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Photography

Great Support For The Men’s Olympic Road Race

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We were lucky to have two of the London 2012 Olympic events take place in Surrey, and the Men’s Road Race was equally as well supported as the Time Trial. I once again I grabbed my camera, jumped on my bike, this time accompanied by Mrs Doug, and followed the River Wey to Byfleet, where the road race crossed over the M25 (via a bridge.)

Read on to see more photos, and to find out how my wife ended up as “pacesetter” for the Men’s race.

Spectators at the London 2012 Olympic Cycle Road Race, Byfleet, Surrey, 28/07/2012. ©Douglas Kurn
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12 Years Ago The Olympic Time Trial Took Place In Surrey

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With the Paris Olympics Time Trial starting today (at the time of writing) I thought it apt to revisit the London 2012 Time Trial which started and ended in Hampton Court Palace in Surrey, and which saw Bradley Wiggins win Gold, and Chris Froome the bronze medal.

Four men with BRAD written on their bare chests at the London 2012 Olympic Cycle Time Trial, Hampton Court, Surrey, 01/08/2012. ©Douglas Kurn
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Is It A Box? Is It A Boat? Yes, It’s A BoxBoat!

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When I heard that a man was sailing a charity box that he had converted into a boat, from Henley-on-Thames to Shepperton, I just had to grab my camera bag, hop on my bike and go and see what this was all about.

A man in a small blue boat with green sails on the River Thames
Paul Weatherill sails his boat made from a Shelterbox, from Henley to Shepperton over three days, raising money for the Shelterbox disaster relief charity, 22/07/2024. ©Douglas Kurn
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The Swan Uppers Take To The River Again

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The annual swan upping event on the River Thames took place again in July, where hopes were high for an improved count over last year, when avian flu had badly affected bird numbers. This year, however, the flooding and high river levels will have washed away many nests, although some may be rebuilt later in the season, resulting in a lower count than might be expected, but still improved on last year.

A close up profile photo of the neck and beak of a grey cygnet sat on the river bank.
The 2024 Swan Upping, Bridge Wharf, Chertsey, 15/07/2024. Photo by Douglas Kurn
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Wildfires at home and abroad

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Hankley Common after the wildfire of July 2022, which was declared a major incident by the fire service. Photo by Douglas Kurn

With the news of extreme temperatures, and the fires in Greece, finally hitting the headlines in the UK, it’s pertinent to remind ourselves that, despite the current wet weather, these things are affecting us at home too.

Last year, around 50 hectares of the Hankley Common nature reserve in Surrey, were affected by a wildfire that took several days to get fully under control. After the fire had been put out I went to see the damage.

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On Their Uppers – Swan Upping Along The River Thames

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The Royal Tradition of Swan Upping takes place every July on the River Thames, so I got my bike out again, and headed down to Shepperton Lock to meet up with the Swan Uppers, on the first day of Swan Upping of 2023.

David Barber, the Kings’ Swan Marker, Sunbury Lock, Sunbury-on-Thames, 17/07/2023. Photo by Douglas Kurn
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Capturing The Beauty of Sunrise on Clean Air Day 2023

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The alarm went off at 3:20am, and 12 minutes later I was on my bike heading towards Bushy Park, one of the Royal Parks, to see what sunrise would bring. As it was Clean Air Day, I decided that I would use zero emissions transport, which meant it took me around 50 minutes to get there, hence the early start, to be in time for sunrise.

Photo of the River Thames with swans sleeping on the surface, as the orange glow of the sun rising relfects off the water surface. The trees at the river edge are in silhouette.
Just before sunrise, over the River Thames, Walton Marina, Walton-on-Thames. Photo by Douglas Kurn

I mostly followed the route of the River Thames, from Weybridge to Hampton Court Palace, and one of the things I noticed was there are a lot of flies and midges around at that time of the morning! With it being dark, it wasn’t easy to see them, so my breathing was in through the nose, and out through the mouth. Only one got through!

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Are your photos stoppers?

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A red octagonal STOP sign against a blue sky used to illustrate a post on "stoppers". Photo by Douglas Kurn
A stop sign. Photo by Douglas Kurn

What do I mean by stoppers? It is a term that the fashion editor of Vogue magazine Phyllis Posnick attributed to former Vogue art director Alexander Liberman, that meant an image had the power to make readers stop at a page and absorb the content. Posnick even used Stoppers as the title of her book of photographs that she created at Vogue with some of the worlds best photographers and fashion photographers of their time.

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Life In A Dark Shed

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I’ve often wandered past a tin shed behind some gates, and wondered what was inside. One day I went inside and met Trevor, who has worked there since the age of 14. His Father worked there too, up until 4 weeks before he passed away at the age of 94. With all the welding, drilling and cutting that goes on there is a lot of dust everywhere but Trevor says he is tidying it up. Whilst I was there we came across a letter from 1984, although Trevor said that he had found one from the 70’s recently!

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