London's Statues & Monuments #1

[Paul Abbott]

"All across London, we walk by gilded strangers and men of marble. Very little of the time we give these figures our attention or any pause for thought. Yet statuary persists as one of our most enduring and most public artistic traditions and perhaps tells us the most about others: our relationship to them and their relationship to ourselves. In addition, the personalities that are caught in pose are in every sense remarkable role models and each has an intriguing history behind him or her."

In respect of the above I thought I would engage in another project in documenting London's statuary and suchlike. I've come across stuff that even I have not noticed before.
I will try to document these monuments in an interesting and creative way, not just P&S.

Paul Abbott - Old Father Thames, London '10 #1​

 

[Asher Kelman]

Paul,

As usual your angle of attack adds drama! The extra lens backwards of the man in the trench coat is very effective. I wish I knew the story as this is interesting but new to me. A tilt shift lens in your hands would allow you to do this and to have a plane of focus to play with to your liking. Just a thought!

Asher

 

[Paul Abbott]

Thanks for the comment, Asher.

A tilt/shift lens would be a nice thing to have onboard and would work nicely here, as you suggest.

 

[Wendy Thurman]

Paul-

In all my travels, I'm embarrassed to say I haven't been to London (Heathrow does not count). I have spent a lot of time in Washington and Paris, which are both full of memorials and statues, and have discovered that these are not easy to photograph in an engaging manner. All too often the images become cliches.

It would appear you are on to something here. In this image a bit darker sky might add some needed contrast/drama. Overall, the project may benefit from lying in wait for just the right moment with regard to lighting, but that's just a thought. I'm looking forward to seeing more.

Wendy

 

[Ken Tanaka]

Onlookers seeking to improve their travel snapshooting would be well served spending some thoughtful moments studying Paul's image here. He's done a very nice job of creating an image that not only documents the monuments but also establishes depth and scale in a visually interesting manner. At this tiny size the secret to the image's feeling of balance becomes apparent to the keen eye; it's his placement of forms and their proportions in the frame. Look how he's established the relationship between the oblisk and the monument tower. He's also affirmed the parallel lines of orientation between the figure in the foreground and the one on the tower; this was certainly intended by the artist but Paul's image draws it right out as if he's saying, "I see what you've done, mate!".

(Getting verticals vertical with lens tilts would have actually ruined the human-scale charm of image, in my opinion.)

Training and grounding in basic composition, as I believe Paul's had in his past, nearly always immediately shines through, even if it's in the distant past. It's like riding a bicycle; you just don't give it thought.

Good luck on your project, Paul! I look forward to upcoming entries in the series. (Don't forget Lord Nelson!) If we were still in film days, or if you were tackling this in the "proper" manner with a large-format rig, I'd suggest that you seek financing or funding. London is sinking under the weight of its statuary! But with digital imaging...snap away.

p.s. In the back of my ever-dimming memory I seem to recall a catalog of London's public statuary produced by, or located at, the British Museum. It might be worth an inquiry, although even if it exists it's certainly not "recent" (i.e. within the last century).

 

[Asher Kelman]

(Getting verticals vertical with lens tilts would have actually ruined the human-scale charm of image, in my opinion.)

Ken, you may, perhaps, have misread my suggestion of T/S. I would not advocate losing one of Paul's trademark approaches to buildings, just having choices in the plane of focus.

Asher

 

[Ken Tanaka]

Ken, you may, perhaps, have misread my suggestion of T/S. I would not advocate losing one of Paul's trademark approaches to buildings, just having choices in the plane of focus.

Asher

No, actually I just wanted to counter the reflexive notions toward parallax corrections that sometimes erupt when faced with converging verticals.

Wouldn't it have been fun to have someone, perhaps wearing a trench coat, sitting on that bench looking up toward the northeast corner like the statues?

 

[Asher Kelman]

No, actually I just wanted to counter the reflexive notions toward parallax corrections that sometimes erupt when faced with converging verticals.

Wouldn't it have been fun to have someone, perhaps wearing a trench coat, sitting on that bench looking up toward the northeast corner like the statues?

The pictures might be then signed, "Helmut Newton"!

 

[Ruben Alfu]

Hi Paul,

I think it would be fascinating to see what's your take on the personality or significance of those statues and monuments, what I mean is not just document them in an artistic way, but also show your reaction to the person or idea these monuments represent, or how they are represented by the object. You could make them look grandiose, absurd, heroic, sinister... this could help to add an emotional dimension to what we normally perceive as cold stone statues.

 

[Paul Abbott]

Thanks for the comments all, I appreciate it.

Wendy, your right of course in regard to light. I considered the light to be quite good for this image, I liked the contrasting cloud cover. It was overcast soon after late morning and so I spent the rest of the day figuring out compositions for other monuments in the city. I do little ink drawings for this.

Thanks, Ken. I have passed this park and its monument so many times in my lifetime and I cannot believe how i've never realised this scene in the past. Setting myself this project helps me to realise, see and concentrate my eye on these things moreso.
Was it Rachel who mentioned she was stuck for things to photograph? I think setting projects for oneself can go some way to keeping ones photographic interests alive and are beneficial in this respect.
You know Ken, when I started this I was thinking about how better things would be if I had a medium format or large format camera for this work, I agree with you.
When I spoke to Paul Barkshire in East London where I happened to bump into him, he had bought a Wista 5x4 for £800 in the eighties, that is cheap methinks. (He carries it around in an old ladies shopping trolley, quite funny really). With all things considered in 'film', I guess the new Pentax 645D would help me some too, although I would have to get rid of some things first in order to afford it. And so funding would certainly be worth trying to achieve and I guess there is no harm in asking, i'll certainly look into this. I may present a few preliminary images of what i've taken to prove my worth.
I have checked around online to see if anyone else has ever done anything like this and it looks like the answer is 'no' so far, I will check out the publication you speak of, for sure.

Ruben, I agree with you. Its knowing about the character and what he/ she stood for helps with a little creativity too. There is so much information to be noted too in this respect.

Cheers, all.

 

[Ken Tanaka]

Paul: Yes, the large-format camera has been the traditional tool for these missions. BUT I would be sad if it made you too cautious and buttoned-down. While I think that higher-resolution would be handy here, I also encourage you to remain hand-held if possible. Perhaps a Crown Graphic or Speed Graphic? Or even a Mamiya 645 AF? Your sense of framing and angles will likely be less instinctive and whimsical with a big rig, particularly when the weather's poor, the crowds are out, your back is sore, you're hungry,...

 

[Mike Shimwell]

Paul

Just a quick note, late to the scene, that I appreciate this image and the preceding. I think it will make a good project. I have a couple of prints from my visits to London, as well as failed frames too. with a client in Westminster, I like to visit the Burghers of Calais from time to time!

Ken has made a couple of comments here that I really appreciate too. First the acceptance of converging verticals is music to my ears - I thought I was the only one who doesn't mind the 'imperfection'. Secondly, the value of being able to shot handheld, particularly when we so often are persuaded to seek more resolution, in Ken's view, possibly at the expense of creativity.

All good stuff to consider.

Mike

 

[Paul Abbott]

Your too right, Ken.
The two images i've got so far have been shot with the same prime lens, and so this helps me to squeeze out a little extra quality in the images, l guess.

 

[Paul Abbott]

Thanks, Mike.

I do believe that the 'Burghers of Calais' were sculpted by Rodin, no? l bet a lot of the public don't know that.

 

[Mike Shimwell]

Thanks, Mike.

I do believe that the 'Burghers of Calais' were sculpted by Rodin, no? l bet a lot of the public don't know that.

Yes, it's by Rodin. It was commissioned in France and (at least) two casts were made. One was given to the British (English) as a memorial gift. This is a bit ironic really, as the Burghers were celebrated for handing themselves over to the English King (for execution) to end a siege with minimum loss of French life. The King's wife pleased for their lives and iirc he duly had mercy.

Funnily enough, someone suggested the other day that there are 'no statues of committees' and yet here we have one.

My picture can be found here (so as not to pollute your thread).

Mike

 

[Rachel Foster]

I'll be looking at this image more.

 

[Paul Abbott]

Thanks for showing this, Mike. I have plans on photographing this piece. The gothic architecture of Westminster, in relief and contrast to they're bedraggled state is interesting to me.