blue

Fifty shades of blue

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July has been a month of grey clouds and heavy rain here in the UK. There’s been little blue sky and that invigorating, electrifying colour.

I’ve combed back over five years of photographs to bring you this true blue gallery from travels near and far.

The Croatian coast produced a post dedicated to blue back in 2017, while Salford – just a walk away from my Manchester home – can dazzle on a bright day.

Do the blues put you in a good mood? Please share your thoughts below!

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Fitzrovia heights

/ mikeosbornphoto / 21 Comments

These sleek new buildings stand in the heart of London, in the fashionable district of Fitzrovia just a stone’s throw away from the shopping thoroughfares of Oxford and Regent Streets.

These hunks of steel and glass stand on the site once occupied by the long defunct Middlesex Hospital. The only original building left intact was the glittering Fitzrovia Chapel. Its brick exterior is now tightly hugged by the new development.

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Gallery entrance

Refraction

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            Refraction I   Refraction II

            Refraction III   Refraction IV

 Click images to enlarge

These four frames of multi-coloured light came about through a moment of almost inconsequential observation, on an ordinary morning.

I was in one of the bedrooms at my mother’s house in Essex, eastern England, and caught sight of a patch of light on the wall. It was like a rainbow had collapsed onto a flat surface. 

It took some time to discover the source of this prism – in another bedroom across the hallway, strong sunlight had caught a silver photograph frame and was throwing its refraction many metres into this mesmerising fallen arc of colour.

I took some shots of this as it changed form and threatened to disappear altogether. Back in London, I simply softened the frames to remove the texture of the wall, which blended the stripes of red, orange, indigo, violet, green and blue.

Just a small moment of colour caught for good…

The Photo Shop

Beautiful blue

/ mikeosbornphoto / 5 Comments

An excuse to bring a splash of colour to mikeosbornphoto. And as they say, blue is the colour, especially the brilliant tones of a swimming pool complete with the myriad of reflections and layers created by the slender bridge crossing this waterhole in Mauritius.

This is not a shot that can be converted to monochrome – the loss of blue would rip the joy and relaxation from gazing at the water. It’s brighter than the blue of the River Thames, peppered with bright blue sails, while the blue of the Pacific Ocean at Byron Bay in Australia is more natural and invigorating.

Does blue do it for you?…

Several shades of blue

/ mikeosbornphoto / 6 Comments

Last time it was the bright blue summer of Australia. And now the blues are different, courtesy of another April day in London when the weather was schizophrenic.

I’m pleased it resulted in this capture – sailing craft racing on the nearby River Thames at Hammersmith. The angry dark blue sky is ripe for a downpour, while the sun shines on the river, dazzling shades of silvery-blue. And the sails are in another hue of the colour.

The wind played havoc with a couple of the little craft which capsized, depositing their sailors into the water. But just a short while earlier, the sky was kinder, a real canvas of beauty which really deserved another shot – showing how unsettled this island’s weather is at the moment.