A day of art and photos

As the house is so empty without Murdoch, over the last few weeks I have been trying to spend more time going out. I am still very aware of his absence and the house feels so quiet without him. Besides, now that we have made a decision to get another puppy at the end of the summer I might as well make good use of my ‘free time’ as once the puppy arrives I will be initially very house bound and probably will be going demented in frustration 

Today I attended a talk on Caravaggio while walking around the National Gallery looking at the pieces of art. The art historian was extremely knowledgeable and we also spent time seeing works by other comparable artists who had either inspired Caravaggio or been inspired by him. Caravaggio is considered the master of chiaroscuro, that extreme contrast between light and shadow that we use so much in photography today. It was only for an hour and a half so just long enough to be able to take all the information in without feeling a sensory overload.

After that, it was lovely to wander through Covent Garden stopping off for a coffee before making my way to Somerset House to visit the annual photography fair Photo London where I was meeting up with other members of our camera group from school. This year they had galleries exhibiting work by Vivian Maier, and one of my favourites Nick Brandt. The fair is arranged by gallery so it was often a delight to see some classic photos by photographers like Ansel Adams and  Richard Avedon. Some of the work was pretty awful, including that of their chosen Master of Photography, Stephen Shore - I do not find an image of a brick wall with a twig lying next to it inspiring or even interesting. 

I also attended a talk by Martin Parr where he was being interviewed by the well known historian and TV presenter Dominic Sandbrook. It was fascinating to hear Martin Parr discuss his photography, he is an excellent speaker and rather funny. He told us that he openly takes candid photos of people in public spaces and never asks permission to do so, or look guilty once he has taken their photo and been spotted.

As there was a spare ticket available from someone not being able to join us, Gavin bought the ticket and was able to join us after work.. After wandering around the various galleries - mainly international galleries with only a few from the UK -  we all went for supper at a nearby restaurant. I took this image of Somerset House where the fair was being held - you can see the Pimms tent in the background - it seemed very popular!

It has been a long day and we got home late, so I am now off to bed.