Quiet night - Spain playing Germany - # 08/150

Sunday night, Richmond Riverside.

No title - # 08/149

..............but it's there, isn't it. (Prizes have already gone to..........).

Camera: Olympus E3. Lens at 400mm 1/640 sec f5.0 ISO 100

The world's most fabulous guitar shop.... - # 08/148

........is in Sandycombe Road, Kew. www.chandlerguitars.co.uk check it out!

Go on! Enjoy yourself! - # 08/147

Relax and enjoy the sunshine along Kew Station Parade. (Trouble is, it's gone a bit dull and cloudy again......are well, that's England).

Towards Richmond Hill - # 08/146

This shot was taken back in March '08. Looking through the elegant span of Richmond Lock (here, the portage slips for canoes and skiffs) we can see the 1933 by-pass road bridge, the railway bridge, and in the distance the apartments along the terrace at the top of Richmond Hill. The original 1778 Richmond Bridge is just visible at the very back if you look hard at the left hand far end.

A nice touch of quality - # 08/145

The open-air bakery stall outside Kew Gardens Station is an asset to the area.

Heavy stuff - # 08/144

This is my somewhat dramatic vision of the fortress like "National Archive Office" of the nation, at Kew. It is here that year by year the scandals and dilemmas of the recent past are revealed as the secrecy wrappings are removed, and of course "over 1,000 years of history" are carefully maintained.

"Plainly" elegant - # 08/143

The elegance of the Parade around Kew Gardens Station is expressed by these magnificent apartments built at the turn of the 19th century around 1897. I admired the Chinese motif on the window frames. Most of all I admired the way that the dappled shadows echoed the dappled bark pattern of the plane trees.

The most elegant surveillance camera in the world - # 08/142

The Parade around the elegant Kew Gardens Station is kept in pristine condition as befits such an important asset serving the tourists and world renowned botanists who visit the Kew Botanical Gardens. Not long ago yet another surveillance camera was added (there is 1 camera for every 14 of our population). You can see the camera (observing a problem but not solving it) standing tall and housed in its elegant mock Edwardian "heritage" casing, dwarfing the neat plastic moulded "heritage replica" gas lantern with its modern halogen bulb neatly fitted in the lantern head. The camera needs the bright halogen light to help it see in the dark.

BTW.....my Australian blog visitors seem to have a concern about rivers in the UK smelling. They don't. I hope this information will encourage more Australians to visit the UK. For 10 years I visited Australia frequently on business and I absolutely love the place.

Lone fisherman, big bridge - # 08/141

Late evening sun, massive tidal drop, railway bridge, small fisherman: Strand on the Green, with Mortlake brewery in the far background

St. Anne's Church, Kew Green, date 1714 - # 08/140

In many ways England in 1714 was not a very nice place to live, but then again, it seems to have been absolutely magnificent. Strange.

A clutter of cars - # 08/139

After the damp "countrified" walk along the Crane Valley we're back with a bump to the delights of urban civilisation. The elegant late Victorian/Edwardian parade around Kew Gardens railway station is a delightful urban spot. This photo of the parked cars and the general "techno-clutter" of modern urban life sums it up. It's not a nightmare........but some may have mixed feelings. It's a great gathering spot for locals and tourists enjoying the famous Kew Gardens, near by.

Crane walk, final- # 08/138

Rain clouds pass, the spring sunshine appears. The River Crane presents a classic curving shot for the camera.

River Crane magic- # 08/137

Rain drops on the lens, sunlight breaking through, bright shining, fast flowing water, muddy bank. Wilderness within the boundary of the mega-city.

Small river, powerful river, moment for reflection - # 08/136

The crystal clear waters of the Crane are powerful enough to drive water wheels. Depending on where you stand the waters catch the light to throw different and pleasing patterns.

River Crane image - # 08/135

When the ice cap that covered Britain melted (it stopped a few miles north of what is now London) it poured out a load of gravel that is now the flat land of Heathrow LHR airport and it also blessed us with a number of small, clear fast-flowing rivers. You have seen something of the Brent which became part of the Grand Junction Canal, so now I'll show you something of the tiny, but delightful River Crane. I urge locals and tourists to discover it and walk along the Crane valley.

This image was taken on a very wet day in March.....I had a delightful walk, the sun came out, and the frequent bus back to Kingston came within 5 minutes when I reached the Hanwell Rd.

Wispy reeds by the pond and clouds in the sky - # 08/134

Late evening sky, light, high cirrus clouds, reeds catching the light, as dusk gathers around the pond in Ham.

They have the technology- # 08/133

Alternative title: "Your message is clearer than my message".

Old gas lamp, a bit skew-whiff- # 08/132

Antique Victorian gas lanterns are much treasured these days. What really amazes me is that I can clearly remember, in the 1950s, these street lanterns were still in use and still gas powered with incandescent mantles. (It's worth enlarging the photo to see the delicate little crown pieces at the corner edges).

The hard and the soft - # 08/131

Roofs, walls and bushes, and a tiny little curl on the top corner: the Embankment, Twickenham.

Experimenting with tight depth of field (or, Having Fun) - # 08/130

....alternatively: "getting this cursed Bald Head Thing out of my system". I never realised I had such a fund of great shots. The blonde and the brunette look very nice, too.

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.

A glimpse along the bar of the London Apprentice, Isleworth - # 08/128

Just a quick glance from the riverside terrace outside, towards the bar inside.

I got sucked in!!!!- # 08/127

It's hard to resist the urging of Miss Freefalling at http://araratdailyphoto.blogspot.com/ who pointed out to me the rich source of photos waiting to be mined on the subject of "Bald Heads".

Here are two excellent examples!

Less grey, less abrasive - # 08/126

Still with shape, tones, hues, line etc. here is some light relief from yesterday's "monster".

It's the formal 17th century so-called "Cherry Garden" at Ham House. There's not a cherry in sight....and don't ask me why!

Grey, and abrasive - # 08/125

I feel the need to explore "Dark Side". Some of it will be B&W; some colour but with light and shade as the real subject, rather than the thing shown. It will be angles, nooks and crannies and shapes. Just for a few days it will be the Richmond area, but what the camera sees and the hand contrives to make it into: not the "conventional" landscape snap shot.

Here is Regal House, Twickenham, a 60s-70s "urban renewal monster". You could be in Communist Eastern Europe or 60s London or Paris; anywhere in Europe recovering from war. In fact you could be anywhere but in a harmonious comfortable frame of mind. Just be afraid and pray that it never happens again.

Pots with light, and tapestry behind - # 08/124

Richard of http://zurich.dailyphoto.forthmedia.com/dailyphoto/ imagines that I spend my time walking about in the dark wearing a headlamp. He's right. It's my method of catching magical moments as I lurk in my overalls and protective gloves, too horrible to be seen.

I went through a week of agony about this shot. Should it be in B&W? I think colour is the right choice, but it looks good at whatever the decision.

The Bar Fly senses a warm feeling of Community and Good Times - # 08/123

The R. u. T. Bar Fly is constantly in search of signs of ancient community life in the area.

This inn existed in 1645, and next door there was a blacksmith. The village consisted of a small handful of cottages, but now it's just part of a huge urban sprawl.

The inn is still there.......as you can see.........and the blacksmith's forge is now a motorcar dealership and repair business. So - not much has changed, and I'm sure people enjoyed themselves much as we see here.

Old Twickenham 1 - # 08/122

Walking through the core of old Twickenham close by the old St. Mary's church (remodelled in the 18th century) we are reminded that this was a very small riverside community, built on a rising slope to avoid floods and take advantage of the good landing point offered by the river bank.

Walking through gives an experience of sudden light, sudden patches of shadow, changes in level, a rich sense of rough texture and vegetable colour, and a variety of angular shapes.

The arrival of the railway changed all that - 19th century urban sprawl took over!

Four new cygnets on Ham Pond - # 08/121

As promised yesterday - here are the four of them. I'll try to track them through the season, and if really lucky catch them when Daddy is giving flying lessons. He starts by teaching them to lay out a runway and calculate distance.