Photo of the day

Thanks B. - funnily enough Ballard did come to mind - on the second night we spotted another group of survivors holed up on the ground level of the car park - next to the vending machine. I tried gesturing to them but they couldn't see me through the blizzard. It wasn't a bad experience - I read the Ashon book in pretty much one sitting. I shot a psycho-geography photo story in Madrid. Coming here soon if anybody is interested. Yours - I.
Always interested Iain.:) Paul.
 
It is. I have only just started it. Jacob Epstein and his complicated domestic arrangements.

Complicated they were. Each chapter sort of centres around a person - interestingly for me - John Clare came up again - I liked what he had to say about Lawrence. I disagree with some of his conclusions but a perceptive analysis. The book - in my opinion - is a blend of psycho-geography with a self-help manual. Written by the author to help himself - not the reader. You'll come to the road protest stuff later in - probably the best part of the book for me. He reconciles all the characters at the end - and to some degree makes peace with himself. I laughed out loud when he referenced Sinclair. As I said I enjoyed it thoroughly. I think we may be having this conversation on the wrong thread? No matter - yours - I.
 
Complicated they were. Each chapter sort of centres around a person - interestingly for me - John Clare came up again - I liked what he had to say about Lawrence. I disagree with some of his conclusions but a perceptive analysis. The book - in my opinion - is a blend of psycho-geography with a self-help manual. Written by the author to help himself - not the reader. You'll come to the road protest stuff later in - probably the best part of the book for me. He reconciles all the characters at the end - and to some degree makes peace with himself. I laughed out loud when he referenced Sinclair. As I said I enjoyed it thoroughly. I think we may be having this conversation on the wrong thread? No matter - yours - I.
Yes you're right Iain. I'm sure we will discuss the book elsewhere. I wondered whether Sinclair would pitch up at all.
 
Pleased to read you are home safe and well Iain. The obsolete airport reminds me of the shelves in supermarkets yesterday. :rolleyes: Honestly not a pint of milk or a loaf of bread to be found anywhere.

I made my own bread yesterday, something I haven't done for quite some time and it turned out very nice indeed.

Looking forward to your pics Iain from Madrid and the Gibbs shall be winging its way back up to its rightful owner this week.
Thank you for the extended loan, I have thoroughly enjoyed it and am totally enabled. :) What an awesome bit of kit it is.

Take care..
 
Snowbound -

We arrived on Wednesday evening from Madrid on what proved to be the second last flight allowed in before Edinburgh airport shut because of the weather. It was to be 38 hours before we left. An interesting experience - not as bad as you might think. Virtually all public transport ceased to function due to snow so you just had to make the best of it. There was no point in going anywhere - the trams were running sporadically into Edinburgh city centre but most hotels were basically profiteering - asking stupid amounts of money for a room and we wanted to stay where we were for when a bus finally turned up to take us back to Glasgow. In many ways it was a positive experience - with one exception - the airport staff were lovely - handing out blankets and looking after the vulnerable. Quickly it took on a post-apocalyptic feel - airports are places I associate with constant movement - throngs coming in and going out. It was surreal wandering about in the dead of night with barely a soul in sight. I'm pleased to say it brought out the best in people - for instance - the manager of a well known retail outlet - I shan't name it at his request - handed out carrier bags full of short dated sandwiches to be shared around. The hardcore camped out at the Starbuck's outlet - the most comfortable seats available. Our enforced stay was helped no end by having a litre of rum and another of whisky - we made lots of new friends.

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All images taken with a Nikon D700 - 18 - 35mm lens.

Cheers - I.

@Helveticum @Barry Giddens @Blademonkey @Wayne Pritchard
Whoa! Thanks @Barry Giddens for directing me to this thread. Some superb photography on offer.
 
Some street photography from Madrid last week -

I had a couple of free afternoons to wander about - a definite project in mind - psycho-geography in Madrid - but I'm going to have to write some words to go with it - so in the interim these pictures are the outliers - not relevant to my main interest at the time but I couldn't walk past them. For me Madrid is a fantastic environment for the street photographer. Highly unusually for me shooting in colour with a digital camera. My Leicas need serviced. Not cheap. It might sound odd - but it took me about an hour to start seeing pictures in colour again.


Madrid-2:18-SR1.jpg

Somewhere around Opera barrio.

Madrid-2:18-SR2.jpg

Again - Opera.

Madrid-2:18-SR3.jpg

Tirso de Molina.

Madrid-2:18-SR4.jpg

Lavapies barrio.

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Tirso de Molina.

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Puerta del Sol.

Madrid-2:18-SR7.jpg

Me and my other half - somewhere around Opera.

Thanks for looking. All pictures shot with a Nikon D700 and an 18 - 35mm lens. Yours - I.

@Helveticum @Barry Giddens @Blademonkey @Wayne Pritchard @TomG
 
Some street photography from Madrid last week -

I had a couple of free afternoons to wander about - a definite project in mind - psycho-geography in Madrid - but I'm going to have to write some words to go with it - so in the interim these pictures are the outliers - not relevant to my main interest at the time but I couldn't walk past them. For me Madrid is a fantastic environment for the street photographer. Highly unusually for me shooting in colour with a digital camera. My Leicas need serviced. Not cheap. It might sound odd - but it took me about an hour to start seeing pictures in colour again.


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Somewhere around Opera barrio.

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Again - Opera.

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Tirso de Molina.

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Lavapies barrio.

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Tirso de Molina.

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Puerta del Sol.

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Me and my other half - somewhere around Opera.

Thanks for looking. All pictures shot with a Nikon D700 and an 18 - 35mm lens. Yours - I.

@Helveticum @Barry Giddens @Blademonkey @Wayne Pritchard @TomG
Marvellous Iain. I think I would recognise your photos anywhere. You have a very distinctive style.
 
Some street photography from Madrid last week -

I had a couple of free afternoons to wander about - a definite project in mind - psycho-geography in Madrid - but I'm going to have to write some words to go with it - so in the interim these pictures are the outliers - not relevant to my main interest at the time but I couldn't walk past them. For me Madrid is a fantastic environment for the street photographer. Highly unusually for me shooting in colour with a digital camera. My Leicas need serviced. Not cheap. It might sound odd - but it took me about an hour to start seeing pictures in colour again.


View attachment 33784

Somewhere around Opera barrio.

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Again - Opera.

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Tirso de Molina.

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Lavapies barrio.

View attachment 33788

Tirso de Molina.

View attachment 33789

Puerta del Sol.

View attachment 33790

Me and my other half - somewhere around Opera.

Thanks for looking. All pictures shot with a Nikon D700 and an 18 - 35mm lens. Yours - I.

@Helveticum @Barry Giddens @Blademonkey @Wayne Pritchard @TomG
Thank you sincerely for sharing these shots with us Iain.

You have a remarkable eye .
It is a skill that only a few have.

I remember years ago a keen photographer saying to me that when you are ready to take your photograph, pause and look at your capture at a different angle or move to your left or right, up or down and see the difference it will make.

Finding the subjects you see and create is on another level.
Superb my friend and "keep um coming" as they say. :D
 
Some street photography from Madrid last week -

I had a couple of free afternoons to wander about - a definite project in mind - psycho-geography in Madrid - but I'm going to have to write some words to go with it - so in the interim these pictures are the outliers - not relevant to my main interest at the time but I couldn't walk past them. For me Madrid is a fantastic environment for the street photographer. Highly unusually for me shooting in colour with a digital camera. My Leicas need serviced. Not cheap. It might sound odd - but it took me about an hour to start seeing pictures in colour again.


View attachment 33784

Somewhere around Opera barrio.

View attachment 33785

Again - Opera.

View attachment 33786

Tirso de Molina.

View attachment 33787

Lavapies barrio.

View attachment 33788

Tirso de Molina.

View attachment 33789

Puerta del Sol.

View attachment 33790

Me and my other half - somewhere around Opera.

Thanks for looking. All pictures shot with a Nikon D700 and an 18 - 35mm lens. Yours - I.

@Helveticum @Barry Giddens @Blademonkey @Wayne Pritchard @TomG
Some stunning shots Iain, you have used the fact you were shooting in colour to great effect. Paul.
 
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More Madrid - from last week.

The Kraken awakes - well this is self-evidently an octopus - generally the Kraken of legend is a giant squid but the word comes to English from Norwegian - meaning 'something twisted,' see English cognates - 'crook' and 'crank.' In modern German 'Kraken' means octopus. Generally 'pulpo' - in Spanish - is something that is going to be part of your lunch, not a threat to ships. Busking with images because I haven't finished the psycho-geography project yet.

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Nikon D700 - 18-35mm - Lavapies barrio - yours - I.

Oh - incidentally - most guide books to Madrid will tell you not to go to this barrio - it is certainly a bit rough but it is the real thing - totally un-reconstructed - where normal people live - 'los gatos' - it has defied all attempts to gentrify it. Which is fine - it reminds me of where I live in Glasgow - Govanhill. It is the traditional 'entre port' - to Madrid. Refugees, illegals - 'los clandestinos,' in Spanish. 'Los de abajos,' - literally, those that live underneath. All the better for it. As I say - reminds me of home.

@Helveticum @Barry Giddens @Blademonkey @Wayne Pritchard
 
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More Madrid - from last week.

The Kraken awakes - well this is self-evidently an octopus - generally the Kraken of legend is a giant squid but the word comes to English from Norwegian - meaning 'something twisted,' see English cognates - 'crook' and 'crank.' In modern German 'Kraken' means octopus. Generally 'pulpo' - in Spanish - is something that is going to be part of your lunch, not a threat to ships. Busking with images because I haven't finished the psycho-geography project yet.

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Nikon D700 - 18-35mm - Lavapies barrio - yours - I.

Oh - incidentally - most guide books to Madrid will tell you not to go to this barrio - it is certainly a bit rough but it is the real thing - totally un-reconstructed - where normal people live - 'los gatos' - it has defied all attempts to gentrify it. Which is fine - it reminds me of where I live in Glasgow - Govanhill. It is the traditional 'entre port' - to Madrid. Refugees, illegals - 'los clandestinos,' in Spanish. 'Los de abajos,' - literally, those that live underneath. All the better for it. As I say - reminds me of home.

@Helveticum @Barry Giddens @Blademonkey @Wayne Pritchard
Stunning work Iain.
I am really looking forward to your forthcoming pics.

Now that is a place I would like to visit.
I enjoy going to places that the books forbid. :D
 
Thanks Wayne - should you find yourself there - start off at Tirso de Molina - where myself and my partner had an apartment last week - follow Calle de Lavapies down hill for several blocks - you'll come to the main square - which isn't actually a square - more a triangle - where the underground station 'Lavapies' is - then take the right fork into the 'Trabajeros' area - the workers barrio. Even more hardcore. Definitely off guide book. Not for the faint hearted. There is a church there that has the bullet holes preserved from when it was one the last places to have held out against Franco. Because of Orwell everybody thinks of Barcelona - but Madrid was the last to fall. Republican to the last. You should go to Madrid - it's a fantastic city. Home of shaving porn - if nothing else. _ I.
 
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