On Your Doorstep

In Hanwell, at the junction of the River Brent and Grand Union Canal, you will find a rather magical area with a radius of no more than 50 metres.

Whatever the season or time of day, the combination of lush vegetation, reflections and variety of textures are as enchanting to the eye as they are calming to the mind.

This is my favourite spot on my doorstep. ~ Brigitte Flock

As an avid people-watcher I’m drawn to the faces I see on our local streets. When I see an interesting face in the crowd it’s as if all my birthdays have come at once.

I can’t help but wonder about the people I photograph. What are their lives like? Are they happy? Sometimes I’m so intrigued by a face that I forget to take the photo!

It’s been said that by the time we reach a certain age, we get the face we deserve. These faces are all beautiful to me. ~ Chris Moxey

Sports Jam was organised to promote participation in sport in the build-up to the London Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. The Idea behind Sports Jam was developed around the shared centenary celebration of the 1908 Olympic Games and the 60th Anniversary of the 1948 Olympic and Paralympic Games held in West London.

A wide range of sports clubs from Ealing and Hounslow attended showcasing both traditional and new sports with taster sessions and workshops for participants of all ages and abilities to take part in a multitude of sports.

The organisers hope this will become an annual event. ~ Debbie Burrows

The Sunday before Christmas I left the house to go to St Mary’s Church where my wife was preaching. As is my habit I grabbed my camera bag. Ealing Common is virtually on my doorstep and it was a wonderfully moody foggy morning so I stopped to take a picture.

One quickly became two and much as I intended to go towards the church I found myself drawn in the opposite direction. 100 photos later and having walked via Ealing Common, Walpole Park and Lammas park I was now an hour late for church.

So I stopped for a coffee at Munsons instead and met Jenny there afterwards. When I recounted the story to my Mum over Christmas she smiled and said ‘I’m sure you were closer to God there’… ~ Jonny Baker

Horsenden Hill is an open area by Horsenden Forest in Greenford. The Summit of the hill is the highest point in the borough. 84 metres above sea level. It is an important Wildlife habitat. There is a nature conservation interest such as ancient woodland and hedgerows, water bodies, wildflower meadows and grasslands.

I wanted to recreate a Hazy Summer afternoon with wild flowers inducing wild visions by layering images. ~ Marie Fitzgerald

John Berger says in his book “Ways of Seeing”,

'In the cities in which we live, all of us see hundreds of publicity images every day of our lives. No other kind of image confronts us so frequently. In no other form of society in history has there been such a concentration of images, such a density of visual messages.One may remember or forget these messages but briefly one takes them in, and for a moment they stimulate the imagination by either memory or expectation’...

My photographs are a response to the memory of images of American drive-in movies and the cinematic feeling that they engender, as I drive past these advertising hoardings at night.
~ Ray Higginbottom

Dawn is something that most urbanites do not get to experience very often. There is something very magical about this time of day and these photographs show that you do not have to go far to witness this moment.

Magic happens on your doorstep if you care to look for it and in this particular instance, Hounslow provides the magic. ~ Ron Mccammon

War means tears, To thousands of mothers eyes
When their sons (and daughters) go to fight
And lose their lives

I decided to focus my photographic idea on war memorials within Ealing cemeteries. The idea came from the news and almost every week I hear that another soldier has died in Iraq or Afghanistan. I felt that I wanted to show that these events were concerning me even though there is nothing I can do to stop the wars from happening.

Wars have been going on for many years and still people are dying at fairly young ages, both men and women, fighting for what they believe to be right. This is my way of remembering those that have sacrificed their lives in the pursuit of making things a little better for everybody else. The four cemeteries used for this project were, South Ealing, Acton, Southall and Greenford. ~ Vinette Campbell