Escalator

I was fiddling with my camera, having just taken some fairly ordinary pictures of trains on the London Underground, and was returning up the escalator at Kilburn Park where I was staying at the time, when I was struck by the way the false light of the underground world is replaced by the real light of the outside world shining through a glass dome on top of the station hall. Then there were these golden ceiling lights that seemed in both illumination and style to belong a earlier age, giving a kind of welcoming warmth as one came up the stairs –and are a stark contrast to the functional strip lighting tubes below. Rather than making everything nice and straight and balanced, I wanted the angles to define the picture. Here, the dark lower ceiling cuts across diagonally at the top of the picture while the shadowy stairwells creates a sort of jagged effect below. These two elements create a nice frame for the lights, the destination. I liked the breaking up of composition and the dynamic quality of the various lines we see and I, at least, find the photograph quite exciting!

Location: London, England

Down on the Tracks

It's been a while since I posted any pictures of trains, which is surprising considering how much of a train freak I am. I'd happily photograph trains and railway stations and everything to do with them all day long and nothing else, but I think that would be too much –at least for this blog, and there are so many other things that are worthy of photographing too. But, my thoughts at the moment are turning to plans for the spring and summer, and for rail travel in particular, and so I'm dipping into some pictures of the past for inspiration. Here's a picture from the fabulous German railway museum in Nuremberg, taken in its large outdoor yard (I've not wandered dangerously between mainline tracks if that is what you are wondering). Here, all sorts of glorious pieces of rolling stock enjoy their semi-retirement and all the attention poured on them by enthusiasts such as myself. I got right down to track level to give these two trains a sense of grandness, despite their fairly ordinary pedigree. Are the trains coming or going; do the tracks lead away from us or towards us? I'm not going to get too philosophical about it, I just thought it was a nice picture to share, and hope all your train journeys be pleasant and exciting ones!

Location: Nuremberg, Germany

Reflection

Though ice on the roads and pavements can be a tiresome hinderance to normal movement at this time of year, it does sometimes create some interesting effects of light and texture. This is a street very close to where I live, and a chic cheese and groceries shop far too exclusive for my meagre wallet. It's always very pretty and inviting though, and here the golden light of its interior is reflected in pools of melted ice on the other side of the street street. Roads are dreadfully dull things usually, so it is refreshing to see their texture transformed a little. I like the curves and lines in the light here, and the slightly magical look of the otherwise ordinary urban landscape. It is early evening and lights in the windows are beginning to be turned on. In one of the windows a star can be seen, for this picture was taken around Christmas time. The warmth of the shop with its bright lights is some distance away, adding, I think, to the slightly melancholy beauty of the picture.

Location: Oslo, Norway

Gloves and Mittens Gone AWOL -No 6

This truant mitten has found a post on which to pose. It may have been assisted to this perch by some "helpful" passer by, but one cannot rule out that it has climbed there itself, to get a better view of its surroundings and perhaps locate its partner –possibly its owner too.In the meantime, it functions as a kind of waving beacon to those battling the wintery conditions of Oslo at this time. And though no hand is currently warmed by its embrace, the post surely must feel lucky to have the luxury of being capped by such a fine mitten!

Location: Oslo, Norway

Coloured Windows

There's something quite reminiscent of Piet Mondrian in this assembly of coloured glass window panes in a side-street of Dublin. But there's an eclectic mix of textures too, or rather types of glass that is far from the clean lines of the De Stijl movement and perhaps more in keeping with Irish individualism. The colours are pleasing, in a chocolate box sort of way, the allure definitely inviting –one is drawn to these windows as much to discover what is beyond as to admire them in their own right. By day such windows are perhaps merely quaint; by night they become magical. I had only my trusty pocket camera with me when I passed by here, and that is never brilliant for nighttime shots, but I did by best with what I had, wishing I had a camera that allowed a longer exposure time and greater sharpness; yet sometimes the moment is enough; the world doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful

Location: Dublin, Ireland