Category Archives: Urban Ephemera

Urban: of a city or town. Ephemera: short-live duration or interest. Urban ephemera: the transient juxtaposition of things is our daily lives. The perfect subject for the voracious camera? It negates ephemera by rendering it permanent. Photographing ephemera is oxymoronic.

Craquelure

Posted on March 24, 2018 by Brian

I came across a new word recently, ‘craquelure’.  It is the fine pattern of dense reticulated cracking formed on the surface of materials, especially paintings, either as part of the process of ageing or of their original production.  Where it’s … Continue reading →

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Boundaries

Posted on March 5, 2018 by Brian

I once spent an afternoon walking along Victorian terraced streets in Cambridge photographing windows.  I was intrigued by the way something a fragile as a pane of glass could so definitively and effectively separate public and private spaces.  It reflects … Continue reading →

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Deckchair

Posted on February 15, 2018 by Brian

I sat in the sun I moved my chair into sun I sat in the sun the way hunger is moved when called fasting. Jane Hirshfield Photo: Green Park, London, 2011

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Transformations

Posted on February 12, 2018 by Brian

A door is a door.  A photograph of a door is a faithful representation of it.  But not always.  Move in closer and the door becomes an abstract impression of light and shade, textures and tones, forms and planes.  Look … Continue reading →

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Grave Humour

Posted on January 22, 2018 by Brian

Fritz Spiegl trawled Britain’s graveyards and collected a mass of comic and curious memorial inscriptions.  They were collated into A Small Book of Grave Humour, first published in 1971.   Among the entries was: ‘Here lays John Tyrwitt, / A learned … Continue reading →

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Flags

Posted on January 20, 2018 by Brian

This house in Berlin, Maryland, displays three American icons: a stoop, a Bald Eagle and the Stars and Stripes.  I can’t claim to know the United States very well – just three visits as a tourist – but I get … Continue reading →

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Brighton Wrap

Posted on January 2, 2018 by Brian

My photo book A Piece of Ephemera included 15 photographs of urban wrappings, from bridges to mannequins and statues to whales.  This one didn’t get through the editing, probably a mistake, if only because the contents of these curious parcels … Continue reading →

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Letterbox

Posted on December 12, 2017 by Brian

Avignon, defensive letter box. Above: the Fort Saint Andre at Villeneuve-lès-Avignon built by Philippe le Bel in the first half of the 14th Century.  Below: ‘No ads* in my letterbox thank you  *Yes to the local newspaper’. Photo: Letterbox, Avignon, … Continue reading →

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Sundial & Shadows

Posted on December 11, 2017 by Brian

The earliest sundials known from archaeological records are shadow clocks used in ancient Egypt and Babylon around 1500 BC. In about 700 BC, the Old Testament describes a sundial, the ‘dial of Ahaz’, in Isaiah 38:8 and 2 Kings 20:11. … Continue reading →

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Avignon Trompe l’oeil in 2011

Posted on December 10, 2017 by Brian

‘Legendary characters stealthily occupy the city of the Popes. During your stroll in the historic city, raise your eyes: following a street, behind a window you’ll catch sight of the Prince of Homburg, Scapin, Macbeth, Marianne, Lorenzaccio, Harpagon, Antigone, Hamlet, … Continue reading →

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Clocks

Posted on September 7, 2017 by Brian

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, / Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, / Silence the pianos and with muffled drum / Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.  The first, less well-known, version … Continue reading →

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Pink

Posted on August 25, 2017 by Brian

A Google search tells me that: ‘The color pink represents caring, compassion and love. The pink color stands for unconditional love and understanding, and is associated with giving and receiving care. Since pink is a combination of red and white, … Continue reading →

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Roadway Observation Society

Posted on June 9, 2017 by Brian

Crossovers between culture, art and media fascinate me.  I’ve reproduced below a panel of text from ‘The Japanese House: Architecture and Life after 1945’ exhibition at the Barbican (photos are my additions). Vernacular In recent years, architects have found a … Continue reading →

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A Piece of Ephemera

Posted on March 23, 2017 by Brian

In the spirit of my post on 20th February 2017, I recorded this yesterday.  I’ve started planning how to make these ephemera pictures into a photo book, working title A Piece of Ephemera. Photo: Cherry Hinton Road, Cambridge, March 2017

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Ephemera Revisited

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Brian

I’ve posted 129 entries under Urban Ephemera since the first on 18th October 2010.  Visiting Cherry Hinton Hall on Saturday I saw a couple of things – a summer litter bin and an empty paddling pool – that reminded me … Continue reading →

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