I thought it was a normal day like any other but it wasn't to be. Inside the underground I was calmly walking behind a guy with a trolley suitcase when suddenly I saw a guy on my right, very tall 6 feet tall, rushing past me and bumping into the trolley suitcase in front of me; he fell forward really badly, hitting the ground literally in front of me and gashing his nose, I went up to him and asked him if he was ok. He nodded angrily at me that he was ok. Several other people rushed towards him. I decided to quickly move on as there was no way I could help the guy any further, by helping him to get up as he was so big & tall, so I let the other people around me help him up. I have often seen inside the underground people having accidents because they are not paying attention, when they are in a rush, or tired from long hours of commuting and work; sometimes they push others to get through. When I am on the escalators I always stand well away from tourists with large suitcases. I have seen time and time again people carrying huge suitcases and not managing them properly on the escalators, blocking others & accidentally falling forward basically causing accidents. I have also seen people running down the escalators not holding to the handrails and I am thinking jeez if for whatever reason the escalator stops they would fall forward and take others with them, and hurt themselves really badly. I have seen it happening, the injuries weren't a joke, a whole pile up of injured bodies down the escalators, luckily this doesn't happen often. But some people still run down the escalators, and we are supposed to be the 'intelligent, advanced species on earth'! But we struggle with making even the most simple changes in our behaviour; in our routines we hold on to the same behaviour. So I still see people pushing and shoving others to get forward to get to the tube, as though their life depends on it. But the trains come nearly every minute! I finally got out of the underground and everything was fine.
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| Photo by Christopher Thomas - Hamiltons Gallery |
I went to Hamiltons Gallery in Mayfair to see the photographic exhibition by German photographer Christopher Thomas (his background is in advertising) titled Lost in LA. While I was in the gallery I was greeted by Tim Jefferies the owner who was very friendly. He has a long history of showcasing photography in the gallery. The photographs are made with a Polaroid film type 55 ( there is at the moment a revival of this and other Polaroid formats) and then digitally scanned so it's a mix of the two processes. The fact that they are taken with a large Polaroid with long exposure in black and white gives them a nostalgic, ethereal feel, they are photographs of classic buildings taken in LA, such as the Hollywood signs, and McDonald's, see pics. above & below.
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| Photo By Christopher Thomas - Hamiltons Gallery |
They show no humans or cars, but empty vacant spaces; quite the opposite of what we associate with LA which is busy and polluted; this is a rare thing, a dream. There are also photographs of solitary piers and oil pumps.
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| Photo by Christopher Thomas - Hamiltons Gallery |
Christopher Thomas took the photographs over a period of three years while staying in a camper van; the photographs are carefully planned so as to keep them free of people; he would need to take them very early in the morning or late in the evening. They are not conceptual photographs but they are his own portraits of the city, its structure, a peaceful view of a bygone era. The dim lighting in the gallery added to the nostalgic feeling of the exhibition. The quiet ambiance of the gallery suites the exhibition well.
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