It's not true that there are no colours in London. Because black, grey, brown - those are colours too. And these are the colours of London. Even the trees are bare and stark. If India stands for colour, London stands for greyness. It says something about the city that it is so welcoming even despite the dullness, the rain, the perpetually grey skies and 3 pm sunsets.
I tried to find some colour, and had some success at Camden Market. Quite interesting it is. Not a stretch to say you could easily find anything there. Including food from all over the world. At a reasonable price (by London standards anyway). Loads of punks. Really. Loads of them. With mohawk's, funny platform shoes and pink hair. And here I thought the punk movement was passe. There were tons of roadside tattoo parlours. And stalls selling really weird stuff - like furry handcuffs. I asked A who the hell buys that stuff. She just pointed to crowd lined up waiting to pay for their purchases.
Camden was the exception of course. There isn't much colour in London. It is a vast expanse of brown and greys. Almost everyone wears black. There are only occasional splashes of colour to break the monotony. 
Like the pink London taxis. Florescent Pink. You cant help but notice them because they stand out like a sore thumb. Or the area around Leicester Square. Because theatre lends itself to neon signs and billboards.
The vast expanses of green in the heart of the city. Woods, gardens, squares, even the courtyard in Westminster Abbey. The lush green contrasts with the brown of the abbey giving it a dash of colour.
With London that's pretty much as good as it gets. If you like browns and greys, this is your city.
16 comments:
All that greyness reminds me of Boston. Maybe that's how New England got its name.
Glad your trip worked out and that you're enjoying it.
-MT
one tip that i read some place is that the light is usually most interesting at dawn and at dusk. also, look for water, e.g., just after it rains. the absence of bright shades doesn't have to mean dull pictures.
and then there's black and white.
Tabula Rasa, the dawn/dusk lighting is about the play of light and shade. You simply don't get enough shadows when the sun is high, or when the sky is overcast.
Thinking in black and white helps, because a good B&W picture has a lot of gray.
pretty very pretty. who would have thought there could be so much color in London :)
I echo mockturtle. But whats even more surprising is that last photograph - where'd you take it?
It looks almost EXACTLY like this small garden in the middle of the Sterling Memorial Library at Yale.. I guess their love for old english architecture speaks for itself.
and I hear *you're* from DPSRKP too. What a small, small world.
Loved the post. Soldier on!
Thought this may interest you:
http://tanmaysahay.blogspot.com/2006/06/on-being-brown-loving-red-and-blue-but.html
http://tanmaysahay.blogspot.com/2006/07/on-world-cup-final.html
-Read one of the pieces on Zidane. Very nice.
(Got here through Hobo's Blog)
I desire aubergine coloured boots.
MT: It's been great so far. Inspite of the fact that I am down with a cold and fever :(
TR: Shall try B&W. Am off to Italy tomorrow so hopefully shall rediscover colour there! :D
Anonymouse: True that. The most boring photos I have taken happen to be the ones when there is bright sunshine. The pictures usually come out really flat and one needs to work on the colours/compositions of the photos to make them interesting.
M: Thanks. Not much colour really, but I am still trying!
Armchair Philosopher: The last photo is the courtyard of Westminster Abbey. Interesting inspiration for the Yale library huh? And, yep suddenly I know a lot of people from our school on blogosphere! Though since you're my age we were probably in the same batch...but given the mad size of the place I'd bet we never met....then again....
snake: Thanks
ts: Another Zidane fan!!! Do you know I read yesterday he was shopping on Oxford Street on the 8th. As was I. And I didn't meet him. BLAH!!!!!!!!!!!! *SOBS*
aishwarya: I agree! Aubergine boots are cool. They are also trop punk.
I'll have you know that I would totally buy furry handcuffs if I saw someone selling them. What do you have against furry handcuffs?
Aren't those pink cabs just adorable?
No, Armchair was in my batch, you would have been 2002 maybe? We were 2001. I have met people from DPS in the past few years that were in a section three classrooms away from mine and I never knew them :). It's terrible.
@szerelem - the abbey. Sheesh, never saw it from that angle. but yes, interesting inspiration for the portals of knowledge. sigh, i miss new england.
heh at RKP who knows? you might've been on the ed-board or my bus or the games route buses or the coordinator for some blah and we'd never realize it :) I'm 2001. You?
@surly - YES, YES, I'm your batch. what an honor eh? now, whose fault is it that you never met people sitting 3 sections away? YOURS. always upto your ears trying to be "cool". tsk tsk. painful
;))
--T.A.P
T.A.P: Am a batch junior. But I was on the Ed Board! Sigh. Our school was really weird.
Have you been to Greenwich? You will love the view.
... dropped in from hobo's or surly's (?!)
avez-vous en Rome maintenent?
Bricks: Je suis en Londres.
Haven't been to Greenwich....might just, lets see. I had all these plans to visit places near London but theres so much to do and see in the city itself!
And you should pt up your pictures. Then we could compare :P
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