The Trees on Tour: Amiens 1

On the way back to London we stayed a night in Amiens.  A real contrast to the near-empty countryside around Le Petite-Pressigney.  Lively, a lot more young people and significantly greater ethnic diversity.  Then there is the stunning medieval cathedral.

The nighttime light show.  I didn't see it live - these pictures are from Judith's phone.

While some of the effects are random, it seems or just use the west end of the cathedral as a huge screen, the most impressive effects were when the figures around the three doors were coloured.

These colours are based on detailed research.  Fragments of paint found by specialists indicate the original painted polychrome look of the west end of the building.

The next morning we visited and went inside just before Sunday mass.  The light from the newly-risen sun created a wonderful space inside the cathedral.

Brightening up Nunhead Lane.

So a light shower of rain was just ending, and I was in the greengrocers near the dry cleaners on Nunhead Lane, when one of the women serving squealed (I kid you not) and dashed outside with her phone.

I followed more slowly, in my lumbering, leaden way. This is what we saw:

I have to say it really brightened up my day. Why can't they put these on more often?

Spain Tour 20: Oviedo Taster:

Nighttime on Peckham Rye

Last weekend I went out onto the Rye to take these images. It was ten o'clock or so at night, and it felt a little lonely. You can see across the whole Rye from where I was standing, but I still kept looking around to see if I was being crept up upon.
For me this has a slightly Edward Hopper-ish feel to it, especially as in Nighthawks.
This nex one didn't turn out as intended, but I still like the messy lines of light on the bus going past Kings on the Rye.
This is what I had intended.
I also wanted to try to capture a sense of movement with the long exposures, but I think I only achieved it to any real extent with the next two - and particularly the first. The cars and people passing on the near side of the road have disappeared, and left streaks of light around the bus and cars waiting for the traffic lights.

And one final experiment - which shows why you need to use a tripod!