Lamp light at Richmond Lock - # 105/2011

Night falls and the lamps at Richmond Lock light up.

Night time at Barnes Pond - # 09/152

The title speaks for itself.  The mediaeval riverside community of Barnes has a pond and an ancient church, many centuries old (and much re-built after ravages of fire and age).  The pond is surrounded by elegant late 19th century villas and the Sun Inn (a great "Bar Fly" venue) looks out towards the water.

Barnes now part of the Borough of Richmond and can be counted as part of London's great "Suburbia".  Is it nice in Barnes?  Again, let the photo speak.

The Street of Good Living - # 08/183

As you enter Richmond from London via Kew Bridge and the Kew Road the first thing you see is a line of fine restaurants standing like a gateway to the town. In the evening the traffic dies down and a pleasant evening of fine-dining begins.

London Central (disaster recovery - at sundown) - # 08/178

Those of you who don't know London might enjoy this panorama taken from Richmond Park, using the 400mm lens, to pick out sites that are between approx 8 and 12 miles away.

Those who know the great buildings might be intrigued to see how they seem to be not exactly where you expect them to be. (e.g. St. Paul's on the left and the Houses of Parliament near the right.) This is because of the way the Thames curves around. I was quite surprised when I looked closely. My prejudices were all shaken up - which is a good thing!!!

The climate conditions are rather nasty. The heat and traffic pollution haze upset the focal clarity.

Hotel - # 08/170

Experimental night shot.

Quiet night - Spain playing Germany - # 08/150

Sunday night, Richmond Riverside.

Night time, Isleworth Dock - # 08/129

There was a church and an important ferry crossing here in the year 965 - 100 years before the Normans arrived. The existing tower is medieval, the mass of the church is a modern building following a destructive fire in the 1940s. The London Apprentice inn building has been there since the 18th century. The river tide is low, exposing the beach. In the past it could flood up to the church and protective walls were built.

Twickenham after dark - # 08/113

In the evening Church Lane, Twickenham, is closed to cars. Restaurants are allowed to put out tables . The street becomes free for wanderers. Live R&B music flows from the Fox Inn and Eel Pie customers overflow onto the street.

ISO 800. 1/25sec @ f2.8. 100mm. Red filter. Olympus E3

Good Night, Golden Mile - # 08/61

The lights of the modern offices on the Golden Mile flicker in the waters of the old Grand Junction Canal; the tiny white dots in the sky at the back are planes on track for Heathrow, landing at the rate of one every 90 seconds. The offices are populated by well known world-wide companies. The old canal, also part of a living, clean, fast-flowing river sweeps on. The Industrial Revolution has come and gone and the Knowledge Economy now faces turmoil on world capital markets. The Brentford series draws to a close.

Brentford rising - up on the Golden Mile - # 08/54

By the 1920s the Great West Road, running through the centre of Brentford, was hopelessly congested. A new fast road from London to the west of England was driven through, along the northern edge of the town, and a cluster of magnificent, large Art Deco HQ offices and factory buildings for international companies was built along what had become known as the Golden Mile. In the 1960s the new M4 Motorway to the west was opened, starting at Brentford and even more large modern office blocks were built.

Here is a night view of the recent newer buildings, far less attractive than their Art Deco relatives but using electric light to make up for the shortcomings in style and elegance.

Earlier postings here have shown the some of the Art Deco buildings and a Web search on "The Golden Mile" http://uk.search.yahoo.com/search?p=the+Golden+Mile+Brentford&fr=FP-tab-web-t340&ei=UTF-8&meta=vc%3D will tell you more.

Richmond Bridge, night, cold, calm - # 328

A "less often seen" night-time view of the bridge (built 1778). Often the river is surging through the arches but this time, calm weather and probably "slack water" at the turn of the tide, it is as calm as a mill pond.
About a week ago Richard at http://zurich.dailyphoto.forthmedia.com/dailyphoto/index.cfm posted a fine photo of Venice at night in which the street lamps displayed a simple and very attractive star effect. Here we also have a pleasing star burst inside a very distinct hallow bubble. Is this the effect of the camera lens, or the lens covering on the lanterns? Is it an accident, or is it the result of careful research by lighting engineers for the benefit of car drivers?

Moonrise - # 304

The full moon rising - snapped last night with the camera jammed against the window frame and the shutter held open for about 15 seconds.

The sky looked pitch black, but the long exposure brought out some unseen colour. The golden caste on the clouds is due to the lights of London: and the silvery blue of the (black) sky above starts to appear.

Never believe what you see in a photo! I tweaked the camera and took another snap. It came out looking like a glorious morning dawn. Photo Fun.