/2013

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London, UK

With a new year, there is a sense of new possibilities and starting afresh. I am also finding my photography shifting, perhaps maturing. At the very least, it feels like it’s changing, and the changes seem to be in their infancy.

My photography seems to be adding an otherness to it. I have always been drawn to taking abstract images, but they sometimes seem to have a bit more dream-like aspect to them.

While I have always found inspiration in the everyday, I am finding a new dimension of the everyday. Perhaps I am subconsciously questioning more the reality and the world around me. Perhaps I am more in tune with what I am seeing. Perhaps the seemingly solid, well, isn’t so firm.

With the passing of time, perhaps I am becoming more reflective and this is beginning to show in my images. Winter often brings out the more reflective side of me, and I have had to give my photography some space and not rush my creativity. I am still taking photos, but my subconscious seems to be thinking and I seem to be capturing moments currently rather than series or movements.

I seem to be in between, and perhaps my images are reflecting this. Something is happening and my subconscious seems to be toiling away, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. I am enjoying letting it fester away, and for me to explore. But the most important thing is not rush it, but let it let it reveal itself.

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Winter Sun

Rainy Day

Reality Kissing Dreams

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