I decided to write my thesis on roof gardens in London.  Essentially, green roofs are London’s elixer.  Any problem London has can be solved through ecoroofs.  The thesis was much too short to actually say that, so I just focused on public space, recreational space, farming and allotments, and the economic and environmental benefits green roofs will have on the city.  London should embrace its long love affair with gardens and create agressive legislation that will create more green roofs.  Copenhagen, for example, has just passed a mandatory policy that requires every new building with a roof pitch of less than 30 degrees be vegetated. (read the article).  The policies the Lord Mayor is making, such as his spray adhesive on the roadways for the pollution to stick to instead of expanding the Congestion Charge Zone or Low Emission Zone, which he nixed, as a solution to the air quality issue really begs the question, how did he get elected?  That aside, I think London has the potential of becoming a Vertical Garden City and can be a example to which other cities can look.

The Privy Garden at Hampton Court Palace © 2011 Heather Shimmin

Hampton Court Palace sits on the banks of the Thames in Surrey.  Cardinal Woolsey transformed Hampton Court, a grand house when he acquired it, into a sprawling palace in the mid- 16th century.  So impressed was Henry VIII with the Cardinal’s palace that Woolsey “gifted” it to the King (he really did not have a choice in the matter).  Of all of his palaces, Hampton Court was one of Henry VIII’s favorites.

His daughter, Queen Elizabeth I, often visited the Palace; even 50 years after Henry had acquired it, Hampton Court was still one of the most magnificent palaces in the country.  Her successor, James I, was an avid hunter and continued to use and enjoy Hampton Court.

With the new Regents William III and Mary II came drastic new changes to Hampton Court.  They commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to redesign the palace.  Originally, the plan was to demolish the entire palace and begin anew, however, lack of time and funds prevented this from happening.  The monarchs had to be content with the rebuilding of the king and queen’s main apartments on the south and east sides of the palace.

The gardens around the palace have also undergone many transformations to keep up with the taste and fashion of the reigning monarch.  Today, the Privy Garden has been restored to what it was like during the time of William and Mary, lead by the amazing landscape historian Todd Longstaffe-Gowan and landscape architect James Fox.  (The pair is also responsible for the renovation of the gardens at Kensington Palace in preparation of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee this June).

Baroque Addition of Hampton Court Palace © 2011 Heather Shimmin

Hampton Court Palace is enchanting.  It could be my love of the Tudor dynasty that is behind my infatuation with the Palace, but putting my personal interests aside, Hampton Court Palace is an amazing property.  We’re lucky to have it.  By Providence or by Luck (though I’m not sure I believe in either), I’m glad that William and Mary did not have their way and bulldoze the palace to make way for another European Baroque palace.

Surprisingly, the Tudor front elevation and the Baroque rear elevation live quite happily together.  The starkly different architectural styles could very easily divide the palace into two separate spaces, but I don’t think they do.  This harmony, in part, is achieved in several ways:

1) one cannot look at both the front and the rear elevation simultaneously, therefore the mind may not register the dramatic difference right away;

2) the gardens at the rear of the house, particularly the Privy Garden, are designed in the Baroque tradition, which complement the rear elevation, bringing harmony and a sense of time and place to this phase of the palace; and

3) the changes on the interior of the palace are like a geological survey of the palace’s past, a peaceful amalgamation of differing styles and periods in the Palace’s life.

The kitchen area and wine cellar were particularly interesting.  During my visit, they were roasting chicken and duck on a spit in the large fireplace and had men in period costume

The Sunken Garden at Hampton Court Palace © 2011 Heather Shimmin

making meat pies and pastries in another corner of the kitchen.  When in full swing, the kitchen must have been a sight to behold.  To the side of the large fireplace is a window where the food would have been plated and left for the footmen and servers to take up stairs to the dining hall.  Around the corner is the wine cellar, which has four rows of 10 or so barrels of wine, with another sub-cellar off of the main room (which was not open to the public). Off the to side, in possibly a room for decanting or storing other liquor, is the kitchen gift shop, a very cleaver use of space and smartly put; those who are interested in finding their way to the wine cellar (which is off the main path), would be very likely to pop their head in and purchase something for their own kitchens.  I, as a rule, do not like gift shops, but this was very nice.  I did not have any kitsch “I (heart) Hampton Court” t-shirts or other useless souvenirs, but a selection of fine wines, cheese knives, and other such swanky kitchen utensils.  The combination of setting and goods for sale was very well done.

As an extra draw, a merry-go-round and an ice skating rink were set up for the holidays.  Hundreds of children were there enjoying the fun to be had.   I’m sure the extra revenue helped the palace greatly.

Overall, I think Hampton Court Palace has done well in staying true to the site’s history, giving the visitor, as much as one can, an relatively authentic experience, and of creating various revenue-generating avenues.

BOOKS ON HAMPTON COURT PALACE I’D RECOMMEND:

Since it was so cold, I didn’t get to do as much outdoor photography as I would have liked, however, it did try several digital time lapse photography experiments.

Here are the results:

HOW TO DO TIME LAPSE PHOTOGRAPHY

1.  Put your camera on MANUAL settings, both for exposure as well as focus.

2.  Take a few test shots to get the right exposure.

TIP: if you want that blurry motion effect, set the shutter to 1/20 or slower.  The slower the shutter speed, the blurrier it will be.

3.  Set your camera up on a tripod, table, or other stable surface.  Be sure to focus the camera or put it on infinity to insure everything in the frame is in focus.

4.  Scroll through the menu of your camera to select “interval” or time lapse-like setting, which will take a photo every few seconds.  Look at your camera manual to see where it is.  I have a Nikon D2X and it’s under the camera menu.  You can determine the length of time between shots and how many shots you’d like to take.  Keep in mind that the standard movie is 36 frames per second, so for every second of film, you have to shoot 36 images.

5.  Let the camera run, taking your defined number of images.

6.  After you’ve downloaded the images to your computer, convert the images to JPG, if they’re not already, and put them in their own folder.

7.  Open Quicktime Pro (not the free version).

8.  Go to File > Open Image Sequence

9.  Navigate to the folder you’ve created and select the first image in the sequence.

10.  Quicktime will automatically create the movie for you. and Violá!  Time lapse photography complete.

Or maybe it’s just because Cross Processing is cool.

Cross Processing is developing slides or film in the “wrong” chemicals, changing the color palette of the final images. For example, you take E6 (slide) film and develop it as C41 (print) film, or visa versa. This alteration of chemicals creates a look and feel which is distinct to cross processing, which is why people do it.

The end result will vary, depending on a myriad of factors: the type of film used, the type of light used (e.g. Tungsten, fluorescent, daylight), etc. The effect of these factors, however, are so complex, so nuanced, that I recommend you take detailed notes, so you can replicate the results in the future. It will be impossible for you to remember the exact circumstances which created that final look.

For example, I have found when shooting slide film and crossing it to print film, Fugichrome Sensia 100 has a cool color palette with intense blues and greens, while Kodachrome 200 has a warm color palette, with lots of reds and oranges in it. This image was taken with Fugichrome Sensia 200 (cross processed E6 to C41). No exposure adjustment, fluorescent lighting. As you can see, it has rich blues and greens, intensified by the fluorescent lighting. The man’s shirt was white. You’ll find, too, as a general rule, fluorescent lighting puts a green-cast over everything.

As I said before, there are many, many factors which influence the end result of cross processing, but here are some key point to remember while you’re shooing:

5 Point to Remember When Cross Processing

1. As a general rule, when going from film to slides, OVER EXPOSE the film 3-5 stops. Bracketing is a good idea.
2. Tungsten lights create a warm color palette, while daylight and strobes create a cool color palette.
3. Fugi Film generally create a cool palette, Kodak, warm.
4. When shooting slide film you DO NOT need to adjust your exposure.
5. Cross processing brings out every detail, every flaw, every pore, and is not the most flattering when shooting close-ups of people.