Photography By Tom White

Reina & Zai

2012-02-13T22:45:00.001-05:00

With a Crown Graphic and a 6x17 film back, I took a walk around my neighbourhood and met this happy couple.

A Saturday afternoon along Orchard Road

2012-02-04T09:51:00.000-05:00

Mars is really, really far away.

2012-01-29T21:22:00.000-05:00

This is Mars. Shot with my longest lens (a 400mm) with a 1.4x teleconverter and the 1.6x crop factor of my Nikon D7000, giving it an effective focal length of almost 900mm. And it's still just a bright dot in the frame. It actually looked way better to my naked eye - a nice bright red shining dot in the sky. I think I'll have to wait till it gets a bit closer before I can photograph the Martians punting their boats along those canals.

After the storm

2012-01-23T00:57:00.002-05:00

Everyone loves rainbows right?

上海 | SHANGHAI

2012-01-14T22:48:00.002-05:00

I spent a few days in Shanghai in 2010. With no particular aim, I wandered the streets looking for photographs which I always enjoy doing and regard as a proper luxury these days. A selection is available as a downloadable PDF from the Sombra Projects Website which includes a collage of shots by the talented Lucy Helton. Take a look and let me know what you think...

One mean cloud

2012-01-14T14:04:00.001-05:00

Christmas Music

2012-01-02T11:29:00.000-05:00

Jingle Bells

2011-12-25T13:19:00.003-05:00

Space Helmets. (Obviously)

2011-12-19T10:46:00.002-05:00

R.I.P. Hubert Sumlin

2011-12-18T11:20:00.001-05:00

I recently got an email that legendary blues guitarist Hubert Sumlin died on December 4th. I had the privilege of photographing the man at his home earlier this year for the New York Times. (The news of his death came from the writer of that article, Tammy.)

What else can I say other than R.I.P.

The music lives on.

झारखण्ड (Jharkhand)

2011-12-16T12:24:00.002-05:00

Photographing the Future

2011-12-16T11:11:00.004-05:00

From Changi, Singapore to Mumbai, India

2011-12-07T13:56:00.001-05:00

And the rain rain rain came down down down.

2011-12-04T11:31:00.001-05:00

Why ever not?

Oh...

Kerrrraaaaaasshhh

2011-12-02T12:39:00.001-05:00

Cycling in Singapore can be occasionally perilous

2011-11-25T12:09:00.001-05:00

This Way Out

2011-11-25T12:08:00.001-05:00

Sunday Evening Storm

2011-11-20T08:38:00.001-05:00

Jalan Besar Stadium

2011-11-16T07:06:00.001-05:00

I had just witnessed The Singapore Lions get frankly thrashed by China PR in their World Cup Asian Zone Qualifying Match and was on my way home when I saw this wonderful scene. I think I'll head back one day and see how this shot turns out with a 4x5.

Mackerel Smackerel

2011-11-13T10:49:00.001-05:00

On the buses, in the rain

2011-11-13T10:13:00.001-05:00

Singapore International Energy Week 2011

2011-11-12T11:02:00.001-05:00

After, before, or while you read this post, or at any other time you wish, you should listen to this:

http://www.mixcloud.com/RSA/the-third-industrial-revolution/

Anyway, the 4th Annual Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) 2011 was a week of conferences, exhibitions, workshops and networking events for policymakers, industry players and commentators to discuss energy issues, strategies and solutions. The event is organised by the Singapore Energy Market Authority (EMA), a statutory board formed in 2001 under the aegis of the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Some of the biggest names in the industry attended with representatives from companies, banks, investors, governments, ngos. You name it. The expo's showed off a huge range of technologies. It was quite overwhelming at times. You can check out some information here: www.siew.sg

I have a growing interest in energy. I think the way we produce and consume energy is one of the most important issues of our day. It affects so many other aspects of our lives. During the week I photographed lots of speeches, talks, addresses, panels and events. The following is my overall impression from the week. I know there are notable exceptions to all the points I raise but this is my overall impression and I welcome any discussion...

The main thing I took away from all of this (aside from the fact that the nitty-gritty of trading in Liquid Natural Gas is mind numbingly dull) was that the Oil Industry is stepping up it's efforts to squeeze every last drop of oil from the ground. Indeed, production is going up, not down. Natural gas is the next prize these companies have their eye on. The CEO of Shell proudly announced that soon they will be a natural gas company, not an oil company. As for renewable energy, while these companies and others with prominent positions in the energy industry admit that renewables will 'eventually' have to be the way we get our power, their dismissal of it as a solution to our energy needs was astonishing, if not wholly surprising. This is a big issue for me, as I keep hearing the same arguments against renewable energy which quite frankly I do not agree with. The arguments usually revolve around the notion that power should be centrally produced then distributed, that renewable energy sources are erratic and the energy they produce difficult to store, and that the cost of switching to renewables is too high. All of these are valid points, but we actually have the solutions to these issues so it renders those issues irrelevant. The real problem is that changing to renewables would require changing the way companies like those in the hydrocarbon industry do business. And as with so much in business, if you are currently making huge profits, you're not going to pay attention to anyone who tells you to change that. The attitude that was on public display was that energy demand is going up, and so that means larger profits for the energy companies and even though yes we know that we need to change, we won't, because we're making money. It was that brazen.

The other thing that struck me was that even as the oil and gas companies dismissed renewable energy as a niche, the renewable energy companies showed a shocking lack of interest in engaging them (aside from one notable example in a challenge to the CEO's of Petrobras and Shell from the founder of Solarcentury during a panel). The view seemed to be that these were outdated dinosaurs that refused to change and ignoring them was the best strategy. In my view it is up to those working in the renewable energy sector to make fossil fuel companies sit up and take notice. These are the guys with the money, the network, the infrastructure. These are the guys you want to get on board. One exhibitor said to me he thought it would be maybe 20 years before the fossil fuel companies started to take notice of the renewable energy companies and deal with them seriously. I hope it's a lot sooner than that.

Thirdly, we have government policy. One thing that everybody was in agreement with was that government policy drives the behaviour of the energy companies. Which means of course that government policy is something that energy companies are keen to influence. But that is not news to anyone.

Basically, our demand for energy (electric power) is growing. And growing fast. At the moment, our energy infrastructure is set up to benefit the fossil fuel companies. As we use more and more electricity we put greater demand on the energy companies, who are more than happy to sell it to us and will dig ever deeper to find the reserves to fill that need. As consumers of energy, if we wish to make the change that we will inevitably have to make - that is a switch to renewable sustainable sources of power - we have to demand it from our governments, from our energy suppliers and we have to take matters into our own hands. Support renewable, sustainable, decentralised, distributed energy. Consume less energy yourself. Grow your own, buy local food wherever possible. Walk, bicycle, use public transport, drive less, shop using your own bags, reject unnecessary packaging. These are just a few small steps, simple things we can do to reduce the amount of energy we use. We don't have to go back to the stone age. It's a myth that we cannot progress if we switch to solar power, that suddenly we'll all working in fields 10 hours a day again and we won't have time to piss about on facebook. We just have to manage our resources much much better than we do now. When I was a little boy I thought the future would be that we'd all be living in garden cities powered by renewable energy with everyone having access to the most incredible technology, mining dead asteroids in space for minerals and metals, instead of gouging holes in this living breathing planet and fighting over territory and access to resources. Now I am living in that little boy's future and looking at my kids, I want them to get closer to that peaceful future than I have.

We are so close to being there, and we can get there sooner if we put in the effort. And make no mistake, we will have to do it, fossil fuel is a finite resource, even if it takes the next 250 years to exhaust it completely, when it is gone it is gone, and in that time, if our current trend continues I dread to think what that world will look like then - massive inequality, pollution, climate chaos, war. Don't believe me? take a look around now. Which direction do you want to take?

Mr Jose Gabrielli, CEO of Petrobras.

A petroleum industry lunch meeting.

The audience at Carbon Forum Asia.

Mr Gil-Hong Kim, Director of the Sustainable Infrastructure Division, Regional &S ustainable Development Department, Asia Development Bank.

Ambassador Burhan Gafoor, Chief Negotiator for Climate Change, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore.

Mr Chee Hong Tat, Chief Executive of the Energy Market Authority of Singapore.

The Asia Smart Grid Exhibition.

Liquid Natural Gas Focus Day at EMART Asia, a summit for energy trading.


Liquid Natural Gas Focus Day at EMART Asia, a summit for energy trading.

Dan E. Arvizu, Director of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy.

The Asia Smart Grid Exhibition.

Mr Nobuo Tanaka, former Executive Director of the International Energy Agency.

His Excellency Mohamed bin Dha'en Al Hamili, Energy Minister for the United Arab Emirates.

Dr Michael Levi, Director of the Program on Energy Security and Climate Change, Council on Foreign Relations.

Mr Peter Voser, CEO of Shell (center).

Clearing flowers off the VIP table at the end of the Singapore Energy Summit Dinner.

Little Monkey meet Little Monkey

2011-11-06T08:50:00.003-05:00

Another Thunderstorm

2011-10-26T11:30:00.001-05:00

I've been watching this approach for about an hour now.

"Daddy, I like Singapore."

2011-10-25T11:57:00.001-05:00

Incense

2011-10-25T11:45:00.001-05:00

CCTV SG

2011-10-25T11:44:00.000-05:00

Singapore Street Snaps

2011-10-25T11:09:00.003-05:00

Just like home

2011-10-25T10:58:00.000-05:00

Kind of.

Lucky Chicken

2011-10-21T11:03:00.000-05:00

Roidizer

2011-10-16T23:02:00.002-05:00

Fake Polaroid app for Android. Actually not bad. Except that stupid fake Polaroid border. As one of my good friends said though, "I just like squares".

Downpour

2011-10-10T21:55:00.001-05:00

Typical Singapore weather. Just like England really.

kids in retro

2011-10-10T21:52:00.001-05:00

Ooooooo, my new phone means I can use camera phone apps. Which of course I will. Everybody's doing it. Now maybe all my photos will look cool like this.

Outtakes

2011-10-10T01:49:00.001-05:00

The Singapore International Culinary Exchange

2011-10-10T01:27:00.004-05:00

I spent my first week in Singapore on a job trailing around 20 chefs from around the world invited to Singapore as part of the Singapore International Culinary Exchange. Long days, but in the process I visited some of the best places in Singapore in which to eat and buy food, and I was privy to cooking demonstrations by some of the country's top chefs, as well as witnessing the talents of the invited chefs in the cooking challenges that book-ended the tour. Thanks to everyone involved for a quite remarkable introduction to my life in Singapore. Here are a few of my favourite shots from the week. Click here to view the slideshow below over on vimeo.

Nuri, Maruchi & Hugo

2011-09-30T16:21:00.001-05:00

Settling in

2011-09-30T16:06:00.001-05:00

Getting comfortable in our temporary accommodation.

The high life

2011-09-30T16:05:00.001-05:00

My daughter clearly is suited to travelling in business class.

See you later New York

2011-09-30T16:02:00.002-05:00

See you later New Jersey

2011-09-30T16:01:00.005-05:00

A last ride on the subway

2011-09-30T16:01:00.001-05:00

Mime

2011-09-30T15:59:00.003-05:00

The Irish Hunger Memorial

2011-09-30T15:58:00.001-05:00

I didn't even know this existed until the other day. Very bizarre. A ruin shipped over from Ireland, plonked in Battery Park NYC and landscaped into a memorial to the Irish famine. Very bizarre.

Last day at the office

2011-09-27T11:28:00.002-05:00

That chair is the only thing in the house left that needs packing.

Bloody big mosquito.

2011-09-27T11:26:00.001-05:00

Seriously. Get a penny out your pocket and compare.

Jago

2011-09-25T23:22:00.001-05:00

Packed Up

2011-09-25T23:11:00.002-05:00

Almost everything is in boxes.

Farewell, valiant steed

2011-09-25T00:46:00.000-05:00

A birthday present from my family in my early teenage years, you were my pride and joy. I dutifully took care of you and in return you carried me to and from my friend's houses both before and after I got my driving license. We rode through the pouring Yorkshire rain round the Bradford suburbs, down snickets and through the parks and the woods. We trekked further afield out into the Yorkshire dales. We visited the highest pub in England (more than once) and crashed after too many ciders up there on Tan Hill. Down in London you gave me freedom to roam outside the tyranny of the bus, train and tube schedules. Remember when we went to the local supermarket after hours to buy booze and the owner would only sell me a case from the storeroom as the shelves were all shuttered up? You carried that case on your handlebars with perfect balance and poise. Then Mikey drank most of them in one session, alone in the dark with no music or TV after the electric meter ran out in the middle of the night and he couldn't sleep. Ah, those were the days. When I worked in central London you saved me from the soul destroying journey that is the daily commute. Rather than rattle along with all too often tired and miserable folk on the train into London Bridge, or fight our way on to get home at the end of another grinding day we braved the bitter, driving wind and rain to get to work (occasionally) on time. We dodged buses on the way home at full pelt round the Elephant & Castle roundabout. We knew every pothole on the Old Kent Road on that short stretch as far as Peckham. We knew every back road and shortcut From Westminster Bridge to King Arthur Close. We never did stop at East Street market in the morning, though every time we sped through we said we'd set off earlier next time and pick up a bit of veg for dinner. We never did though. Nevermind.

London took it's toll, but I fixed you, cleaned you, replaced your worn and battered parts and kept you in as good a shape as those roads would allow. I even forgave you when the bolt holding your saddle on snapped off and you left me sitting on my arse in the middle of the road while you careered off wildly down Clifton Way. Luckily you waited till we were off the A2 otherwise I would not be telling this story now. I could nip down to Lewisham or bust it down to Camberwell in no time at all. A short hop on the train took us down to Streatham in a jiffy. Friends in Brockley, Forest Hill, Greenwich, Blackheath, Brixton all were in striking distance and many times you'd take me across to the East End for a pint in one of them trendy pubs, or one of them old pubs, or one of them new pubs, or one of them not too trendy, or too old, or too new, but just right pubs. And every time I left you at home and rode on the nightbus I wished I had you with me. (Except that time when we crashed into the roadworks round that blind corner in Wandsworth and I'm sure that swollen knuckle the next day meant I'd broke my thumb...). I took you to Wales that night I had work late on the Friday when no one would cover my shift. We rode at midnight the 10 miles out from Swansea train station to that fantastic campsite in the Gower and couldn't find the bloody turn-off in the pitch black until god knows what hour. Thankfully my good mates had pitched my tent for me and had a fire and a cold beer waiting. You absolute geniuses. Respect for that. Hell, we even rode the 60 miles to the seaside one year and raised a bit of cash for charity (though the rain nearly did me in that day I can tell you).

It was the move to the U.S. that finally did you in. You languished in my Hoboken apartment, whose stairs were too narrow and steep to comfortably carry you in and out. With everything either in walking distance, or a car ride away, I didn't need the two wheels. NYC public transport wasn't bike friendly and the GW Bridge was (a bridge) too far from where I usually needed to be. A move to the suburbs brought you out of retirement, gave me the opportunity to let you feel the wind through your spokes once again. But the trips to the bakery and the post office, while fun and frequent, where but shadows of your former glories. I neglected your maintenance. The elements pounded you, the winters aged you and rusted you and each time I took you out you creaked and groaned a little more until one day I felt like I'd put things off too long and now I needed to try and save you. But it was too late. Your components were too far gone. The repairmen all looked at you and shook their heads. Too much work needed doing. It would cost too much. You're frame was too small for me and anyway, once I'd replaced all the rusted, worn components I'd be easily pushing the price of a brand new bike. I hung on, tried again and again, but no one even had the replacement parts you needed - a complete overhaul would have to be done they said, and again the price of a new bike was floated alongside the cost of the repair. A quick fix might might be tried to keep you going a little longer, just some new cables, tires & brakes would get me to the shops and back a few more times perhaps but you were past your prime. It was time to retire for good. So, after one last ride when your gears finally clanked, jammed and refused to shift, I decided it was time. A new bike was bought. A wonderful machine, a worthy successor, but not a replacement. Nothing will ever truly replace you. It's only a bike, says the rational part of my brain, why are you wasting your time on it, on this eulogy? But if you've ever swerved past a Routemaster at Picadilly Circus, bounced over a South London pothole, viewed the top of the Yorkshire dales on a summers day after a long ride from the city, ridden through the woods at breakneck speed sliding all over the wet leaves and bumping over the hidden rocks or even just avoided the crush of the Victoria Line at 8am by taking to the pedals, then you'll know why I have to say the long good bye. Finally, today, I removed your wheels, separated you from your tires and took you to the scrap metal yard. You looked out of place on top of that skip, like you weren't quite ready. But I had to let you go. You'd done your duty and it was time to rest. So long. I'm sorry I let you waste away but try not to judge me too harshly. I just hope they don't turn you into a waffle iron. You deserve more than that at least.

Happy girl

2011-09-23T09:58:00.002-05:00

Down the Rabbit Hole

2011-09-23T09:28:00.002-05:00

Thanks for last night guys. Now I'm hungover and packing. Cheers.

Singapore Security

2011-09-15T11:15:00.002-05:00

Don't worry suspicious persons, by the time they get the film developed, you'll be long gone...

Seoul days

2011-09-14T23:31:00.004-05:00

Mt. Namsan

2011-09-14T23:22:00.001-05:00

Doing the tourist thing in Seoul - taking the kids on a cable car ride and on some strange elevator thing...

Tea with Brian

2011-09-14T23:12:00.002-05:00

Let's go outside to the playground

2011-09-11T08:51:00.000-05:00

MonkeyDog

2011-09-11T08:47:00.001-05:00

Jump

2011-09-11T08:45:00.001-05:00

A late night stroll in Daejeon

2011-09-09T11:09:00.001-05:00

The 49th day

2011-09-04T10:24:00.003-05:00

Tower block kids

2011-09-03T07:53:00.001-05:00

Korean couples in Daejeon

2011-09-03T07:45:00.001-05:00

Mushroom Mountain

2011-09-03T07:42:00.000-05:00

Ok, so we didn't find any wild ginseng, but we did find a decent amount of mushrooms, climbed to the top of a small mountain (or large hill, depending on your point of view - in any case it was damn steep) and were periodically engulfed by clouds of mosquitos. And all of this before lunch time. I took my Bronica, so more pics when the film's developed and scanned but for now here's my wife and my father-in-law resting on a spur near the peak before the downhill slog.

The Conversation

2011-08-29T10:10:00.000-05:00

Baghdad Street, Singapore

2011-08-29T10:07:00.000-05:00

Singapore Underground

2011-08-27T09:48:00.000-05:00

First impressions of Singapore

2011-08-23T12:27:00.000-05:00

USA to Korea...

2011-08-22T01:58:00.002-05:00

In camera panorama

2011-08-18T10:52:00.000-05:00

I've been playing around with the Fuji X100's panorama capability a little. It's not bad, even if it doesn't always get it right, but that can be fun too....

June in the UK - The Urban Huntress

2011-08-15T15:47:00.001-05:00

June in the UK - Grandma F

2011-08-15T15:46:00.002-05:00

June in the UK - Learner Drivers

2011-08-15T15:45:00.003-05:00

June in the UK - Flora J on The Millenium Bridge

2011-08-15T15:45:00.000-05:00

June in the UK - The George

2011-08-15T15:42:00.000-05:00

June in the UK - Bridlington

2011-08-15T15:41:00.000-05:00

June in the UK - Farewell Grandad.

2011-08-15T15:39:00.000-05:00

Got you, you vicious little bastards.

2011-08-09T11:00:00.000-05:00

Two casualties from the other side in the ongoing war between me and the mosquitos

Bedtime Story

2011-08-03T22:22:00.002-05:00

Recall Chris Christie

2011-08-03T22:21:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow depends on you!

2011-08-03T22:19:00.000-05:00

NY Times Article - Alfresco Surprises to Go With Mendelssohn

2011-07-24T22:16:00.001-05:00

On Thursday last week I headed down to what I assumed would be a fairly straightforward concert review for the NY Times, however, a few minutes in, the fire alarm sounded, the hall was evacuated and everyone filed outside. Most of the musicians brought their instruments with them and a few struck up a tune. I recorded a bit of video, but without my tripod, viewfinder, external microphone or any of the other fancy additions I have to make filming video with a DSLR a little easier. The audio quality actually came out really well and overall I was excited about this little interlude as I thought it would make an interesting aside to the main review. The writer, Zach thought so too and led with this in his review. Unfortunately, though my photo of the musicians outside was published, the video never made it, so here it is, shaky camerawork, dodgy focusing, rushed editing, warts and all. If I am honest, I enjoyed this more than the main event, good though that was....

Pillar of fire

2011-07-14T21:44:00.000-05:00

A 5x4, the family, an Aero Ektar lens and the neighbour's pool

2011-07-07T20:53:00.000-05:00

I've not been using the aero ektar/speed graphic 5x4 setup as much as I'd like, In part because of it's bulk and in part because of the type of jobs I've been doing. So I took the opportunity of a leisurely July 4th to break it out while the family relaxed in the neighbour's pool. Here's one of the shots..

There's UFO's over New York, and I ain't too surprised..

2011-07-04T23:16:00.002-05:00

The Redcoats are coming!

2011-07-04T22:10:00.000-05:00

Though I live 15 miles from Manhattan, I still got to see a few fireworks from my bathroom window. So, for all my U.S. friends, happy independence day. Remember, you couldn't have done it without the French.

Tour.isms: Shanghai

2011-06-29T10:42:00.000-05:00

I walked a lot when I was in Shanghai last year. In my opinion it's the only way to see a city properly. Check out my ever so brief guide over on the Tour.isms website.

Nature Within Closing Reception - June 25th 2pm

2011-06-25T09:12:00.003-05:00

Wonsando. South Korea 2008. A fishing vessel in the waters just off the coast. Part of a series of islands in the Yellow Sea just off the west coast of Chungcheongnam-do Province, Wonsando is a short ferry ride from the mainland. The residents make a living from the land, the sea and the small amount of tourism that comes their way.

This photograph is my contribution to the Nature Within Exhibit curated by the wonderful Minny Lee. There is a closing reception on Saturday June 25th at 2pm and the exhibit runs until July 1st.

Nature Within @ Front Space

June 3 - July 1, 2011

Closing Reception: Saturday, June 25th, 2-5pm

Address: 555 Broadway, New York, NY (between Prince & Spring St.)

Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 11AM-6PM

www.naturewithinexhibit.com

www.iseny.org

Nature Within

Curated by Minny Lee

June 03, 2011 - July 01, 2011

Artists:Vicky Amian Azcoitia, Alejandra Ugarte Bedwell, Sieglinde Cassel, Tara Cronin, Christian Erroi, Rachel Gardam, Sarah Girner, Sheila Griffin, Becky Holladay, Daniel Kukla, Minny Lee, Ruben E. Reyes, Liz Sales, Erica Silberstein, Yasmine Soiffer, Brendon Stuart, Hiroshi Sumiyama, Alessandro Vecchi, Tom White, and Ann Woo

ISE Cultural Foundation is pleased to present "Nature Within" at Front Space, curated by Minny Lee.

Nature Within features the recent works of twenty photographers from diverse backgrounds comprising ten different countries. Their photographic genre ranges from documentary and photojournalism to conceptual and all have had their prior works featured in galleries throughout the world.

In a world and society faced with monumental environmental issues and crises, our concern for nature grows by the day. This concern and cognizance of the gravity of the problem are at odds with society's needs to keep up with our increasing population and big businesses' desire to increase the bottom line. Nature Within is an exhibition that attempts to rethink our relationship and existence within nature. The exhibition takes us to a personal space and place embedded within our experience with it.

Many of the photographs in the exhibition do not have an overt human presence. In the subject matter, however, there are trace elements of society. Some photographs were taken on a familiar American city street or Local Park, while others were taken in places as geographically distant as Bolivia, Israel and South Korea. Whether the photographers produced work locally or while traveling abroad, nature is omnipresent in the photographs, and the images unveil how we live within it and in respond to its power.

www.naturewithinexhibit.com

Happy Birthday Girl

2011-06-22T13:14:00.002-05:00

One minute she's an absolute terror, the next she's a sweet angel. Happy Birthday Girl. 3 today.

June in the UK, part eight

2011-06-21T21:06:00.004-05:00

Let's just say I was sad to leave the U.K. and leave it at that.

June in the UK, part seven

2011-06-20T18:57:00.006-05:00

june in the UK, part six

2011-06-19T19:21:00.008-05:00

June in the UK, part five

2011-06-18T18:16:00.009-05:00

This morning, on the way to drop off a hire car I took a wrong turn down a street which led me under some old London railway arches. The walls were plastered with graffiti, unusually so. I passed a group of guys at work adding to the art. Turns out I was headed down a dead end. A very tight dead end. I reversed back and out. I'll come back here and have a word with these guys I thought. Maybe take a few photos. Hire car returned I headed back. Turning a corner I saw ahead a couple of police cars blocking the street. The Police were already heading down the graffiti filled one way street. Ah. I thought. Oops. A few minutes earlier and my plan would have probably ended with me taking an unplanned trip to the police station. I didn't fancy getting picked up by the police and getting my photos confiscated as 'evidence'.

Anyway, Royal Ascot day trippers, old pubs, rain, sunshine, old friends, good company, beer, cameras, the South Bank, rainbows and the like. Good stuff.

June in the UK, part four

2011-06-18T03:53:00.004-05:00

June in the UK, part three

2011-06-16T17:50:00.004-05:00

Doing the Lambeth Walk with the Scots in the East Riding.

June in the UK, part two

2011-06-15T19:10:00.004-05:00

Bubbles, sausage sandwiches, Sheep, Timothy Taylor's Best Bitter beer mats, cake, Late nights in the living room, drystone walls and rolling hills. Must be a day in Yorkshire.

June in the UK, part one.

2011-06-14T17:48:00.004-05:00

Arrival in London Heathrow at just past 9 a.m. after an overnight flight from Newark NJ. Pick up the rental car and head up north. Hitting the M1, then the A46 (both undergoing massive roadworks) until we get to Southwell where my Grandma lives. Quick cup of tea and some scrambled eggs with my mum before heading over to the nursing home. After a too short visit and a discussion on the difficulty of annunciating without a full set of dentures, time for some food. A pint of local ale and a plate of sausage and mash for me, the wife gets lamb shank and the kids go for fish & Chips, while my mum takes the salad option. I hand over driving duties to the missus who takes us smoothly up the A1 to Yorkshire to my mum's place. Cup of tea and a biscuit and it's time to call it a day.

Have your cake and eat it.

2011-06-07T21:32:00.004-05:00

Today my son turned 4 years old. Happy birthday boy. Seeing you at the start and end of every day makes everything worthwhile. Not only that, but the students from the ICP partnership with the Friends of Island Academy did their final presentation and as always did us staff proud. I got a seat on the train home. The newspaper ran one of my pictures and a box full of film and a brand new camera arrived on my doorstep in preparation for my trip home to England next week. I ain't a gangster and I don't own an A.K. but I got to say it was a good day.

Nature creeps

2011-05-20T16:34:00.001-05:00

Can I just say

2011-05-20T11:03:00.000-05:00

I love my kids.

A prayer in New York

2011-05-03T19:50:00.002-05:00

Strip Mall

2011-04-30T22:14:00.001-05:00