Hampton Court Flower Show 2008

I went to the Hampton Court Flower Show a few Sundays ago. I go every year or two, but this year it was just too busy to be much fun.

I used to go to the Chelsea Flower Show but stopped going because of the large number of people in the small space. Hampton Court used to be a good alternative, the exhibitors are more of less the same.

The show gardens are different, and not as splendid as at Chelsea; but much of the plants and exhibits are the same. Above all the atmosphere at Hampton Court used to be quite a bit more relaxed.

This year there were just too many people at Hampton Court for it to be pleasant. I couldn't stand anywhere to appreciate anything, or take a photo, for more than a few seconds before someone crashed into me. It generally wasn't any body's fault in particular, just a side effect of having too many people for the available space.

I did manage to take a few photos. As it was so busy I used the 'f8 and be there' principle or using what you've got. I had aset of close up filters with me and decided to try taking some macro-esque photos.

Bearing in mind that the close up filters do reduce the quality of the images somewhat, and the fact that the light wasn't bright in the tents, I ended up with some blurry close up photos of small flowers.

Outside wasn't much better as to get the depth of field required to show any detail at all I was shooting at about f16 upwards, which again resulted in some blurry images due to diffraction and camera shake.

All the same I ended up with about half a dozen shots which I thought were quite pleasing (which I will post later when I have some time).

I'm not sure I'll be going back to the Hampton Court Flower Show next year. I may give Chelsea another try. I haven't been to a Chelsea flower show in four years so maybe things have improved.

Graffiti in London

There is an underpass in London near Waterloo station where the management has decided to allow Grafitti artists to express themselves.

There was recently a grafitti event, I think it was called the 'Cans Festival Graffiti in Waterloo 2008', and it was arranged by two quite well known graffiti artists Blek Le Rat & Bansky.

The art has been there for a while and unfortunately by the time I got to taking photos and a lot of secondary tagging had already taken place, but there is a lot of very cool art in there and as it is evolving over time it is the kind of place that you can visit time after time.

RAF 90th Anniversary Flypast.

The RAF aerobatics team flew in formation with four Typhoons along the River Thames, past Canary Wharf and Tate Modern, to the London Eye.

Foggy Morning

The view from my window this morning.

Queenstown Road

Queenstown Road is a railway station in Battersea, South London, between Vauxhall and Clapham Junction. There are 8 tracks but only 3 platforms (one of which in the photo above is not used). Now in a state of general disrepair the station is a short walk from Battersea Park station and Battersea Park itself. The entrance to the station still bears the original name of the station 'Queens Road'.

Kew Gardens

The Palm House at Kew Gardens as seen through my eyes.

Both dramatic and elegant, its curvilinear structure is a classic example of Victorian design. Built between 1844 and 1848, by Richard Turner to Decimus Burton's designs. it was constructed to house tropical trees, shrubs and palms. The Palm House is world's most important surviving Victorian glass and iron structure.