Rochester Cathedral, take 3

I think that sometimes it helps my creative process to look at familiar places from different angles.  Suddenly, these everyday images look fresh and new and beautiful again, like I've just stumbled upon some special new world.

If you want to try something really interesting, I dare you to turn the picture upside down and see what kinds of new details jump out at you. The brain works in wonderful ways.

This photo was taken at Rochester Cathedral, in Rochester, Kent, UK, in late December 2011.

Another Fabulous Portrait, Brought To You By The V&A

The dreamy eyes say "Yes", while the missing teeth say "Oh dear god, No."  The ancient Burmese had an interesting take on beauty.

Photo taken at the V&A Museum in London in mid-December, 2011.

No, I Will Not Give You Any Context.

But suffice to say, it did have something to do with Christmas festivities in Rochester.  Yeah, I know.

It Takes a Lot of Tubes to Make This Thing Work

What are they all for?  What do they all do? Where do they all go?  Just one of the many mysteries at London's Notting Hill Station.

Now You See It, Now You Don't.

 I was in London a couple days ago with my husband, and at one point we found ourselves at the Notting Hill Gate subway station.  What to do with 5 spare minutes on a subway platform?  Take pictures, of course!

It's hard to glamorize the London underground.  ::sigh::

Love on the Streets of Bluewater

I was walking to work the other day, and I saw a piece of packaging in a back corridor of Bluewater (a shopping mall in Kent).  I didn't manipulate the packaging in any way.  And it made me smile.

More Night Photography

I enjoy taking photos at night.  I'm not sure why, but as you can probably tell from this blog, I like different light effects and saturations and a certain amount of surrealism in my photos. This is a photo of Cuxton and Strood taken from Saint Margaret's church in mid-November at night, and I love the slightly ephemeral feeling captured with the vaguely blurred capture.  And the balance of black with the line of light is somehow visually appealing.  So there we go.  Another photo in the lineup.

Autumn Is On A Roll

This is what the Smoke Bush out in my front garden looked like this morning.  I hadn't noticed in past years just how vibrant this plant becomes in the fall, but I was really pleasantly surprised to take a closer look as I left the house today.  How I've missed these gorgeous colours the last few days/weeks/possibly months is beyond me, but I'll be the first to admit that when I'm leaving for work at 7am I'm not the most observant tack in the box.  Nor when I get home at 7 pm.  Nor at any point in the middle, really.

The Colours of Autumn

Sometimes, when the nights are drawing in and the days are growing colder and there just doesn't seem to be enough layers in my wardrobe, it's nice to look down and see how beautiful the ground has become and be reminded of why I put up with the autumn.  As if I had a choice.

I have no idea what kind of a plant this is, but the spider-like seed heads were intriguing, and seemed to be enjoying the warmish mid-November sun as much as me.

So Beautiful and So Impermanent

When a tree blew over in The Vines in a storm in '87, the artist Robert Koenig carved the stump into a sculpture of a monk to commemorate that destructive storm and also to nod towards the history of The Vines, as originally it was the location of Rochester's centrally-located monastery vineyard. The statue originally had a plaque on the front which essentially explained what I just wrote, but also, importantly, added: "Eventually the sculpture will fade, but we will replace it for perpetuity." And, in a truly appropriate and knowing manner, that plaque has since fallen away and the carving has started to fade and the statue is now crumbling from the inside. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that the Medway Council upholds their duty to eventually replace it for perpetuity. One can always hope, eh?

Photos taken in The Vines, in Rochester, UK, on October 25th, 2011.

These photos might not be available to capture in another 5 years, sadly.  So if you live in the area I encourage you to come and spend some time with this local living sculpture, and then find a moment to write the council and remind them about their duty to uphold the community's culture of arts and historical preservation.  Sometimes I think they may need some reminding.

Royston's Mum is Loud and Hairy...

... and I wouldn't have it any other way!  Last weekend the husband and I went out to Falconwood in Kent, UK, to support a charity gig.  Some of his life-long friends are in a band, Royston's Mum, who were headlining the show.  Well, I suppose, realistically they were the show, except for the 80-year-old loin-cloth-wearing Christopher-Lloyd-lookin' fire-eater named Ringo who came out in-between sets.  He was amazing.  So amazing, actually, that I put up his video on Youtube for you to check out!

And just to throw it out there - Disco balls are still awesome.

Photos taken in Falconwood, Kent, UK in the middle of October, 2011.  We rocked the heck outta that community centre.

Fun With Tilt-Shift

I know that tilt-shift should really be used on far-away things for far-away reasons to make far-away objects look far away.  But it also kinda works close-up.  It just seems to make the nearer things look nearerer.

Again, I'm using this tool completely incorrectly, but the effect is interesting at least.  Well, maybe "interesting" is an overstatement.  It's green, anyway.
Both photos were taken in Saint Margaret's Church yard in Rochester, Kent, UK.  The photos were taken a couple weeks ago - sometime in mid-September, I think.

Another Foray Into Black and White

What a beautiful cathedral we have!  And so pointy!
The last couple days have been blustery and cold in Kent, so I felt that this black and white snapshot I took a couple weeks ago accurately sums up the feel of Rochester recently; stark, grey, and slightly shiny.  This is taken from the High Street, looking most directly at what I guess would be the north wing of the cathedral, with Rochester's war memorial in the foreground.  This photo was taken sometime in late September, 2011.

It Was A Dark And Stormy Night...

Well dark, anyway.  The weather has actually been pretty nice recently.  I took this picture from the yard at Saint Margaret's church, while I was playing with taking night photos with flash.  I thought this one turned out with a pretty great balance of textures and contrasts, but on the other hand, it isn't really a photo of much.  So, amazing work of genius photography, or crappy pretentious amateur snapshot?  You decide.

Strange...

Oddly enough, this looks a bit like a hand-coloured photo, doesn't it?  I have no idea how I did that, but I kind of like the effect.  Either way, here's another view of the Rochester Castle at the end of September, 2011.  These lovely, crisp autumn days are putting the past few damp, cold summers to shame!  Apple-picking soon, perhaps?

The River Medway, Lovely as Ever.

The husband and I took a lovely little stroll along the edge of the River Medway, on the Embankment in Rochester, Kent.  The light was right, the view was clear, and the tide was low. Who knew Strood could look so lovely!? (just kidding!) (kinda)

Somehow the sunsets in the autumn always seem a bit more vibrant than during the rest of the year.  I could be completely wrong about that, but we've had some good ones recently, anyway.  And here one is!  These pics were taken September 25th, 2011.

Just Think Of The Sledging To Be Had!

I spent a lovely Sunday at Saint Margaret's Church.  Not inside it, but taking pictures of it, of course.  It sure cuts a lovely silhouette on a bright day!

Antiques and Collectables

I love this shop!  I swear, in the last 2 years I've lived here, their street display hasn't changed.  A bit.  There's some comfort in knowing that the same Victorian jugs will be there, on the street, every time I go downtown. This shop is famous, though, for more than just the same Victorian jugs; they carry an amazing selection of used books and Rochester charm that people travel miles to come and see.  Hurray for independent business and unwanted Victorian jugs!

Strood's Night Life

This photo was taken from Saint Margaret's Church yard on September 21st, 2011.  The view is looking out over the River Medway from the Rochester side to Strood and Cuxton.

This is a close-up of the same view.  Yay night-time digital photography!

Woodland Dreamscapes.

Both of these photos were taken in Ashenbank Wood, in Cobham, Kent, UK, on September 18th, 2011.

I think I may have over-processed these pics a bit, but I quite like the dreamy, ethereal effect.  I find that I have a hard time taking pictures of the woods, because I think the feel of being there is so much more wondrous than the cold, dark images that come out of the camera.  I can never manage to represent the light very well, but after playing with the photos using the iPhone apps "Pixlromatic" (my personal favourite) and "PEStudio" (which I'm still learning to mess around with) I'm slightly more pleased with the outcome.

How to Look Cool in the Rain. Holding an Accordion.

The Faversham Hop Festival always seems to bring out the best in Kent.  Unfortunately, I was working all that weekend, but my husband was there with Wolf's Head and Vixen Morris, and he took these great photos.

Two accordions, a drum and a guitar: sounds like a great time to me!
Photos taken at the Faversham Hop Festival, 2011.

I Spy...

I spy a cathedral through a window in Rochester Castle's wall!  The funny thing is, the castle and the cathedral are basically the same age (1000 years old).  I think it says a lot about what people value - the cathedral is still in perfect working order and fabulous condition, and the castle is all but derelict and a hollow shell of a building.  Both are interesting, but only one has a roof.  Photo taken September 9th, 2011.

Back Inside the Cathedral

This is the ceiling of one of the wings of the Rochester Cathedral.  There's another version of this viewpoint a few posts down, but I really liked the symmetry of this version.

This is the stained glass in the same wing.  I'm not really doing the cathedral justice by only showing off one small corner of it, but boy, is this one small corner breathtaking!  Photos taken mid-September in the Rochester Cathedral, Rochester, Kent, UK.

Hooray! I Hav Duh Ball! Pink!

Simple pleasures for *ahem* simple dogs.  Photo taken of Scooter McGee on September 13th, 2011, at Saint Margaret's Church in Rochester, Kent, UK.

Monkey Business. Or Monkeying Around. Or Some Other Equally Obvious Title.

I was walking the dog in my neighbourhood today, when I happened to glance up high into a random bush.  As you can see, I happened to find a little face staring out at me.  Quite amusing.  And surprising.  And then I pointed it out to my husband, who informed me that it had actually been him who put it in the bush to begin with, when he had found it on the ground a few days earlier in the rain and felt bad for it.  Which was somehow even more amusing.  And less surprising.
Photo taken September 13th, 2011.

Protection From Strood.

If Strood ever tries to invade Rochester, we got it covered.  We're looking at you, too, Cuxton.  Don't even think about it.

An American Bean Tree Right Here in Rochester!

This American Bean Tree (Catalpa) was planted right between the Rochester Cathedral and Rochester Castle over 100 years ago!  Who woulda thunk it? I just want to note, though, as an American, I'm a bit of an authority on American beans and American Trees, and I think it important to mention that we don't usually grow our beans on trees.  usually our trees are bean-free, and usually our beans are without tree.  So when we get a bean-filled tree, I guess we like to export them to show off a bit.

The World Through Hipstamatic Coloured Glasses

This is a wing of the Rochester Cathedral, as seen through the Hipstamatic camera.  Yay hipster iphone apps!

The ceiling of one of the wings of the Rochester Cathedral.  The pendant lights are really stunning.  Hipstamatic strikes again!  Photos taken early September, 2011.

Get Into Focus.

Look closely, and you'll see another picture in the making.  Photo taken at Saint Margaret's Church, in Rochester, Kent, UK, in early September 2011.

Just to Round Out the Group...

One last picture of the water lilies at Charles Dickens' chalet in Rochester, Kent, UK.  Photo taken early September, 2011.

Monet and Chuck Dickens Should Have Been Friends.

Surprisingly, these aquatic photos were taken just outside where Charles Dickens' chalet now sits in Rochester, Kent, UK.  I'll post pictures of the chalet later, but for now I wanted to share the beauty I found in this little man-made pond just off the high street.  Pictures taken September 7th, 2011.

Lovely lovely lily pads.  Just ripe for some impressionist to come along and use them as inspiration for a blurry painting. 

Life is Sweet!

The Candy Bar, Rochester, Kent, UK.

Aaaaand right across the street, Sweet Expectations.  Rochester, Kent, UK.
A town with two candy shops is a beautiful thing!  Especially ye-oldy-timey candy shoppes!

Photos taken early September, 2011.

The Castle at the End of My Street

Rochester Castle, on a bright yet damp September morning.  Photo taken September 7th, 2011.

They Should Really Try to Do Something About Those Potholes.

Herne Bay, Where I found some fossilized wood.  I forget when this photo was taken, but it was during 2010.

Just Once in a Blue Moon

I was taking pictures at Rochester Castle today, and got caught in a downpour.  I quickly ducked under the steps of the castle to get out of the rain, and had to find something to do with the next 15 minutes, so I turned the camera on myself for a full face pic.  This is a very rare occurrence, so enjoy it while it lasts!  Photo taken September 7th, 2011.

Too Cool for School

I know, I know, I'm awesome.  The fake Raybans say it all.

My Favourite Picture

Ightham Woods, as interpreted by me.  I LOVE this photo.  Photo take August 29th, 2011.