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Apr 4

Barcelona | A photographic miscellany

Now I must admit, I did get waylaid ever so slightly. Having begun my account of my recent weekend trip to Barcelona at the beginning of last month, I neglected to post what must be the most important post of them all – my good old miscellaneous photograph collection. Such is the drawback of organising a solo art exhibition, the likes of which will be alive and kicking some 6 weeks from now, and the preparation for which is taking up almost every minute of my spare time. So in amongst all of this stress, being able to sit back to write this blog and reflect upon the good times, like Barcelona, provides the perfect antidote, and the process of choosing a selection of photos to show Barcelona at its best has been almost as enjoyable as taking them in the first place.

So why not come on a little journey with me, through the cobbled dark streets of the atmospheric Gothic Quarter to meet the Cathedral geese and sun streaked palaces, or through the old squares whose houses covered with elegant stucco and adorned with ornate ironwork street lamps. Let’s take a small trip to the soft sandy shores of the Costa Brava, or to see the lush slope-hugging gardens of the Montjuic. Then there’s the modern buildings with their abstract reflections, and the paseo by the sea where birds stretch their wings magnificently. It will only be a short stroll – as long as it takes you to flick through the photos below. But in that moment, let these photographs transform you, to the beating bustling heart of Spain’s most vibrant city.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2014 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Apr 2

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Spring has arrived!

There is nothing quite like the arrival of Spring. That first day of the year when it’s warm enough to keep the window open; when the wafts of mild air carry in their gently undulating waves the subtle scent of blossom, warmth, and hope. When you first breathe in that clement air, drinking deep on the inherent optimism it provides, you wonder how you were ever able to survive the winter in the first place – how it was possible to endure those short dark days; brisk walks hunched up against the cold; a period that now seems intolerable in this new Spring light.

I accept that we’ve been pretty lucky this year. The winter was not a cold one in the South of England – I never even had to cover my balcony plants from any frost or icy air. And the result of these clement conditions means that this year my plants are sprouting new shoots early, whereas last year they were doing so two months late. But it’s the light, or lack of it, that makes the Winter so hard – never seeing one’s home in the light of day; long dark evenings that seem to bury you in a state of soporific hypnosis. But it’s all change now, and with last weekend came the return of Light, as clocks went forwards, thus giving us longer bright evenings and heralding the onset of the summer. It also brought with it some much welcome warmth, which in turn newly embraced the fresh arrival of spring flowers everywhere.

So it is in celebration of the arrival of Spring that I share with you a whole host of Spring-themed photos which I have been taking on my travels in and around London. Being one of the greenest cities in Europe, the new fresh scent of Spring is tangible in the London air, as floral wafts spread outwards from the city’s flower-packed parks and gardens and blossom-rich trees. There is simply no better time to be in this city, whose streets and spaces are full of the hope and regeneration that comes with this new season, bustling with happy over-coat free people, and with the colour and freshness of Spring. Goodbye winter: welcome happiness.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2014 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Aug 30

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Marbella Twenty-Thirteen | Favourite Photos

As my Marbella season comes to an end, and the third of my summer-time travel tripartite waits eagerly in the wings for Daily Norm exploration (yes, Poland is on its way…!) I wanted to end this series of Summer Spain posts, as I so often do, with a series of some of my favourite miscellaneous photos. Like always, these photos really are a hodgepodge selection, from beautiful stained-glass butterflies and fuchsia pink bourganvilla, to crazy curly street lamps and olive oil bottles glinting in the sun. I love the smaller details which have been captured in this set, such as the tiny little yellow ladybird who appeared like a birthday good luck charm on my 30th when I sat sipping champagne by the sea; and the amazing black and white polka dot body of that incredible butterfly whose startling orange wings glowed like a light suspended in midair when caught by the rays of the sun. But some of these photos also capture wider planes and more general atmospheres, such as the cafe scene in orange square and that fatty delicious churros I ate on my birthday.

As ever these are a set of photographic memories which I will always cherish as something to look back on in the privacy of my own home, but which are somehow all the richer, for my being able now to share them with you. Enjoy.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2013 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Marbella Twenty-Thirteen | Puerto Banús (daily-norm.com)
Marbella Twenty-Thirteen | Life’s a Beach (daily-norm.com)
Marbella Twenty-Thirteen | Ojén (daily-norm.com)
Marbella Twenty-Thirteen | Andalucía’s Gem (daily-norm.com)

Jul 26

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Provence Odyssey | Aix: Les Photos

Here at last, after some 22 posts and countless photographs, memories and verbose ramblings, I am finally at the end of my Provence Odyssey write up, with the last of my photograph collections. Of all the cities we visited in Provence, Aix exuded the most life, colour and pure unbridled spirit. While Aix had the pastels and warm colours of its fellow Provençal towns, these were combined with grand elegant palaces, wide boulevards, and an ever bustling abundance of cafes and shops, musicians and entertainers, and best of all a daily food market – a sight which made for such a stunning kaleidoscope of colours, sounds and smells that I could have devoted an entire post to it alone.

I know I sound like a broken record, but amongst these shots are easily some of my favourites of the trip – just check out those sunflowers, with their huge heavy complex faces, gathered in a bunch so rich in their abundance, their colour and sheer hopefulness that if they didn’t suit a room, it would be worth redesigning the room around them. Check out also the stunning old adverts which are painted onto numerous walls around the city, relics of an age when mass-marketing started coming to the fore, and when classic painted images predated the advent of photography. I also love some of the typical shots of life in the city, from the bride with her wedding dress all puffed up and ruffled, and the melancholy achordian player, singing his heart out in a tired little doorway.

Shutters and fountains, roman artefacts and art nouveau palaces, renaissance sculptures and melancholy musicians – these photos tell the tale of a diverse city, which moves to the beat of its spirited undercurrent, but in doing so loses none of the charm which it exudes from its every fountain, square and boulevard.

This is Aix: My photos.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2013 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Provence Odyssey | Saint-Rémy: Les Photos (daily-norm.com)
Provence Odyssey | Arles: Les Photos (daily-norm.com)
Provence Odyssey | Avignon: Les Photos (daily-norm.com)

Jun 14

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The Daily Norm’s Photo of the Week – London in June

There’s something about the perverse nature of England that the closer we get to the Summer Solstice, the hopeful time when three months of summertime await, the colder and wetter it suddenly seems to become. Except that this year, it couldn’t get much colder. Even at Easter we had snow, and two months later, some blossom trees are only now coming into bud. Ah yes, the weather of 2013 has been ripe fodder for that good old English tradition – talking about the weather.

So for this week’s Daily Norm photo of the week, I thought it was only appropriate that I feature a photo I snapped the other day while walking to work in London’s Westminster. Having woken up to gloomy skies and wet pavements, I didn’t think I would be able to enjoy the short stroll I try to make time for each morning by getting off the tube one stop early – it’s a stroll which gives me time to recollect my thoughts before work, and enables me to recover a little composure after the morning’s crush on the tube. Yet just as I was leaving home the sun started to break over damp old London, and 20 minutes later, I took my stroll in the faint morning sunshine, dodging plenty of puddles along the way.

This photo was taken as I passed one such puddle and realised to my delight that London’s most famous landmark, Big Ben (or Elizabeth Tower as we should call it) was reflected perfectly upon the pavement. Grabbing my iphone camera quickly, I managed to capture this shot between commuters rushing moodily by. And for me it’s the perfect illustration of London in June – wet, green, but with a faint, hopeful brightness in the air. Here’s for better weather to come.

The Daily Norm’s Photo of the Week – Reflected Metropolis (daily-norm.com)

Jun 6

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The Daily Norm’s Photo of the Week – Reflected Metropolis

My camera is never far from my side, whether it be my pocket Sony Cybershot, my good old iPhone camera, or my larger SLR. This enables me to capture the random moments that life throws at us all, or the unexpected compositions which emerge from every day living. Because so many of the resulting shots form something of a miscellany of photos, not fitting neatly into a larger, neater category of photos around which an album can form, I thought that the best way to share those odd shots with you would be to pick just one a week on which to focus.

Today’s photo of the week is an interesting shot. It’s from within my home – on my coffee table in fact, which I’m so used to looking at on a daily basis that sometimes I fail to notice the beauty of the reflections which form on the surface of its black glass. Yet at the weekend, I guess I turned at just the right moment, so that my eyes caught this scene and recognised the immediate beauty in it. Grabbing my camera, I zoomed closer, thus composing an image which now resembles, rather than a modern cubist chess set, something of a Manhattan-style city skyline.

For me, the image conjures up skyscrapers stood alongside a still river upon whose waters the buildings are reflected. The sense of landscape is augmented by the presence of blue sky which, owing to the position of my window, has become reflected on the glass of my coffee table. Meanwhile, the little glass vases bearing red buds from my geraniums are like idealised contemporary trees, something of a park within my imagined urban landscape.

They say the camera never lies, but as this photograph perhaps demonstrates, an isolated composition can certainly trick the eye, and provide the narrative, within the confines of its four dimensions, to an imagined land all of its own.

I’m already looking forward to picking out a photo for next week. See you then.