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

ShakesYear!

Today I have launched a new blog to chronicle a year-long project I have long wanted to do, but which seems especially apt this year; namely revisiting the comlete works of William Shakespeare and reading through each play chronologically. There's a link to this new blog on the sidebar here, and plenty more about the project in my first post there. That will be a more text-based blog, but with appropriate pictures too, and needing a good photograph to launch the new blog I chose this one –a fine bust of the bard, taken in the Shakespeare room of Birmingham Central Library –home of the magnificent Shakespeare collection. I took it a little from below because I wanted to capture more of the books in the glass case behind, and the angle reflects Shakespeare's position as someone to look up to while at the same time not being so lofty and grand as to lose eye-contact with! I've always wanted one of these busts myself, but they're strangely difficult to get hold of –at least compared to busts of other notables like Beethoven, Socrates or Darth Vador. They're also extremely heavy so there was no chance I was going to steal this one! I was quite pleased with the picture though, so that's something at least. Do check out the new blog if you're interested, and don't worry, I won't be neglecting this blog just because I have another one! Location: Birmingham, England

Favourite Pictures of the Year - 3

Sometimes the simplest things can trigger off a whole series of thoughts, and photographs do not have to be rich in detail or technically perfect to capture exactly a particular atmosphere or mood or moment. The reason I took this picture of a lowly biro lying on a window sill was that apart from a work-light this was the only object in a set of empty rooms I visited in the autumn. And the pen seemed so perfectly apt because these rooms were once a former apartment of Henrik Ibsen and this was his workroom. It was here that he wrote The Master Builder back in the 1890s, for instance. The vast building that housed these elegant apartments was later taken over by the Norwegian foreign ministry and was then the headquarters of the Gestapo during the German occupation of the Second World War. A building with a history, in other words. Now being totally renovated it was open to the public for one day and I did not want to miss this rare chance to see where Ibsen had once lived. His last home, just up the street, is of course more well-known and grandiose as that houses the Ibsen musuem, but here there was a strange sense of immediacy, as if Ibsen had only just left –there was something in the air; empty rooms are often so much more evocative than filled one, as if the walls themselves are finally able to speak. Maybe it’s just my imagination! The pen was, of course, left there by accident -no doubt by an architect or planner, but I like to think of it representing the great writer himself. Perhaps he too once placed a pen here while ruminating over the next words to write, looking out of this very window...Location: Oslo, Norway

If You Have a Sweet Tooth...

There's something about candy, lollipops, sweets – especially if they are just out of reach, or behind firmly closed windows. I don't think one has to be a child to be drawn into the hypnotizing world of such treats – we are all attracted to colour and patterns, and temptation is easily awakened. For me the temptation was more to photograph than to indulge - except in my imagination. But had this window been open... Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

My Window Sill

I was just sitting at the table fiddling about with my camera, taking some test shots, and happened to focus on some of the plants on the window sill nearby. I'm not someone with green fingers at all, but I like having plants about, and am delighted that these ones have enjoyed life in my flat for several seasons. The sun was shining and I was struck by the brightness of the light passing the red bottle and glass ornament – and by the cheerful optimism of all these colours. It wasn't a planned shot, just a moment captured – sometimes (just occasionally) these can be the most effective of all. Location: Oslo, Norway

Central Station

The interior of certain buildings fill me with instant excitement –libraries, museums, theatres, and most cake shops – but perhaps most of all I am captivated by railway stations. Some of them may be small and quirky and almost ghostly; others are cathedrals of breathtaking wonder, buzzing with activity. I like them all, because they're inevitably a pulsating blend of history and adventure: of arriving, departing, greeting people or saying goodbye. Big stations are especially thrilling. The noises of trains coming and going, doors slamming, shrill whistles and unintelligible announcements echo through vast halls that once housed magnificently romantic steam engines. Some people find airports romantic and exciting too; I can quite understand that, though I personally find them stressful and rather sterile. Railways stations are different: There is an immediacy about them that airports never have, because railway stations are often right in the heart of a city and can be stepped into directly from the street. In fact, it could be said that that a railway station is the heart of a city –the rails being the veins and arteries that spread out from or lead to myriad platforms. Naturally, I find such places to be wonderful for photography, so this year I will be posting pictures from some of my favourite stations. This one is from Amsterdam Centraal – a beautiful, airy tunnel of a hall. It's quiet at the moment; one train has just arrived and people are waiting for another further down the platform. The light coming through the curved roof was quite magical, showing off the wonderful simplicity and beauty of the engineering, and I've rendered it in monochrome because, at heart, I am a romantic. All aboard! Location. Amsterdam, Holland

Under London

I've always had a fascination for London Underground and consider it not only one of the world's great engineering feats, but one of most iconic and exciting examples of urban design. I know many people regard the whole system with frustration, or find it simply a means of getting from A to B, but I find any journey through the maze of tunnels and levels that worm beneath the ground to be uplifting and wondrous. During rush hour crowds make it somewhat stressful, but when things are quieter it is endlessly fascinating. I think the genius of the whole system is the use of curves –tubes are always so much more fun than regular straight walls. Then there's the widespread use of colour-coding, making it impossible to get lost when changing lines, adding brightness to the white or cream tiling. This is a connecting tunnel between lines. There's an element of science-fiction about the picture, 2001 maybe, and I loved the way the lines and curves create almost a fish-eye effect as the tunnel rather soothingly beckons us forward. Location: London, England

Bench for the Unsociable?

I love how different countries have come up with weird and wonderful solutions to myriad concerns. I was struck by how unsociable this bench on an underground platform in Budapest seemed, and wondered whether it was designed specifically for those who valued solitude, or the claustrophobic, or to deter people from talking at all, unless they cared to project their voices. It seemed a very Eastern European sort of thing, but I suppose the bench may have been set up this way to deter people with various unsavory designs from sitting next to vulnerable young ladies (or men) who are waiting for their trains. Or are they meant for particularly smelly individuals? Then again, it seems suspiciously like a piece of modern art, except in that it has a practical function. What fascinated me perhaps most was the variable distance between the individual seats, and why and how this was determined. Finally, it was something unusual and different and I liked the stark contrast between the red seats and the creamy, scuff-marked wall. Location: Budapest, Hungary

Foyer of Gielgud Theatre

Visiting London's theatres can be a delightful architectural, as well as theatrical, experience. This was taken while standing in the queue at one of my favourite West End theatres, The Gielgud (formerly The Globe). The dome and gallery from this angle give the viewer a kind of exaggerated experience of being on stage, and besides, I love curves! Location: London, England

King's Cross Station

One thing that really appeals to me is interiors that break with traditional straight-line design and that embrace an organic, curved aesthetic. Computer technology has allowed for such extravagances, creating models built on mathematical paradigms that both please a desire for symmetry and economy, and creature bold, adventurous spaces. Train stations have always been one of my favourite places to be, because they are cathedrals of buzzing excitement, centres of activity and cores of far-reaching dreams of travel (more so than even airports). So I was thrilled to visit the new King's Cross station, shortly after it opened, to discover its amazing interior. Originally built in 1852, it somehow fused the old and the new together in a highly pleasing and exciting way. For me, it was another futuristic experience, where even the humdrum experience of waiting for a train took on a dramatic, theatrical expression. Though the people here are ostensibly looking at the departures board, I feel many of them (like me) are just as much admiring the glorious ceiling above, feeling a little that travel again has the thrill of a heightened experience. Location: London, England

Room With a...View?

Sometimes there's a kind of unrealised beauty in the mundane. Beauty may be a bit strong. Fascination may be a better word. And decay and deprivation and dirt can be fascinating –and gross at the same time. Stopping over in Chicago for one night with little money I found a cheap hotel; the room was ..quaiI don't think the window-cleaner had been there since there either. The rest of the room was ok; it was just the windows that left something to be desired. But the caked layers of dust and cobwebs that filled the gaps between the two panes somehow also filtered the sunlight fractioning it into interesting shadows and patterns. One was left feeling the passing of time, of the stream of guests that must have stood right here, right back to when the windows were first installed and first cleaned; feeling history and and the story of their lives. The hotel was never going to score high on anyone's rating, but standing here really did make me think about the city. Location: Chicago, USA

Sweden in the Kitchen

It's Sweden's National day today, and as I am a quarter Swedish myself I feel justified in celebrating a little. My kitchen is particularly Swedish, and I don't just mean that most of the fittings come from Ikea, but that I have tried as much as possible to stick to blue and yellow colours. The bananas, had they been straighter, would have formed a more perfect flaga against the plates, and that melon should rightly have been a swede -but I am not out to be pedantic, just a little Swedish patriotic!

Holy Water?

I just found the clash of a modern safety device and the beautiful stained-glass window in an alcove of a magnificent mediaeval cathedral too irrestible to ignore. The red fire-hose casing is glaringly ugly, and seems to be frowned upon by the holy figure in the window. I don't blame him one bit! But there's some nice light contrasts going on there with the yellow. Location: Norwich, England

Organic Roof

I was so impressed when I passed through London's newly refurbished King's Cross station recently, and snapped this picture of the magnificently organic roof, or ceiling. I love curved interiors and here the new is blended with the old -brave but not overpowering. The lighting was magical and I felt a great sense of excitement at being in such a vibrant place –an echo of how the former great train station buildings of London must have been when they were first built.

Location: London, England

Another Glass Roof...or Ceiling?

One of Europe's most spectacular train stations is the Berlin Hauptbahnhof -an architectural wonder, not least because of the brilliant use of glass, creating a spacious, light interior and quite a classical overall look. Also rather good for pictures!

Location: Berlin, Germany

A Day at the Musuem

The first time I saw the rebuilt inner courtyard of the British Musuem I just stood and stared in amazement. It was one of the most stunning interior spaces I had ever seen. The intricate glass ceiling is as beautiful as any of the objects on display, and informs the whole space, especially when the sun shines and creates a web of shadows on the pristine marble floors and stairs. I tried to capture some of the immensity and beauty in this picture, but this is only a small part of the whole.

Location: London, England.

Waiting for the train

Union Station, Chicago, the cathedral-like old waiting hall and an elderly lady patiently waiting for her train. I like the various horizontal and vertcal lines, especially the sheen on the bench and the shadow beneath it. And the lady's sideways glance.

Location: Chicago, USA