Written with light – Evocative landscape and artistic photography
Posts tagged train
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.
Hidden Beauty
0June 28, 2007
It’s amazing what the camera can reveal that the eye cannot initially see. When I went out to take pictures tonight I expected the heavy cloud coverage would make for less than ideal conditions. My camera quickly proved me wrong. As I opened the camera up stop by stop I began to notice a myriad of colors appear. First blue, then pink, then orange, followed by the lush greenery of the foreground. Slightly perplexed I put my camera down and looked up at the sky. Was it my eyes or camera that was betraying me? I searched for the answer meticulously as my eyes panned the night before me.
The closer I looked the more I could see that it was I who was at fault. Directly above my oblivious self was one of the most beautiful skies I have ever seen. But it was a different kind of beauty, not the overt in-your-face kind that grabs your attention at first glance. This beauty was completely naked, free from the blinding adornments that scream at all your senses, begging for their simultaneous attention.
I can best compare the sky tonight to a beautiful woman with frizzled hair and all her makeup washed off right before she goes to bed at night (yes, ladies, you are most beautiful when you look like “crap”). Now imagine seeing that same woman walk down the street as you pass her by. You’d most likely think she’s either homeless, hideous, or just plain crazy. But say you stop for a moment to ask the woman her name. As she looks up at you, you notice her half-closed dreamy eyes, followed by her subtle smile and soft imperfect skin. At first this combination confuses you, but as you gaze deeper you begin to put all the individual pieces together to form a picture that is her true beauty. That, my friends, is what I witnessed tonight – a crazy homeless woman walking down the street looking for a place to sleep… just kidding. 
Hidden Beauty
Fissure
Trainset
0May 15, 2007
I’ve been abnormally quiet for the past few weeks because of camera problems, but my D200 is finally back and I’m ready to get started again, especially with the summer fast approaching. The dust problem is still there, but I don’t care at this point – it’s much better than it was and it still takes great pictures which is all that really matters. This shot was taken on the Longfellow bridge in Boston. The day started off rather cloudy, but gave way to this gorgeous sunset.
Trainset
The wind howls through time
Past my face and into the dusk
Collapsing the light onto itself
In a vortex of blissful surrender.
Breath by breath
I breathe the stillness of the moment
Breath by breath
I breathe the fury of the wind.
The argument is ended sharply
By the pulsating sound of steel
Against steel, reverberating
Into the fading light.
I close my eyes in anticipation
Waiting for the night to come
And take one last breath
Before the day is done.