I’ve been photographing a particular view – the view out my kitchen window – for five years. I started in mid October 2016, at the height of Autumn and initially chose 40 images taking me up to October 2017. The one year project was featured in the December 2017 issue of the newspaper Kentishtowner.
I decided to continue with the project and have since added more photographs to the gallery bringing the Changing Views project up to date. Beyond using the same camera and lens there has been no rule or methodology. (During the lockdown this camera developed a fault and so the images from late March 2020 onwards have been taken with a Fuji XT2.) The inspiration was often sparked by a particular light, atmosphere, cloud formation; my intent was to capture a particular fleeting and transient moment. Increasingly these transient moments involved a chance spotting of men and machinery on the the train tracks whilst electrification work took place on the Gospel Oak to Barking Line. The images below have been taken at dawn, dusk, midday, in rain, snow, dazzling sunlight and fog. For me it has also been interesting to witness the effects of time. I love seeing the processes of change unfold, and the interplay of nature, construction and urban development in this specific cityscape. The newer images taken during lockdown initially reflected the emptier streets. However the traffic has since resumed, particularly in the last few weeks with jams resulting from the roadworks due to broadband installation.
At five years the project is extensive. Yet I still desire to photograph the views; where for the word HOPE, graffitied on the bridge, is a constant reminder of positivity and adaptability in an urban landscape which is transient and continually changing.
This was the view midmorning today. The roads were unusually quiet and there no hooting. An overcast day where the autumnal reds of the creeping red ivy seem even more vibrant. The last container of a passing goods train disappears behind the trees, hurtling towards Gospel Oak:
I’d like to share a few images taken in past year. First of all, a rosy sunrise in late November 2020:
Below, an image taken 28 December, 2020. During the Christmas period London was in lockdown and this photograph for me sums up some of the bleakness and disappointment of having to cancel family festivities due to new rules forbidding indoor household mixing:
January 2021, and workers on the bridge:
Snowstorm, late January 2021:
Spring is in the air – late March 2021:
April 2021 – Cherry blossoms and trains:
Dramatic sunset, late May 2021:
A misty, leafy June day brightened by a passing red container:
A rainstorm in July:
And in sharp contrast, a bright July day:
View with lots of cars: traffic jams and vehicles transported on the tracks, October 2021:
See the whole Changing Views project here.
Fantastic photos