Postcards from a better day: part 7

Under construction

Once upon a time I did a whole series of intentionally blurred photographs where the compositions were reduced to colour and shape. Some became completely abstracted whilst others maintained recognisable outlines. I discovered that the best time for these photographs was at twilight in winter, particularly on days when the hue of a clear blue sky was deepening as the sun disappeared. A day like this day had been.

This is a photograph of a skip suspended from a crane on the building site behind the Tate Modern after I started to make my way home. There was not a lot of point in trying to focus the camera with such absence of light but I loved the bright colours of this skip swaying against the night sky.

There is something magical about construction sites—the huge skeletons of shiny metal, the noise of the machinery, the bright yellow and red warning colours, the high viz jackets and safety helmets. And then it turns into prime real estate, the magnificence of the structures concealed by glass facades and advertisements for aspirational lifestyle products.