Colourfall

October 18, 2015October 2, 2019 / mikeosbornphoto / 24 Comments

Autumn brings with it a riot of colourful decay and the irresistible urge to go outdoors and take photographs of the turning leaves. Last year I chose to ignore the call, but this season tried to create some different shots by foraging for leaves in my local park in west London – and bringing them back indoors to be my willing subjects.

My well-lit living space with its white surfaces doubles up as a studio area to take photographs and arrange my own shots rather adapting to what you are confronted with. Standing on a chair proved a useful technique, while my macro lens was given another workout. Consider coming in from the cold to capture your fall…

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Goodbye W6

August 10, 2014August 10, 2014 / mikeosbornphoto / 35 Comments

We’re leaving. Our time in this little corner of west London has been far too short. We were settled and happy but have to move on.

This place has been a surfeit of riches for photographic inspiration, from the very fabric of Brackenbury’s old houses, the pub on our doorstep and of course Ravenscourt Park, which I’ve captured through the seasons.

Actually, we’re not going far at all. It’s a change of postcode, not country, and no doubt we’ll pop back regularly. But you have to live and breathe a neighbourhood to feel part of its fabric.

Our new place in the world will no doubt provide fresh material for my camera lens. Until then, here’s a brief homage to this slither of London W6.

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: The very fabric of the neighbourhood in all its electic glory

: The first shots with my macro lens were taken in Ravenscourt Park

: Our Victorian house caught on my Soviet Zenit film camera for posterity

: A salmon pink summer sky over our street

: A Mimosa blooming in a nearby street

: An evening at the local pub, the humming heart of the community

: A storm-ravaged tree in the park, which has recovered

: WIngate Road’s delightful pastel houses

: Decline and autumn colour in Ravenscourt’s walled garden

: The sturdy railings in front of our house

: The pub across the road

: A neighbourhood building subtly captured on film

: The first flush of geraniums outside our window

: Proud but dessicated lavender as winter approaches in Ravenscourt

: The navy blue of our local pub at close quarters

: Smudged and dark – the brick of our house

: Colourful Wingate Road

Death of a tree

March 15, 2014March 15, 2014 / mikeosbornphoto / 16 Comments

During the stormy winter, this mature tree in Ravenscourt Park close to my home in west London was taken out by a freak bolt of lightning and reduced to a jagged stump and tangle of wood.

It’s a sad sight but one which provoked my curiosity. I scoured the area with my macro lens, capturing the textures and markings left by the impact and sawn debris. At close quarters, these are intriguing and almost otherworldly. I also found some beautiful, rich green lichen still clinging to its fallen host.

Even in death and destruction, nature holds beauty and food for the camera. What’s more, the lost tree is now recorded for posterity.

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After the deluge

February 23, 2014February 23, 2014 / mikeosbornphoto / 27 Comments

The winter in London has been nothing but wet. It’s been unrelenting downpours and stormy gusts to render umbrellas practically useless.

I visited my local park recently, camera in hand and with a specific goal in mind. But the heavens opened and I returned home to protect my gear from the wet.

I went back to be greeted with another downpour, but this time I was prepared. The shower passed and I witnessed the magic of surfaces and plants dappled with droplets.

The rain isn’t all doom and gloom. It produces a lot of beauty and inspiration for the lens.

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And here’s a happy post-script to an afternoon drenched in a west London park. A resurgent sun produced this effect, which can only warm the soul.

Winter’s Spring

February 2, 2014February 8, 2014 / mikeosbornphoto / 33 Comments

The British winter has been one of a barrage of storms steaming in from the Atlantic, bringing flooding, high winds and a sense that it will never end.

But in London it’s been relatively mild (if hopelessly wet). You can find sheltered corners where there are already signs of Spring, with green shoots of hope and floral bursts.

I stooped down amongst the undergrowth to capture some indications of more vital times to come.