4
Oct
2009
London Tate Modern
It took four visits to London to finally make a call on London’s Tate Modern. In my defense, I had visited the British Museum (twice), The National Gallery, The National Portrait Gallery, and the Victoria And Albert Museum. I think I may be missing a couple in that list. The point is that London overflows with opportunity to take in the arts and the history of said human activity. I am less so a fan of modern art than what we would term traditional art, so it was not surprising that it took me so long to get to the Tate Modern.
Tate Modern
This is a view of the Tate Modern from the opposite side of the Thames. The Tate Modern actually occupies what was formerly the Bankside power station, a massive post-war building that embodies much of the modern in its blocky architecture. The power plant was shuttered in 1981 and in recent years converted into a wing of the Tate musuem, housing modern and contemporary art from 1900 and forward. Seen also in this view is the Millennium pedestrian bridge built to celebrate the 21st century.
Turbine Hall
The interior of the museum is as much a work of modern art as the extensive and revolving collection it houses. Stripped of much of the original and mammoth machinery this building once housed, you get massive spaces such as this, the Turbine Hall, in the middle of the structure. The lines of this place have to be seen to truly be experienced but I feel this print goes a long way towards conveying the proportions.
If modern art is not your thing, you’ll be forgiven for seeking out other places if you visit London with limited time, but if you have time to spare, or you are a fan of modern art, you must check out this place. As with many of the galleries and museums in London, the Tate Modern is free (temporary exhibitions are the exception).
22
Sep
2009
Atlanta Icons – Architecture of The City
This is the second in my series of Atlanta Icons, while the first focused on Restaurants, this one will be all the rest of the Atlanta area scenery that I captured while working on this body of work.
Checkmate
In my opinion, a couple of the most recognizable buildings in Atlanta will be familiar to any commuter on the north side of the City. These towers, officially Concourse Corporate Center V and VI, are known to the locals as the King and Queen towers due to the stylized decorations at the pinnacles of each building. These buildings are located in Sandy Springs just north of I-285 and east of Georgia 400. They were completed in 1988 and 1991 and have the distinction of being the tallest towers in a suburban setting in the USA. This photo captures them against a vibrant winter sky just before dusk.
Fabulous Fox
There’s a joke that every street in Atlanta has the word “Peachtree” in it. And it’s no joke that there are a lot of Peachtree courts, and avenues, and boulevards named for Georgia’s official fruit, but there’s only one Peachtree Street and only one Fabulous Fox. The Fox Theater was one of several old movie houses in the city and one of the last of the grand ones left. It opened in the 1920’s and came close to being destroyed in the 1970’s. But the local populace, having watched one movie palace after another razed, fought to save the Fox for future generations to enjoy.
Fox On Peachtree
One photo of this old dear on Peachtree was not enough! This one, taken with a fisheye lens, allows you to really take in the full street scene and almost feel as if you’re standing there right in front of the marquee for the Fabulous Fox. This was actually taken not long before I bid farewell to Altanta on a final walk through the city.
Atlanta Roxy
The Roxy Theater in the Buckhead neighborhood in Atlanta started life as the Buckhead Theater in 1930, so it’s a bit younger than the Fox, but in that same general age range. It, however, was built for movies with their own soundtracks rather than subtitles and organ music. It changed names a few times over the years and eventually settled into life in the Buckhead Bar district that grew up around it, becoming a venue for live music. The city eventually squashed the bar scene in Buckhead when the headlines around it became a bit too big. The last I heard the Roxy was being renovated and possibly redeveloped for other uses.
The Future Is Today
I’m not sure if everyone would put this into the icon category, but for me the title fits. This is the rooftop lounge at the Atlanta Hyatt Regency Hotel. It’s been diminished by the buildings surrounding it, but when it was built, this space age restaurant sat at the top of Atlanta’s skyline and its said that it was the place to gofor noon meetings. The building was designed by John Portman, and this modernist gem features the first use of a full atrium in a hotel – a now common feature of hotels all over. Much of Atlanta’s modernist architecture has met with the wrecking ball, but one hopes this one will stick around.
The High
Atlanta has a pretty long history of supporting the arts. What we know today as the High Museum began life in 1905 as The Atlanta Art Association. It came to be known as the High when the High family donated their home on Peachtree Street to house the growing collection in 1926. It’s changed a lot since and continues to evolve. The current modern buildings began in 1983 and were expanded upon in 2002. The High continues to be one of the leading museums of the Southeastern US having a diverse and growing collection as well as working with museums around the world to bring temporary exhibitions such as works from the Louvre and the Terracotta Army from China in recent years.
To see even more of Atlanta and prints from other cities around the USA, please check out my Urban America Prints. For part one of this series, please check out Atlanta Icons – Let’s Eat.
17
Sep
2009
St Pauls Cathedral
St Paul’s Cathedral is certainly an icon of London. The images of the great dome standing above the smoke of WWII is certainly one that will live in our collective conscious for years to come. Officially the Cathedral Church of Paul the Apostle, the church is at least the 5th St Paul’s to sit on this site. The first according to Bede was built in 604 AD.
Crossing Over
This photo was taken from the pedestrian bridge that connects Bankside with the City of London. It’s taken at a very shallow depth of field in order to accomplish the dreamy feel of this image. The only thing in focus at all is the dome and the mass of humanity before it become little more than a blur. This church was built after the last was destroyed by the great fire in 1666. The fire leveled the city but remarkably took no human life. The fire shaped everything about the city we know today, built in stone to lower the risk of fire consuming it. The dome was a point of much debate. The architect, the renowned Sir Christopher Wren was determined that the new St Paul’s would have a dome like St. Peter’s in Rome. Several iterations of the design were rejected before Wren decided not to show any more models to the public for criticism. When it was completed in 1708, some loved it, some hated it, and others couldn’t care either way. Today it’s hard to imagine the sky line of the old city without it.
Old And New
Another view of St. Paul’s From Bankside. The view is much changed since WWII. The buildings adjacent to the Thames were destroyed in the war and newer generations of buildings have grown up between the River and the cathedral. And more recently, the millennium bridge was built as a pedestrian walkway to connect the City of London with Bankside on opposite sides of the River Thames. London as a city has never gotten stuck in a particular style. As a growing metropolis, new and exciting architecture is always fighting for space beside the classics. Much as the classics, these are sometimes met with mixed reactions. When the Millennium bridge was completed in 2000, there was a noticeable wobble and the bridge was closed, repaired and reopened in 2002. This led to its nickname The Wobbly Bridge.
Iconic St Paul's
Another black and white image of St. Paul’s. The depth of field and processing was intended to provide a little of the feel of the old images of St. Paul’s amidst the smoke from the Blitz of WWII.
To see more of London and Great Britain, please check out my Britain Prints Gallery.
15
Sep
2009
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge (informally Cambridge University) is the second oldest university in the English speaking world. It was established in 1209 and consists of 31 colleges dotted around the landscape of modern Cambridge.
Kings From The Cam
The Backs is the view of the colleges from the River Cam. The chapel on the right is quintessential Cambridge. This Chapel is both the symbol of Kings and the logo of the city council of Cambridge. Although locally the college is simply referred to as Kings, this is King’s College of Our Lady and St. Nicholas in Cambridge. Established in 1441 by Henry VI, the gothic styled chapel took a hundred years to complete.
Kings
This is the street side view of Kings – you can really feel that gorgeous gothic style in this black and white print. The exterior height of the chapel is 94 feet tall and the interior ceiling contains the largest fan vaulting in the world.
Emma
This college is known as “Emma” locally – it is Emmanuel College. It was established in 1584 and intended to be a place of religious training for puritans. It’s scope has broadened over the years, but it had strong ties to the Puritans of New England. In fact, Harvard University was named for an alumni of Emma, John Harvard. The baroque building in the center is the chapel and was designed by the renowned English architect, Sir Christopher Wren in 1677. The care of the lawn here is apparent down to the little green garden tractor you’ll see waiting parked in front of the chapel!
This is only a taste of Cambridge. It would easily take days to document all the colleges never mind the rest of the architecture in this city. I hope I get the opportunity to some day. To see more of England and the UK, please check out my Britain Prints Gallery.
13
Sep
2009
Around Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is well known as the home of the University of Cambridge. The heritage of the area is ancient, having been the site of habitation since well into pre-history. It was occupied in Roman times as Duroliponte. In Saxon times, it was Grantebrycge. The name of the place continued to mutate through the ages, becoming Grentabrige or Cantebrigge with the river at the heart of it becoming known as the Granta. Eventually, the name became Cambridge, and just the part of the River in Cambridge became the River Cam. Even today, north of Cambridge, it’s still the River Granta.
Punting On The Cam
This photo was taken while punting on the River Cam. Punting is simply gliding on the River in a flat wooden boat while someone propels it with a long stick pushed against the river bottom. I say simply because it can be very amusing to watch an amateur try it and since boats can be rented without pilot, you can do this yourself. My London Walks group gladly allowed someone else to do the piloting. The views on the river are pretty gorgeous. As pretty as Cambridge is, there’s no doubt some of the best of the architecture is reserved for what they call The Backs. This view is most likely one of the many colleges that form Cambridge but I’m not sure which one. Loved the lone duck in this one. He had been attempting to solicit food from us.
Streets of Cambridge
This is another little slice of Cambridge, a fairly typical street view of this storied city. Gorgeous architecture from across the centuries. And a ubiquitous bicycle! Cambridge has the highest level of bicycle use in the UK, with over 25% of residents using a bicycle to commute. This photo for me really reflects what you’d gather of Cambridge from your average day trip.
Fields Of The Lost
Now, my fellow Americans can feel free to tell me if this was my personal ignorance or not, but I had never heard of the American Cemetery near Cambridge. One of our early stops, this is the place of burial for over 3,000 members of the American forces who died during WWII. There’s also a memorial wall with the names of the missing and a chapel. As most war memorials tend to be, it’s both a sobering and beautiful place with row upon row of white crosses in a park like setting.
For more prints from England and the rest of the UK, please visit my Britain Gallery.
