Suburban sundown - artistic pretensions - # 09/09

At sundown I escaped from Camp Malden Manor (Post - # 09/07) and dashed into the nearby woodlands. To my surprise I came across the exact spot where Millais painted his famous picture of Ophelia drowned. http://www.tate.org.uk/ophelia/

This is the Hogsmill river. We are standing not very far from the spot where it rises out of the North Downs and then begins to find its path towards the Thames at Kingston. Being winter, the banks have no flowers to decorate them, but nevertheless one gets a good sense of the Ophelia "atmosphere" that inspired Millais.

I did not see Ophelia, but I you must admit that the two old motor tyres really do look the part! The Bypass (Post - # 09/08) is very close, so it's easilly accessible by car ;-).

Suburban sundown - not always quite so awful as it often looks. Also......cut and paste the link in my Postscript note below. It's an unexpected insight into Millais's work.

Hogsmill - like molten chocolate - # 08/283

Lot's of dithering over this one: B&W or show off how it catches the late afternoon December sun? Should we admire the tints of the reddish brick houses reflected and the hint of the blue winter sky in the smoother water, or go for the remarkable tonality of the B&W print?

The Hogsmill is a fast flowing downland stream that's provided fresh water for millenia and then in later years power to drive industry. At this point it strikes the nose of an island and runs over a weir built for the watermill that stood there. It then gushes fast and hard into the Thames.

I love the way the ruffled water turns into a sort of thick treacly mass as it flows over the weir and then breaks into a mass of sprinkles and turns white.

It's just another snap in my series of attempts to catch the essence of the water flowing in the many streams around the area.