A Few Images of Bars

I recently returned from a short trip to Venice, Italy. Years ago I spent a year there as an art history student, renting a room in the Dorsoduro area. Nowadays  I still find myself staying in that area. I don’t recall this bar from from student days – it has become very popular with locals … Read more

Mannequins and Street Photography – some new images

Abstract photo with mannequin head, NYC

I’ve posted several blogs in the last few years featuring images I’ve taken of mannequins. I’ve been drawn to photographing mannequins for a number of reasons. In terms of representation I like the ambiguity;  a human, yet not a human. I like the fact they can range from quasi-lifelike to grotesque and non-naturalistic. I like … Read more

#MeToo: Street Art & Other Visuals

A few months ago I came across an article inThe Guardian newspaper which featured the photograph below by Mukesh Gupta of some street art in Jammu, India, protesting rape. I took a screenshot of the image as it really resonated with me, particularly the representation of the silencing – the hand over the mouth of … Read more

Leafy Walls and Abstract Photography

Yesterday was a glorious autumnal day in London and I decided to walk through Hampstead Heath and then get the tube from Belsize Park. On my way to the station I saw a red fringed throw hanging out a window, reminiscent of red flag on May Day. The throw was framed by green ivy which … Read more

The London Mastaba and Reflections

The other day I went to see the floating sculpture The London Mastaba, created by husband and wife artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude and which is situated temporarily on London’s Serpentine Lake. It was a gloriously sunny day and this was my first sighting of it: As I approached I noticed the lake’s surface had a … Read more

Venetian shrines and daily life

Back when I studied History of Art I spent a year in Venice researching various secular motifs in 18th Century Venetian painting. My assumption from that time was that Venice, unlike Rome and Florence, was not particularly a centre for religious iconography. However, on recent visits, walking around the city with an objective eye, I … Read more

Photographs taken on Public Transport

Last week I took a photograph of a father and his young daughter on a London bus. I decided to develop it in black and white which to me rendered the image more nostalgic and timeless, with less distractions, so that one can focus more on the subjects and the beauty of the girl’s hair … Read more

Signs: dress code and etiquette

I’ve just returned from a short trip to Venice. One of the photos I took was of this sign, seen outside a parish: I noticed the sign and misread it at first; I didn’t realise it was advocating a modest dress code policy. I initially saw the X above the guy’s cap as some kind … Read more

Barber Signs and Imagery

The other week walking down London’s Kingsland Road in Dalston I took an illusionistic street photograph involving a barbershop window that regularly catches my eye. In the mix is a striking, monochromatic bearded profile with pronounced eyebrows as well as a beautiful, shrouded female figure with crossed hands. Rather than hipster qualities I associate his … Read more

Fish in the City

Last week I was in New York for a few days staying on the Lower East Side. The weather was quite unsettled – muggy and rainy.  One grey morning I saw a guy walking towards me in sandals and socks. These were not the frowned-upon socks and sandals combination formerly attributed to unstylish men with … Read more