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NeilClasper

Category Archives: Photography

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

13 Thursday Oct 2016

Posted by Neil Clasper in Down by the river, London, Photography

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Charlton, Field recording, Foreshore, Fuji XT10, Greenwich Yacht Club, london, regatta, Thames Barrier, thames barrier test

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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Harris Hawk and keeper, Canary Wharf; London

08 Saturday Oct 2016

Posted by Neil Clasper in London, Photography, Portraits

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Canary Wharf, Harris Hawk, Hawk, iPhone

Harris Hawk and keeper

Caught these two on their break between pest control duties on Friday lunchtime. The hawk is a fabulously incongruous site amongst the suits and chinos of Canary Wharf.

Canary Wharf station entrance; October 2016

06 Thursday Oct 2016

Posted by Neil Clasper in London, Photography

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black and white, Canary Wharf, escalators, iPhone, monochrome, Tube station

Canary Wharf Tube Station Entrance

Shot on my iPhone, processed with Snapseed iOS app. A walking-from-cash-machine-back-to-the-office snap.

East Greenwich and East London skyline; Jan 2010 & October 2016

05 Wednesday Oct 2016

Posted by Neil Clasper in London, Photography

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black and white, Charlton Road, East London, Fuji XT10, Greenwich Peninsula, london, monochrome, Skyline

Click images for full-size

EastGreenwichEastLondonCharltonRoad

Shot from Charlton Road, overlooking the A102 Blackwall Tunnel approach. The Olympic Stadium is already staring to disappear behind new developments (view full-size, squint and you might see the top of it just to the left of the Orbit). At some point I guess we can expect the Millennium Dome to get similarly obscured.

Here’s a similar view from 2010:

No buildings on the Peninsula between Dome and Greenwich Millennium Village, no cable  car, no sign of the Olympic developments. I just wish the 2010 shot included the “eco” Sainsbury’s which has since been demolished (unthinkable at the time).

Putting this together tells me I should a) get a long lens for my Fuji, b) take these more often (and catalogue them better in my archives).

Powis St, Woolwich; October 2016

03 Monday Oct 2016

Posted by Neil Clasper in London, Photography

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

london, Powis Street, SE18, shop displays, Woolwich

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Conkers; October 2016

02 Sunday Oct 2016

Posted by Neil Clasper in Photography

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autumn, conkers, Fuji XT10, still life

A good year for conkers (on the Charlton/Blackheath borders, at least). 10 year old me would have been amazed by this haul, all collected by my daughter within 5 minutes walk of our house. 

Down by the river: East of Greenwich Peninsula; August 2016

28 Sunday Aug 2016

Posted by Neil Clasper in Down by the river, London, Photography

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cable car, Emirates Air Line, Fuji XT10, Jetty, london, monochrome, photography, River, Silvertown, Thames

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Click images for full-size

A breezy and occasionally damp walk along the Thames path, past the Emirates Airline cable car and the old jetty (currently Farmopolis), looking over the river to Silvertown.

Up the Tate Modern extension (again)

27 Saturday Aug 2016

Posted by Neil Clasper in London, Photography

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Canary Wharf, Fuji XT10, london, London from above, SE1, Shard, Skyline, South London, tate modern, tate modern extension, Thames, urban

Thursday lunchtime, London was sweaty and the air murky, with the sun just not quite breaking through. A weird and kind of attractive light for taking pictures.

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Cyanotypes / Sun Prints

26 Friday Aug 2016

Posted by Neil Clasper in Photography

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alternative photography, alternative printing, cyanotype, cyanotypes, garden as darkroom, sun prints

I’ve been having fun this summer making cyanotype prints and refining my ‘technique’ along the way. Since last summer’s basic-as-possible efforts, I’ve:

  • Bought a proper developer tray (works much better than the kitchen sink)
  • Worked out a way to make digital negatives in Adobe Lightroom (in short: convert to B&W; increase contrast; tidy up stray background highlights; flip horizontal; reverse the tone curve to make the blacks white and vice versa)
  • Printed the digital negatives on clear overhead projector ‘paper’ (film?)
  • Acquired some much beefier bulldog clips (or ‘fold back clips’ as they seem to be called now) – these are key to a nice crisp print (if that’s what you’re after), and make drying the prints much easier.

It’s a great, low-tech way to experience the magic of an image appearing like magic, and get the satisfaction of having made something. Below are some pics of the prints I’ve made, and the process of making them.

Cyanotype ‘studio’, ie the back garden.

Digital negative, printed on to overhead projector film through a cheap laser printer.

Print being washed after exposure. A small flow of water from the hose helps get the remaining chemicals off the paper.

Pre-prepared paper, bought online.

Print being exposed in the sun. The blue plastic sheet came with the kit, and helps keep the print flat. A similarly-sized sheet of hardboard for the back would help keep a more even contact across the paper for a crisper print.

Tunnel Refineries print drying.

Angerstein to Antigallican: a walk along Woolwich Road, Charlton; August 2016

14 Sunday Aug 2016

Posted by Neil Clasper in London, Photography

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Angerstein hotel, antigallican, Charlton, East Greenwich, fire station, Frankie & Benny, Fuji X-E1, Fuji XT10, london, mirror shop, photography, photowalk, pickwicks, rose of denmark, SE London, SE7, south east London, Starbucks, woolwich road

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I took my cameras for a walk along Woolwich Road between two landmark pubs, starting at the Angerstein Hotel; passing the landmark shops (‘mirror’, and ‘ass’); the unexplained shipping container of Holmwood Villas; East Greenwich fire station; Pickwick’s pub (recently closed); the motorway service station architectural vibes of Frankie & Benny’s and Starbucks; the Rose of Denmark pub; the out-of-town-shopping-centre-but-in-town incongruous mass of M&S and Sainsbury’s; Valley House (awaiting demolition); and finishing up at The Antigallican. The sun was belting hot and not particularly nice for photography, there was too much traffic, and there are far too many signposts and the like cluttering the view along there, but it was an interesting exercise; I might try it again in the winter.

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