My surprise birthday trip to Florence, a city I’ve long wanted to visit, was naturally wonderful. In three days of rather mixed weather (one wet, one cloudy, one sunny) we managed to see many of its sights (but missed more than we saw), wandered its streets, ate gelati every day and excellent meals every evening, and slept well in a beautiful old house in the Borgo Santa Croce.
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A shadow is fleeting. It can only last as long as the light that casts it. If the light disappears, so does the shadow. For this selection I have concentrated on shots that I consider to be primarily photographs of shadows.
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In the first half of the 19th century a Parisian wanting a good night out might well have headed to the village of Bercy. Ideally positioned on the banks of the Seine, this village had become the centre of the Paris wine trade and a major European market for wines and spirits.
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Walk down any street in any city and you will be confronted by a myriad of signs. There are the obvious ones telling you the name of the street, and those giving instructions or advice to drivers. ‘Junction ahead’. ‘One way street’. ‘Watch out for pedestrians’. And so on. Much more interesting though are the random unofficial signs.
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Last week I paid a brief visit to Liverpool. I stayed only one night and saw only a fraction of what the city has to offer. The weather was dull and grey, best suited to monochrome photography.
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To be able to see the wonders of the world abroad; what a privilege that is. And perhaps most of all when those wonders are ancient. To stand among the ruins of buildings that have stood for hundreds of years allows us to witness history brought to life in a way no book or film can ever do.
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A strong contender for the most beautiful city pub in England, the Philharmonic Dining Rooms, commonly referred to as The Phil, has an ornate exterior and an even more stunning interior. There is a large main room, two smaller rooms named for Brahms and Liszt, and highly decorative wood-panelling, stained glass and floor tiles throughout.
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When you only have one day to explore a city, being ‘small enough to be easily understood’ is a real plus point. And one day was all we had, on this occasion at least. But we really took to Helsinki, so maybe in the future we’ll come back for a more in-depth look.
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The theme at last night’s meeting of the Ealing group of London Independent Photographers was ‘Light and dark’. We each showed a series of images with our own interpretation of that theme. For my contribution I decided to edit some of my travel photos in high contrast black and white. The theme that tied them together as a series was the use of an arch to frame the scene.
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It’s hard to say why a symmetrical image is so pleasing to the eye. It seems that our brains are naturally drawn to symmetry, finding it aesthetically pleasing and visually satisfying. Symmetry induces a sense of order, harmony, and perfection.
