Pharmacy Protest, Rome

This protest was yet another thing we stumbled upon by chance in Rome. Although I am not entirely sure what they were protesting against, those involved seemed to believe strongly and acted closely as a group.

This officer was one of many overlooking the protest. His face never faltered, and his eyes were quick and alert. Standing tall and proud, he aired a feeling of authority without much effort.

The protestors never became violent or got out of hand, which made a pleasent change from many of the, especially larger, protests we see today. Most notably the bloody riots that broke out in London at the beginning of April when American President Barrak Obama came to visit.

Portraits in Rome

The image above is of a parade we came across on our way to the vatican. Although not strictly a portrait (more documentary) I have included it here as I found the parade to be an interesting experience, having never seen a military parade live before.

We passed this man playing his guitar on the street and I was struck by how much he seemed to be moved by his music. His passion fascinated me, it was as if nothing could draw him out of his trance.

These guards helped to guard the eternal flame 24h a day. Their dedication true, and their loyalty evident.

This was quite a chance photograph I found later. It is visually stimulating as part of the couple is masked by the shadows of one of the many churches. The photograph could be read into in many ways, about the hierarchy of simply the couple, or at higher, perhaps politcal levels. I find this compelling.

Again I stumbled upon this wedding by chance. Although not a great 'wedding shot' I like this photograph because of the contrast of the young couple beginning a new life together and the Arch of Constantine in the background, a survivor of many centuries of political change and unrest, still standing strong.

Rome Cont.

These are some other photographs taken on the Rome trip.

Rome

These are a few images taken on a recent trip to Rome. Although some of them show the main places to visit in the city, there are also a few other, interesting and perhaps less obvious buildings and creations spotted along the way.

Lake Tahoe, CA, A Quick Overview

These photographs are from my recent trip to Lake Tahoe, CA. I tried, in 5 photographs, to show my experience and feelings about the trip.

The photograph above is a view of Lake Tahoe from the top of the Mountain on the south shore of the lake (at a height around 10,000ft above sea level, the lake is about 6,500-7,000ft). This photograph shows the beauty of the area, and hides the development of houses and the all year round tourist industry (Winter - Skiing, Summer - Sailing and Biking). The angle of view points across the Californian side of the lake rather then the side situated in Nevada. This is relavent to me as not only did we stay on the Californian side, but the Californian side is much nicer as it is much less tacky, and there is more 'going on'. subsequently this is where I took the majority of photographs on my trip.

This photograph shows the wide open, empty roads which we encountered in both California and Nevada whilst we were traveling around. I found this made the land feel empty and lonely. And added a somewhat depressing feel to the trip.

This photograph depicts one of the many Diner's/Sports Bar's in the area that seem to play a large role in the lifestyle of the locals. Although very friendly, they quickly became taxing and too much.

This photograph shows the beauty and the lie of the mountain after a fresh batch of snow. When we first arrived the sky was 'bluebird' (very blue, clear and warm sunshine), then there was a few days of bleakness and a snowstorm. After, when the weather had settled, we were left with a delightful bleak yet clear mountain covered by a veil of fresh snow.

This final photograph shows a buoy on the edge of the lake. Again the lake was a fantastic show of natural beauty. But it was somewhat infringed upon by the commercial buildings upon its shores.

American Houses (Lake Tahoe, CA) Cont.

These are the other images from my selection.

American Houses (Lake Tahoe, CA)

I recently spent a short amount of time up in the north of California at Lake Tahoe. Fascinated by the houses I decided to do a mini project on them. I wandered around the streets photographing houses for some time, as they are all equally visually intriguing. The shots here are a small selection of some of my favourite houses. I decided to photograph them plain and straight on as the repetitive display of individual buildings invite the viewer to study the ways in which they resemble and differ from one another.

Barnes Hospital, Cheadale Cont.

These are some mroe images from Barnes Hospital. What was odd about the place was although some of the rooms were completely stripped, others werent. Small things like the sign above the door for the restaurant and some curtains still hung in the wall papered recreation room gave the place a strange feeling as if it was still trying to cling onto its former glory, still living, still alive. This was reiterated in a room in the newer part of the hospital on the third floor where it appeared someone had, or does, stay.

Barnes Hospital, Cheadale

These photographs are from an 'unofficial' tour we took of Barnes Hospital in Cheadle. Built in 1871 the hospital was, contry to popular belief (the hospital was featured on Most Haunted Live in 2005 and was misrepresented as a psychiatric institution), used mainly for geriatric care and for stroke patients later on until its closure in 1999.

The building is structurally sound in most places, but the decay is clearly evident. I found this to be intriguing as although many of the rooms were the same, each had its own character, as if it had decayed in a way particular to that room.

As the place was boarded up, there was very little light on the ground and lower ground floors, but upstairs light flooded the rooms. Although there wasnt anything as such to see, the building was obviously emptied when closed, every so often we would come across something such as a sign for a ward, or a rotten chair. Most interestingly, the caretakers room was filled with bits and bats that hadnt been removed (I shall put these in a later entry).

Blackpool

This is one of the first photographs I took when I moved to Blackpool in September and it sums up how I first felt. Living in a bleak and underrun town, knowing only a handful of people I felt pretty 'down in the dumps'. This site was along the alley way I would walk down each day several times. The apparent delivery doors to the Rock Shop had turned into a dumping ground. What was dumped there would change each day and it fascinated me watching what would be taken and what it was replaced with. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you view it, the alley way was soon gated off, and the rubbish cleared.

These deck chairs brought the feeling of emptiness that Blackpool begins to feel in September and really kicks in by October as the season comes to a close. Their bright colours somewhat dulled by the colourless sky and deserted promenade. 

Again the empty beach reinforces the emptiness of the town as during the summer months this area of beach would be filled with people enjoying holidays with friends and family. Instead the beach is almost deserted, central pier looks depressing as a dark landmark against the pale sky.

Abandoned Quarry nr. Conwy, N,Wales Cont.

Here are the rest of the images from my trip to the quarry. Overall I am fairly pleased with how they turned out, seen as we had visited the quarry the previous day I already had an idea of what I was aiming to get from the shoot and I feel I managed to achieve this quite successfully.

Abandoned Quarry nr. Conwy, N,Wales

During a trip to North Wales I visited an abandoned quarry. By the time I arrived it was sunset, and quickly dark. Rather than use long exposures to create my images I used lights and flash to light different parts of the quarry. There was also some light from a few lights that were working, and some street lights can be seen in the background of some images. I enjoyed shooting these images as it was a whole new place to me and so to explore it turned out some interesting places. Looking at my images afterwards I am glad that I shot my images in black and white as it emphasises the grittiness of the area and structures.