The Long & The Tall of It

Here's a portrait of fellow photographer Jordy Day taken during yesterday's visit to the forecourt of Swindon Railway Station. Fellow photographer Ed Howell and I are keen to take more portraits as the project goes on, of the Britannia workers, passengers, and station staff.

The strange contrast of this picture is that it was taken 12 vertigo-inducing storeys up on the roof of the Signal Point building, Jordy is shorter than me, but is as high as I am on a ladder. Perspective, sight lines and expectations are all being skewed!

The question is, can you spot which camera she's using to get the great view down onto Swindon on that sunny afternoon?

Photography & Deckchair Weather

Work continues apace on Swindon Railway Station's forecourt. With blazing sunshine and a 17 degree temperature everyone was in a great mood, plus it was a Friday, so that helped!

The retaining wall by the new drop-off point.

Today's visit saw the retaining wall by the new drop-off point (located just along Station Road) nearing completion with the concrete now covered in tiling.

The paved area leading from the station entrance doors, across the forecourt, over Station Road and towards Wellington Street. Four different shades of paving have been used and a splash of water shows the varying tones. 

Big areas of concrete continue to vanish under all the different shapes, sizes, colours and textures of paving. Dan washed down a section of the main walkway that will lead across Station Road. Instantly, with the dust washed off, you could make out the four shades of paving used in this one section. At the moment, the entire site is covered in a layer of fine white dust, a wash will give the whole space a dramatically different look (especially to the Britannia team and regular visitors). 

A new light column ready to be installed.

The new light columns are in the process of being installed, making an interesting contrast with the originals (which are still in original Great Western Trains green and ivory from 1996!).

From the roof, the reality starts to really resemble the plans and drawings.

The current view from Swindon Railway Station's Signal Point building.

In the next week or so, the central area will be opened to the public, whilst work shifts to the areas that are currently open. Once they're done, all the pieces will become one new pedestrian forecourt for Swindon.

New forecourt soon arriving!

Come On Swindon!

A piece of artwork to showcase Swindon Town's appearance at Wembley on Sunday is being produced right now on Swindon's Whalebridge roundabout.

Mark Amis started off this morning drawing out from the plan produced by BBC Wiltshire after Graham Mack (the station's breakfast show presenter) wondered whether we should paint the town red for the big match.

Bite-Sized building Update

Here's a view taken today from the roof of Swindon railway station, the Signal Point office building, of the forecourt works below.

Looks like a giant game of Tetris!

Off to photograph another railway station tomorrow, the chocolate-box delight of St Pancras International.

Images of Swindon and St Pancras arriving soon!

Black & White Beauty

Click the image for a closer look.

This image was taken a few weeks ago, just developed and scanned ; from loading the film, right through to darkroom development and scanning, there's nothing quite like real photographic film!

AOP Landscapes Competition : Boundaries

The southern-most limit of Swindon's development, marked by the garden-style wooden fence at Wichelstowe. Click on the image for a closer look.

On a map, plan, or diagram, the border of properties, jurisdictions, and contracts are defined with confident lines, filled with certainty.

Capturing these lines, the exact point where one thing ends and another begins, through photographs, creates a tension and uncertainty.

Blackhorse Way runs out of road and dissolves into the fields of Wichelstowe. Click on the image for a closer look.

Taken at the current northern and southern limits of development in Swindon, these images show the purgatory where boundaries exist within the landscape, contrasting with our expectations and plans.

More images from this project can be seen on Flickr, click here.

Advertising Applications : Artsite Campaign

The dramatic lighting from the National Trust building does most of the work for us! Click on the image for a closer look. 

Art and access to art are not 'added extras' in life and should have the same importance placed upon them as essential services for a society.

So how do you change the perception of art as an 'added extra' and for a niche of people?

In a localised advertising campaign that uses the locations as much as the artwork themselves to challenge preconceptions and ask questions, that's how!

As part of the Advertising Applications unit fellow student Ed Howell and I took an advertising campaign for the Artsite Post Modern Gallery from conception through to execution, and all points in between.

The mixture of light and textures at Wharf Green suits The Green Man sculpture. Click on the image for a closer look.

Initial ideas highlighted the theme of hidden art in Swindon, that locally much goes on, but above the surface some people may struggle to realise the scale and depth of activities.

In short, we wanted to show how art in Swindon is on your doorstep - by putting it there.

For the full set of images from the campaign, click on the link to the right, or here..

Links

Artsite Post Modern Gallery : http://artsite.ltd.uk/

Ed Howell : http://edwardhowellphotography.wordpress.com/