Category Archives: Down by the river

Low tide at Deptford Creek and other diversions

14 Saturday Oct 2017

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Low tide at Deptford Creek

An hour free to take photos around Deptford Creek and all my Fuji gear in the camera bag…but no memory card. I suppose I should be grateful it doesn’t happen all that often. Here’s an iPhone shot of a particularly low tide, looking down the creek from the Laban centre towards Ha’penny Hatch.

Recent diversions:

Alec Soth’s Sleeping by the Mississippi at Beetles & Huxley: stunning prints, on display for free just off Piccadilly.

Giles Duley interviewed on A Small Voice podcast: Ben Smith’s podcasts rarely disappoint, but this one I thought was outstanding. Giles Duley tells his extraordinary story incredibly articulately, and I can’t recommend it enough.

Brian David Stevens’s Beachy Head photobook – a somber but not melodramatic look at a difficult landscape; fine work at a democratic price point.

The new Four Tet album: maybe his best to date (though maybe I’ll revert that accolade to Morning / Evening in a while).

Down by the river: Greenwich; July 2017

21 Friday Jul 2017

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A brief Thursday morning walk along the Thames from Greenwich heading east, dressed over-optimistically in shorts and t-shirt. Before the rain set in properly I managed to get a few shots looking along the river towards the Dome, and the thought occurred that these views may not last too much longer, if development on the west side of Greenwich peninsula picks up pace as it has on the eastern side. The power station jetty endures, though, and long may it do so.

Down by the river: Burnt-out car on the Thames Path; February 2017

10 Friday Feb 2017

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A freezing cold February morning on the Thames path revealed a dumped and burnt-out car under one of the (possibly disused) chutes for transferring aggregates between boats and the Angerstein branch railhead in Charlton. Almost all the plastic and rubber had burnt away; some of the paint on the wall melted off with the heat.

Down by the river: semi-submerged shopping trolleys of the Thames foreshore near Charlton, south-east London; February 2017

06 Monday Feb 2017

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A Saturday afternoon interlude spent peering over the edge of the Thames path near Charlton.

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See the full set of ‘Semi-submerged shopping trolleys of the Thames foreshore near Charlton, south-east London: a study’ on my portfolio website.

PS. I’m working towards making a much wider range of my pictures available to purchase as prints (all on high-quality, archival paper). If there are any photos on this site that you’d like to own as a print (prices start at £40), please get in touch.

(I’m also always interested in print swaps, if you make paintings/photos/linocuts/woodcuts/screenprints/similar – just get in touch!)

Down by the river: Trinity Buoy Wharf; January 2017

05 Sunday Feb 2017

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A quick trip across the river to Trinity Buoy Wharf to see Stephen Turner’s Exbury Egg and surrounding exhibition. I’d strongly recommend you go, but unfortunately it’s already moved on…Go and see it on its travels if you can!

The video above shows the Thames where the river Lea joins next to Trinity Buoy Wharf, looking downriver to the Emirates Airline cable car; the sound comes from Floodtide, a tidal sonification installation by Seth Guy (below).  


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Down by the river: Victoria Deep Water Terminal, Greenwich; January 2017

25 Wednesday Jan 2017

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A combined failure of Southeastern Trains (derailed freight train near Lewisham) and the Jubilee line (failed train at Stratford) scuppered my plans to go into town and meet a friend for lunch; instead, turfed out of North Greenwich station, I took a walk around the northern tip of Greenwich peninsula and found myself at Victoria Deep Water Terminal.

One of a small number of protected wharves, the Deep Water Terminal is used for – as far as I can tell – loading and/or unloading of aggregates; it’s an entirely different world from the O2 arena around the corner, Canary Wharf over the river, and the new flats that are (slowly) appearing around the rest of the of the peninsula. Long may it run.

Down by the river: Deptford Creek; January 2017

15 Sunday Jan 2017

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Deptford Creek January 2017

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A quick look at Deptford Creek from behind the Trinity Laban dance centre on a cold Saturday afternoon. The second shot shows the charred remains of a ‘Ham’ class minesweeper boat built in 1954 and more recently used as an arts venue, gutted by fire in the first week of January. A sorry sight.

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Another shot from a week later, showing the Ravensbourne at very low tide.

Down by the river: Greenwich Peninsula; December 2016

05 Monday Dec 2016

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A brisk walk from North Greenwich down the east side of Greenwich Peninsula with the sun out and a very cold chill coming off the river. The Antony Gormley statue, cable car, Farmopolis, and the boats of Greenwich Yacht Club all make this section of the river feel quite different to Charlton riverside, though it’s just round the bend of the river. The gas works have long gone and the flats have gone up and are going up still further (with terrible ‘settler’-themed advertising hoardings which I really should photography for posterity at some point). Soon the O2 Arena will be barely visible at ground level around here; it only seems 5 minutes since it was the only thing to look at on the peninsula.

Down by the river: Anchor & Hope, Charlton; December 2016

04 Sunday Dec 2016

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Down to the Thames by the Anchor & Hope in Charlton on a crisp, cold early December day; the pollution layer that’s been hanging over London for the last few days very evident in the clear skies. Views north across the river to Silvertown give a clue as to how the south side of the river could look when the planned Charlton riverside development has replaced the remnants of industry in a few years time. Looking west, it’s suddenly noticeable that views of Canary Wharf and the O2 Arena are starting to disappear, obscured by new developments on Greenwich Peninsula. London needs more housing, but it’ll be worse for the loss of links with its industrial past.

Down by the river: Thames Barrier Test & Greenwich Yacht Club Regatta; October 2016

13 Thursday Oct 2016

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Up and out early (well, early for a Sunday morning) to meet The London Sound Survey and head down to the Thames Barrier in the hope of recording the dramatic sights and sounds of its annual test closure. It turns out, though, that the Barrier goes about its business very quietly and with little drama; good for London, I guess, not so good for field recording.

I got some photos, anyway, and after a diversion to Woolwich for breakfast and a walk along Powis Street, we returned to the river to check out Greenwich Yacht Club’s annual regatta and to check the state of play with the Barrier.

Regardless of the field recording outcome, it was a good morning: down by the river in good company, with interesting light; hopefully we’ll do more of this, but with more sound accompaniment.

Click images for full-size versions.

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