Written with light – Evocative landscape and artistic photography
Posts tagged London
London Nightscape
2These photos were taken while I was half asleep during the early morning hours of the night so please excuse me if they aren’t up to par… I tried. I almost didn’t go out to take these shots, but I somehow mustered up the energy to leave the hotel, which is a good thing because otherwise I would have come back from England with only photos of my hotel. The Cavendish Hotel where we stayed was located near Piccadilly Circus and so that is where these photos are from.
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This guy is popularly referred to as Eros, but he is not. In actuality he is an archer representing the virtue of charity and is dedicated to Lord Shaftesbury. I’m not sure how shooting arrows is charitable, but I’ll take his word for it as he’s been there a lot longer than I have. He’s also got a great view as you can see.
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Here we have the horses of Helios which are in fact Greek. Helios was the Greek god of the sun. He drove his chariot from east to west across the sky every day with the help of his four horses: Pyrois, Eos, Aethon, and Phleyon. These bronze versions of the horses probably don’t fly, but they do collect coins which are donated to a different charity every year. And to think I almost thought them intimidating.
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Last we have my personal favorite… the wonderful London Underground. For those who are unaware of what the Underground is, let me enlighten you: It is a subway train. Moving past the overly creative name for a moment, we can stop to fully appreciate the infamous warnings that are echoed over the loudspeaker at every stop: “Mind the gap…. please mind the gap.” In English that’s “watch your step” and in Boston speak that’s “stand cleaaah of the closin dooahs please.” You see, we’re not worried about the “gap” here in Boston. We just want your ass on the train so it can start moving.
That’s it for the England photos. As fate would have it I am traveling again this week so you should be seeing photos from New Mexico / California in the next few days.
The Cavendish Hotel
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Leaving the rustic Warminster we arrived in London on the second day of our journey to rest in The Cavendish Hotel. A sharp contrast to the Bishopstrow House Hotel, The Cavendish is ultra modern and sophisticated with a very bright and colorful atmosphere. The two hotels are indeed polar opposites each having their own distinct mood. That’s not to say that one hotel was better than the other, just that they are different.
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Here you can see an example of the extreme colors used in the hotel lobby which give it an almost heavenly feel. I’ve never seen such a colorful lobby, but I definitely like it. To complement the colors there are pictures of clouds hanging up on the wall making for a perfectly engineered utopia.
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No hotel lobby would be complete without Christmas decorations this time of year. The Cavendish is no exception and they chose to celebrate with a contemporary tree which takes after their unique urban style. Not a hint of green can be found on their tree. It stands black and almost bare save for one string of white lights. When bathed in the magenta light from the ceiling the dark tree stands out beautifully.
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Retiring to the rooms one will be greeted by a sleek hallway with minimalist appointments along the way – A nice reprieve from the color fiesta found in the lobby. My favorite part is the entry system. The keys are simple plastic rods that are coded to open the doors much like an electronic card. Sliding the key into the keyhole turns the red light green. Upon entering the room, the key is placed into another keyhole which glows blue and subsequently turns on all the boring white lights in the room. The whole process is quite colorful. If that’s not your thing, don’t worry, the flat screen TV should do the trick.
That concludes the hotel portion of my trip to London. I don’t normally photograph hotels, but the two I stayed in on this trip were quite exceptional and their differences were so astounding that I found it interesting that I could enjoy both. The next photos you see will be of the actual city. I was lucky enough to have a night free of rain and just enough energy to keep me out untill 1:00 AM taking photos.