Young coot

Cootlet??

Took this in Regent's Park today - the birds there are quite tame... These coots were about a foot from my feet and were completely ignoring me. I was reminded of DaveH's blip of the moorhen chick with its "comedy feet" when I saw these...

I went to a couple of exhibitions in London - one was the James Stirling exhibition at the Tate, and the other was the Paul Graham exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery. I first came across Paul Graham's photographs in about 1983, when I read about his series of photographs of the A1. The book (A1: The Great North Road) is out of print now (I should have bought a copy at the time!), although you can see some of the photos on his website.

The exhibition was great, and having been to the Tate just before it struck me very strongly how much more I enjoy looking at photographs than paintings. Photos are much more direct - real people, real places, real moments in time.

The Whitechapel Gallery also has an fascinating display of photos taken in the area in 1972. Well worth seeing - I'm very glad I made the effort!