kimbofo

A miniature view of New York City

The Sandpit from Sam O'Hare on Vimeo.

I have a soft spot for New York, and this awesome short film only makes me want to go back for another visit!

You can find out how director Sam O'Hare shot and made it via an interview he did on the Aero Film blog. It took five days of filming and 35,000 individual jpgs...

The Spinnaker Tower

All pictures taken: Portsmouth, England.
Date: March 2, 2010.
Camera: Panasonic DMC-TZ3.

No, this isn't Dubai but downtown Portsmouth.  And that huge building soaring 170 metres over the water is The Spinnaker Tower, which was completed in 2005. You can find out more about it via the official website.

You can view all my Portsmouth photographs in my online gallery.

Portsmouth Guildhall

 
Place: Guildhall, Portsmouth.
Date: March 2, 2010.
Camera: BlackBerry Curve 8900.

After 11 days of agonising neck pain and shoulder trouble, I woke up this morning with only mild stiffness. I couldn't believe it. Then, when I peered out the window, I saw that the sun was shining and the sky was blue. It all seemed too good to be true. Did I want to risk my neck and shoulder seizing up again by spending eight hours in the office at my computer desk?

So I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to take the day off work. And when T said he was heading to Portsmouth (as part of his job) I decided to tag along with him. The movement, the exercise, the walking around in the sea air would be good for my arthritis.

So, we went on a 90-minute train ride to the south-west coast, and while T did his thing in town, I walked through the city centre, enroute to the harbour, and took this snap of the Guildhall on my phone. What an amazingly beautiful and stately neo-classical building.

According to wikipedia, it was built in 1890 and suffered extensive bomb damage during the Second World War. It was later rebuilt at a cost of £1.5 million and then re-opened by the Queen in 1959.

There's more about the hall's history on this Portsmouth tourist site.

National Theatre

All pictures taken: National Theatre, South Bank, London.
Date: September 29, 2009.
Camera: BlackBerry Curve 8900.

I fired off these two snaps as I trotted over Waterloo Bridge this evening. The sun was casting a golden glow over the concrete form of this amazing-looking building designed by architect Denys Lasdun and opened to the public in 1976.

It's either one of those buildings you love or hate. Prince Charles famously described it as "a clever way of building a nuclear power station in the middle of London without anyone objecting" but I quite like its interlocking shapes and stepped terraces which afford great views over the Thames.

It also has a lovely habit of changing colours depending on the mood of the weather; when it's wet and wintry it turns a dank black, when it's bright and sunny it's a pleasant, crisp grey, and when the sun's setting on a lovely autumn day it flashes gold and silver and all the colours in between.

Finsbury Circus

All pictures** taken: Finsbury Circus, London.
Date: September 20, 2009.
Camera: Panasonic DMC-TZ3.

Finsbury Circus is one of those magical green spaces right in the heart of London that you'd never really know about unless you'd carefully studied a map or stumbled upon it by accident. 

Most parks of this nature are square, but Finsbury Circus is, as the name suggests, circular, or, more precisely, elliptical.

Its 2.2ha comprises immaculate garden beds, gently sweeping paths, manicured lawns and the city of London's only bowling green, which was laid in 1904 (according to the club's history).

There's a bandstand and a pretty little drinking fountain, too.

All rather lovely, isn't it?

** I wish I could claim that I took this wonderful aerial photograph (above), but alas it's from Wikipedia. The photographer, Reguiieee, has very kindly released it into the public domain and has granted permission to use it for "any purpose". I wanted to publish it here to demonstrate the shape of the gardens and the built-up area around them.

Is this the world's longest bank queue?

Place: Bank of England, Threadneedle Street, London.
Date: September 20, 2009.
Camera: Panasonic DMC-TZ3. 

No, this isn't a run on the Bank of England. These people are queuing up not to withdraw their money, but to have a look at the inner-workings of one of the world's oldest banks, which threw open its doors on the weekend as part of Open House London.

This was one of the few buildings I was keen to visit, so we trundled up early on Sunday morning and joined the queue. We had a 45 minute wait, which wasn't too bad, given we'd got there about 15 minutes before the doors officially opened at 9.30am.

Once inside, we had to go through security, and then, in groups of 20, we were given an escorted tour that lasted about half-an-hour. Sadly, no photography was allowed, but let's just say it was pretty sumptuous inside, with gorgeous antique furniture, some incredible oil paintings dating back to the 18th century, and the most amazing floor coverings, including mosaics depicting coins from Roman times to 1928.

There's a rather beautiful courtyard garden in the centre, which was once the churchyard of St. Christopher-le-Stocks which was demolished in 1782 so the bank could be expanded. Apparently, one of the conditions was that the graveyard had to remain untouched, hence the garden, although the wikipedia entry suggests the bodies were re-interred to Nunhead Cemetery.

We got to walk through Mervyn King's office -- he's the current Governor -- and I don't think I've ever seen a neater, more sparse desktop in my life. It looked like a museum exhibit!

You can find out more about the bank and its history via the official website. There's also a museum attached to the bank which is open weekdays between 10am and 5pm, and is free to enter.

St Paul's glowing gold

Place: St Paul's Cathedral, London.
Date: September 18, 2009.
Camera: BlackBerry Curve 8900.

It's not often that I get to see this view of St Paul's Cathedral, but as the white stonework caught the gold of the setting sun this evening I'd never seen it looking quite as beautiful.