empty

One last glance

/ mikeosbornphoto / 20 Comments

144B

Moving home is a time-consuming, stressful and unsettling experience. But it brings the excitement and promise of a new place to live.

I’ve just resettled after eight years in the same west London flat. I had to go through the final ritual of handing over the keys and signing it over for good. Letting myself in early, I took some shots and wallowed in the sadness that an empty – and recently vacated – property always has.

There was occasional sunlight thrown on the now bare walls. The main shot focuses on the place I sat to edit photos and write posts. The others include the only two interior shots I have from my life there – a memorable old bathroom window that diffused and projected light.

But that was then. The new pastures are being happily settled while the photography continues.

Click first image to launch the gallery

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Vacated

Vacated

/ mikeosbornphoto / 9 Comments

Vacated

This office – Room 7540 – has been empty for months. The doors are locked and I have to take a photograph through the glass doors. It used to be a bustling place, filled with desks, journalists and everyday life. In the glass office on the right, editorial meetings took place every weekday morning. All that’s left now are a couple of abandoned printers in this shell.

I worked in this place for many years. The other occupants have moved to new showpiece premises in the centre of London, while my work keeps me close to the old office. It’s an empty, eerie experience walking past. BBC Television Centre is gradually winding down before closure next month. My place there enables me to capture abandonment and memories.

7540

See Upstairs Downstairs, about a well-known staircase at BBC Television Centre