I finally got round to updating my online photographic “art gallery” this weekend. I had several rolls of developed 35mm Fuji Superia 100 film (developed by Peak Imaging) with urban shots taken from my Lomo camera - and I scanned the negatives using my Benq 2720 film scanner (formerly Acer Scanwit) at 1375dpi - and then post-processed them in Adobe Photoshop Elements before uploading some of them on to the gallery. Click here to go to the Eton Grove Gallery where you can see my selected pics.
Here are some sample images from the gallery. The first one is a picture taken from window of a private jet that I used on a business trip overseas last week.
Bright blue sky from my seat on a private jet.
For those of you who read my previous posting below this one - you will recall the paranoid level of security at Heathrow Airport a few weeks ago. What a contrast my trip on the private jet was:
- I had no ticket - or proof of travel.
- My bag did not get X-rayed or searched at all.
- I didn’t have to go through immigration.
- I did not have to show my passport at all - there and back.
- I could walk right into the flight deck and chat with the pilots - which is what I did.
- There was no cabin crew.
- No time pressure: we just took off shortly after our chauffer driven limo got us to the airport at either end.
But what a luxurious way to fly! Instead of going from Heathrow - I flew from Farnborough airport - which until recently used to be MOD property - but is now a business aviation airport. The terminal building is a portakabin! But the control tower and aircraft hangars are very, very new. I parked my car right outside the terminal building - no charges whatsoever - no distance at all to get to the plane.
Next sample picture from my gallery is of a graffiti-tagged tube train passing by the decaying ancient art deco signage of the Hammersmith Palais. It is sad to see the historical lettering on the side of this building just wilting away like that. It announces the Hammersmith “Palais de Danse - The Talk of London” - which I can only imagine was put up some time in the 1920s when the venue first opened for Dixieland Jazz dancing. Now it’s home to Po Na Na School Disco nightclub - the place where you can get dressed in your old school uniform and go to a “school disco” with your mates from work.
Palais de Danse - art deco lettering from the 1920s
visible from Hammersmith tube station.
Also in the gallery are some pictures of some days out in London from this Summer - e.g. a park in Golders Green, Tate Modern, Trafalgar Square etc.
A sculpture in the fountain at Trafalgar Square
with National Portrait Gallery behind.
And finally - one of the hardest sort of pictures to take. This was taken at around midnight without any flash from outside my house. It was dark - and the only light around was the street-lighting and night-lighting from the houses nearby. The exposure lasted around 40 seconds - and I had to rest the camera on the wheelie bin so as to keep it steady. You can see the streak of a the lights of a car as it passes by. The weird thing is: the car itself does not seem to have been exposed at all!
The street near my house at night.
My Route 79 bus-stop across the road.
Enjoy more pictures like this at the Eton Grove Gallery.
Posted by jag at September 28, 2003 05:12 PMvery luxurious way to travel… not to mention easy as hell
Posted by: Jaina on September 28, 2003 07:45 PMThe art deco designs at Hammersmith tube station are great. You’re right - it’s sad to see them just fading away. I love to see the little details that give each station a unique character. Let’s hope they can upgrade the service while preserving the stations. The modern stations like Westminster are impressive, but the older architecture is equally deserving of our appreciation.
Posted by: Stu on September 30, 2003 02:01 PMHi Stu - couldn’t agree more. Strangely - Hammersmith station (Ham & City side) is my favourite - not only is the art-deco signage of the Palais there - but the station concourse area seems to have that “time stood still” character - a quant Tapas bar, a genuine barber shop, a hole-in-the-wall newsagent, cobbled street outside - and best of all - a little off-shoot of an arcade that accommodates a fried-breakfast joint and sandwidh bar that has ooodles of bygone character. You would be able to take fabulous B&W shots with your cam in the old Hammersmith station trust me! Be sure to visit it sometime.
Posted by: Jag on September 30, 2003 09:00 PMI might just do that!
Posted by: Stu on October 1, 2003 10:23 AM