Dreaming Out Loud

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Masked and poised,
waiting for change

Human Statue Busker, Covent Garden Environs, London, c.b.w.

Poetic voices,
outrun the silence

The Ryan O'Reilly Band near Portobello Rd, London, June 2011, c.b.w.

Carving the past
into something new

Sand Sculptor along the Thames River, London, June 2011, c.b.w.

Saving gray
from blank stares

Chalk Artist on the South Bank, London, June 2011, c.b.w.

– – –

c.b. 2012

34 thoughts on “Dreaming Out Loud”

    • I use a little Kodak digital camera, (14.5 pixels). It’s nothing fancy! For every shot I post, there are about five or six tries – LOL! I experiment with all the settings until I get something I like.

      I always start by loading them in at full-size and then edit them down until I get a size that looks nice in the post. 🙂

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  4. Is that a “busker” in the first picture? Never heard of that term before–I really like them. Especially the flower on his head! I am also liking the idea of carving the past into something new.

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    • Yes. I’d never heard of the term until I went to London! Busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles.

      Human statues are among the most fun – I don’t know how they can hold a pose for so long!

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  5. Rebekah

    Lovely shots! I see you were lucky with the weather!
    I haven’t been there since 1983, and still my memories are so vivid…

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    • It rained almost every day, (and I loved it)! But the sun came out a few times and I made sure I was out in it! The day in that last shot was one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen in London.

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  7. I love buskers, too – and I’ve never been to London. I guess having British history has helped with the culture here in Winnipeg. At The Forks, in the centre of the city, we often have buskers playing music, painting and performing outside and inside, especially in ‘The Market’ which is basically a large food court with small shops upstairs. A balcony from the second floor looks down on the food court so you can hear the musicians upstairs, as well. When I took my kids, I always gave them a Loonie or Toonie (our one & two dollar coins) to toss into their collection hat or basket.

    I enjoyed the photos of the London buskers. I would love to go and see them in person! 🙂

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    • I wish we had more where I live, but the city is so spread out there isn’t really one place where people hang out. I think that’s what I love about European cities. There is always a square or central area where culture can reside. 🙂

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  9. What wonderful photos. I love buskers too. They are quite entertaining in the area of Pike’s Place in Seattle. I guess it’s too hot here. I don’t see many.

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    • Thanks! 🙂 I spent so many afternoon enjoying the show wherever it happened to be. There was a magician in Covent Garden that was just amazing, but I could never get a good shot of him – he moved around too much!

      I think you’re probably right. And if the heat isn’t the problem, its got to be how far and wide we are spread out.

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  10. A few years ago no one would have dreamed of stepping onto the sands of the London River at low tide – they were polluted and filthy. Now there are sand-sculptures and picnics. 🙂

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    • It’s still pretty icky (as I found out on a stroll), but I think they cleaned up some areas along the South Bank to get more people to hang and stay a while. 😉

      You won’t see me digging around in it any time soon, but it still makes for a nice walk along the beach.

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  13. Wonderful tour shots. One of my favorite London memories (from 1985) was descending on the escalator to the subway platform, and being greeted by The Everly Brothers’ tune “Bye, Bye, Love” being performed by two buskers in the station. So many people just walked on by, but I had to stop and sing along, and toss some shillings into their open guitar cases. I love those little surprises that seem to happen so often in London.

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  14. Brilliant way to share a poem, loved the mix of words and images. I’m fond of buskers myself. They are always out along the San Diego waterfront and in Balboa Park. There is a gathering once a year at Seaport Village, I went to it two weeks ago and loved it. 🙂

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    • I couldn’t choose just one shot, so I decided to use all of them! It was fun to experiment with each line as an independent piece. Even though I didn’t intend for them to connect, they ended up doing so all by themselves!

      Buskers are amazing to me . . . it takes guts to get out there and perform in public. They are so talented and colorful. I wish we had more where I am.

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      • If you’ve not read any books by Charles De Lint, I would recommend him. His books are a joy to read, and they tend to be quite partial to buskers, giving a nice insight into their lives. His Newford series (Yarrow, Greenmantle, Memory and Dream, Dreams Underfoot, Trader, etc) are wonderful urban fantasies. I think you would enjoy them.

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