Bad Spirits

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @65mm, f2.8, Nikon Z 6 Winter afternoon; a detail of safety and good fortune head on a draught pole’s end, bronze, two-wheel chariot, China about 1000 BC. British Museum Speaking of safety, there’s hope China will be part of this AI Summit

Hawthorn

Milvus 35/1.4 @f1.4 (Photomatix 3 exp/2 EV range), ND filter (shutter speed), Nikon Z 6 Light cloud (diffuse sunlight, a sunlit version in Zlatka's collection)

Relief Plaque IV Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @52mm, f2.8, ISO 220, Nikon Z 6 Noon (12.00), the fourth plaque shot in British Museum, brass cast, 16th century Benin; sorting out problems: the courier I think we posted or will at some point post most, if not all, photographs from there (the file numbers indicate the shots, not the images). Two leopard and two crocodile heads, familiar body jewellery, rectangular leopard-skin bag, coral beaded cap, plaits at either side of face terminating in beads, deep beaded collar. London

Relief Plaque III

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @60mm, f2.8, ISO 220, Nikon Z 6 Noon, changeable lighting (also in intensity, more shaded spot); many same elements, bells on the chests can be seen better, gongs-holding smaller-scale figure at the bottom, one gong broken (museum). A high-ranking man in the centre wearing a rectangular beaded headgear, the identity speculated (e.g. the previous king Oba Ozolua, museum) and a short-sleeved tunic richly decorated with snakes. Unlike in many cultures, the snake symbolises wisdom, peace and prosperity in Benin and coming across one is a sign of good fortune (hundreds of snakes live in dedicated temples). London

Relief Plaque II b

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @57mm, f2.8, Nikon Z 6 Noon, varying lighting, brass cast detail (see the whole plaque in the previous image), 16th century Benin: a figure in the centre holding an ebony sword and spear; dot scarification marks on the body and arms; coral beaded crown, collar, jewellery, leopard tooth necklace and mask on the left hip and patterned wrap-around knee-length skirts. Two bearded flanking men, the left one sharing grasp on the spear, wearing highly decorative helmets, quadrangular bells and leopard-faced body armour. On a smaller scale, two boys with full body decoration, shaved head with a crest and tiered hairstyle with side plaits, a sheathed sword on baldric, jewellery and a fan. Three other (small-scale) men above them. A man adjacent to the horn blower holds an oversized spear in his right hand and has a sword on his left side (the full size). London

Relief Plaque II

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @57mm, f2.8, Nikon Z 6 Noon, varying lighting, brass cast, 16th century Benin, British Museum, I think the creator had concrete people in mind: a figure in the centre holding an ebony sword and spear; dot scarification marks on the body and arms; coral beaded crown, collar, jewellery, leopard tooth necklace and mask on the left hip and patterned wrap-around knee-length skirts. Two bearded flanking men, the left one sharing grasp on the spear, wearing highly decorative helmets, quadrangular bells and leopard-faced body armour. On a smaller scale, two boys with full body decoration, shaved head with a crest and tiered hairstyle with side plaits, a sheathed sword on baldric, jewellery and a fan. Three other (small-scale) men above them. A man adjacent to the horn blower holds an oversized spear in his right hand and has a sword on his left side. London

Relief Plaque

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @69mm, f2.8, ISO 110, Nikon Z 6 Noon, a 21st and 15/16th-century street photography confluence: today, famous worldwide, the plaques (first of four – out of a greater number) that covered the exterior of Benin palace appear to show real-world detail (various indications point in that direction). The added dimension of art (of this media) may be physically less realistic, but it, in the end, is also a less inhibited and more eloquent way of communication compared to standard photography. Various scales (figures) and symbols commonly mix with the main scene. Oba Esigie, who commissioned the metal casts (mostly brasses), is thought to be side saddle on the horse here (son of Ozolua, 15th century) holding hands of pages. This depiction includes details of hairstyles, head and body jewellery (elsewhere tattoos or gear, instruments), coral beaded crown with a feather, beaded collar and sash, coral armlets, anklets, necklaces, bracelets, baldric with sheathed sword, patterned, decorated skirts and saddle-cloth. Similar to our day, the occasion, status, general class and (individual) fashion in the society were reflected in what people wore. London

Ewer b

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @70mm, f2.8, ISO 280, Nikon Z 6 London

Ewer

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @61mm, f2.8, ISO 400, Nikon Z 6 Late morning; the museum’s atmosphere is quite special, also objective and respectful, and it’s easy to spend entire days there. We wished the African sections were more extensive. This ritual ewer is part of works in bronze made from the 16th century in Benin (nostrils for pouring water). Other materials were used for objects in Benin palace along with bronze during the centuries of normal, mutually fruitful relations with the Europeans. London

Painting b

Sigma 100-400 OS C @110mm, f6.3, ISO 4500, Nikon Z 6 Afternoon, Mitsubishi Galleries, British Museum; more with the previous shot Toggle the full screen key with verticals London

Painting

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @66mm, f4, ISO 140, Nikon Z 6 Afternoon, Mitsubishi Galleries, British Museum; this framing took a while as we tried to avoid reflections of a continuous stream of people ascending/descending the stairs (landing), use the warm-orange reflection of the facing (I think) opposite to the image benefit, get the right focus (DOF wise the vast landscape is a closeup) and hold the things still in correct framing at 1/10/50s. It's a paper covered with a ton of paint that is worth seeing in person to appreciate (the large size and structure). Gift of Konno Chuichi (the painter): Echoes of Early Spring, winter touch in early spring, frozen waterfall, mist, some frozen (spray). Toggle the full screen key with verticals

Ndomi

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @55mm, f2.8, ISO 320, Nikon Z 6 Late afternoon, some museums hiking; my favourite London Museum is closed (archaeology section). Moving to the adulthood: a ceremonial dancing shield here from the side facing the wearer (inside), Kenya, Kikuyu, hung in the British Museum (saved from turning into dust). Next time the young now man picked a different one as he faced a life of responsibility. London

Vase b

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @70mm, f2.8, ISO 280, Nikon Z 6 Evening, Lunar New Year; open work carving bottle vase (porcelain, South Korea) (toggle the full screen key with verticals) London

Vase

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @70mm, f2.8, ISO 320, Nikon Z 6 Evening, Lunar New Year; open work carving bottle vase (porcelain, South Korea), British Museum, minutes before Korean instrumentalists played their New Year performance for the second time (taepyeongso/hojok, gayageum, daegeum for a dance of body language artist Yong Min Cho) in the Great Court. The (free) performance sequence was another level of what we can see in the European art world, both for the instruments played (“music”, ballet) and perhaps especially the dance. Otherwise, we spent the whole day among the Museum’s remarkable collections, having lunch, quite a feast, fittingly in one modest Chinese restaurant (heading eastwards), that we, by luck, had just for ourselves for that short time. London

Christmas

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @70mm, f2.8 (1/13s handheld), Nikon Z 6 One of the Christmas scenes set up outside; there is a sense of inevitability surrounding the newborn (nativity) scene that we feel to some extent. It seems to be coming from a view or experience that impersonal morals and knowledge, in the absolute sense, are intrinsically linked. It contrasts with our approved concepts of character and rightness in our times (and perceptions of reality): the more impersonal a moral sense (that can be seen or manifested as selfless), the more foreign it becomes to its surroundings, and the more insecurity it will stir towards it (prejudice, hate). So it seems a strange conflict causes the feeling at the scene as it exposes ego, factually and symbolically (the consciousness of the baby). South London

Surrey Hills III

Sigma 100-400 OS C @220mm, f8 (Photomatix fusion Natural, 2 exp/1.3 EV), Nikon Z 6 Clematis temperate liana takes advantage of an opening in the forest where the ash trees were affected by the fungal disease. It’s the only native species of Clematis in Britain. Selective breeding is underway in Britain to improve the ash tree low rate of natural resistance against the fungus and eventually boost the number of tolerant trees in the wild.

Beech

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @56mm, f2.8 (Photomatix fusion Natural, 3 exp/2.7 EV), Nikon Z 6 Late morning in the middle of October; European beech covered with moss (toggle the key for full screen view) Surrey Hills

Wood Cauliflower

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @70mm, f4 (Photomatix fusion Natural, 2 exp/1.4 EV range), Nikon Z 6 Low cloud and sunny spells, late October, a few drops fell, so we better moved under solitary spruce (for lunch). Later we learned there were flash floods in London. The young fruitbody grows on a piece of old dead wood (it seemed to be spruce, a few metres away from our place). Notice the spider and yellow stagshorn at the bottom right side. Shot wider to include more of the forest floor. Surrey Hills

Forest VI

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @53mm, f2.8, (Photomatix fusion Natural, 2 exp/1.4 EV range), Nikon Z 6 Backlit, second half October; spiderwebs on a glen lit by the sun (covered with dew). South East

Yew Forest IV

Milvus 35/1.4 @f1.4, (Photomatix fusion Natural 4 exp/2.7 EV range), Nikon Z 6 End of September, diffuse sunlight (passing light cloud) Coniferous forests and their sections are habitats you don’t often see in temperate climates at low elevations, unlike the plantations, where the environment is different in many ways. The yew forest then is one of the rarest (the Atlantic pine dominated forest in Scotland is another). One of the best places in Europe to experience its feel is the southern part of England, where it is further emphasised by the local variety’s characteristic gnarly growth and (often) the chalk bedrock. Uprooted trunks of the long-lived tree can root and form fully developed habitus from the old and new branches, and so can the drooping branches, giving the forest a distinctive character. It’s more than likely that this character had a certain or special meaning to our ancestors since time immemorial and not just as a distinct material (the same for the earlier neanderthal). South East