Is it a train? Is it a boat? Is it a London Underground carriage?

Posted on May 17, 2019 by carlotta

Is it a train? Is it a boat? Is it a London Underground carriage?

Actually it is two out of the three. This is the Island Line train that serves the west side of the Isle of Wight, from Ryde to Shanklin. The c1938 carriages were originally used on the London Underground Northern Line. This photo was not taken out at sea, however. The train runs to the end of Ryde Pier (to link up with the ferry to Portsmouth – a great bit of joined-up public transport) so you are surrounded by water when riding on it.

It is a joyous and surreal experience to have sun flooding in on an old familiar Underground ride while looking out at blue water instead of dark tunnels. More photos of towns and such are here.

In another bit of news, in case you were wondering how I got on with my photo that was shortlisted in the Event Photography Awards, I am very pleased to say that I came in second out of a shortlist of 12 in my category.

Sun Street in the sun

Posted on March 14, 2019March 15, 2019 by carlotta

Sun Street in the sun

I have been busy looking through my archives to dig out photos of the area I live in for a big year-long project. It is lovely to look back at what is now years of work photographing the towns, landscapes, people and events in this wonderful part of the country.

This photo is one of the first that I took when I began to reclaim my love of photography and teach myself how to use a digital SLR camera. Sun Street in Lewes is where I photographed my first renovation project, which is around the time that I took this photo.

I don’t know why the street sign has been painted white while its edge has stayed black, but I like how you can read the letters because of the angle of the road’s namesake, which is also highlighting the edge of every single brick in the similarly painted white wall.

You can find more of my photographs of towns and cities here.

Please get in touch if you would like to discuss how we can work together. I deliver photographs that delve deeper than showing just the surface of things.

Manhattan Bridge at sunset

Posted on March 1, 2019March 1, 2019 by carlotta

Manhattan Bridge at sunset

I have just come back from a big family gathering in Boston and a brief trip to New York where we spent the day walking for miles around the city. It was exhilarating, despite the penetrating cold and grey skies. We ended the afternoon by crossing the Manhattan Bridge to Brooklyn.

The setting sun came out from behind dark clouds and cast crazy shadow patterns across the pedestrian walkway. It was a good thing, too, because walking through this dazzling view distracted me from thinking about my fear of heights and how high up we were above the East River. You can see more of my photographs of New York City and other townscapes here.

A city bursting with colour and pattern

Posted on January 10, 2019January 11, 2019 by carlotta

A city bursting with colour and pattern

I was in Lisbon for a few days recently. Every summer of my childhood I spent a month in a small town nearby so I know the area very well, but it had been over 30 years since I had been there. This time I went with my teenage daughter, and together we (re)discovered the joys of this incredible city. Much about it has changed, but so much of it hadn’t as well. I found myself continually accosted by the beauty of this place.

It is a city bursting with patterns and colours. Whole building façades, entire squares even, are covered in the typical tiles called ‘azulejos’. Some streets run straight up and down the steep hills, lined at regular intervals with balconies, windows and doorways. Others slowly wend their way around ancient squares. The famous yellow trams offer a fairground ride of a journey through the vertiginous narrow alleyways of the oldest parts of the city. I can’t believe it took me 30 years to return. I definitely won’t let it be that long next time. More photographs of Lisbon can be found here.

Edward Hopper country

Posted on December 7, 2018 by carlotta

Edward Hopper country

I am currently in Boston on a pre-Christmas visit to see family and friends. Today was the bright, still New England weather that I love. There’s no snow yet, but it is cold enough for it. The photo is of my mum’s house first thing in the morning, while the sun was low and the sky was a bright blue.

Being back here always gets me thinking about memory and the deeply rooted sense of familiarity I have about this place where I grew up, heightened by the fact that I have lived in another country for half my life.

I don’t specifically mean my childhood home since this is not the house I grew up in. For me it is about many things, such as particular qualities of light, familiar styles of architecture, the road signs and how the streets are laid out, even the types of cakes in the bakery. The list is probably endless.

I don’t think of it as nostalgia, just a warm sense of knowing a place so well that it is a part of me, and an appreciation that I am able to return here to have that feeling. More of my townscape photographs can be found here.

The Lower East Side

Posted on April 6, 2017June 1, 2018 by photograph

The Lower East Side

Recently I had a very brief and joyful visit to New York City. Although I did not have much time to photograph, I managed to wander the streets for an hour or so with my camera. I was staying in the Lower East Side, an area filled with former tenement buildings that had originally housed many of New York’s immegrant populations. Unbelievably, around 100 years ago this neighbourhood had the highest

population density in the world. Now it feels comfortable and friendly and low key. I was intrigued by the ornate building façades, given the humble living quarters they were intended for. As soon as I started looking around, all manner of interesting things appeared, like this young woman peaking out from behind a building. More of my townscape photos can be found here and my travel photos can be found here.

Category: townscapes