Victoria baths part two

Late Summer/early Autumn

These are some shots taken with my Contax T2. I haven't been using it quite as much lately, but I finally got chance to use the last few shots I had left this week so I could get the film developed. I'll be posting some more photos from Victoria baths very soon, and I'm also going to start sharing more than just my photography over the coming weeks too.

On a random note: if you like Dieter Rams check this site out they sell an amazing selection of his  designs for Braun and Vitsoe between 1955 and 1995.

Late September/early October

Victoria baths part one

Victoria baths were designed by architect Henry Price and opened to the public in 1906. The baths were described as a "water palace" and you can see why, the building features fine terracotta, tiles, mosaic floors and stained glass windows. I was completely blown away by the amazing bold colours, patterns, textures and build quality. Could you imagine how brilliant it would be to go for a relaxing bath surrounded by this decor? Sadly after 87 years the baths closed in 1993, despite protests from the local community. The council then announced that they were planning on demolishing the building! This understandably caused an upset amongst a lot of people, shortly after the friends of Victoria baths got involved and the building featured on the BBC's 'Restoration" programme and was awarded £3.5 million towards the restoration work needed. Work began in 2007 and thankfully the baths are now open to the public at select times throughout the year for tours as well as events, such as vintage fairs, photography classes, artist installations and cinema screenings. All these events are used to help fund the continuing restoration work that is still needed to allow the baths to eventually open to the public again as a working water palace. For more info have a look at the website.

MOSI Science and Industry Museum

I thought I'd share some photos taken at the MOSI museum earlier this week. I was taken back by how visually arresting the machinery to harness the power of steam are, the many interesting shapes, angles and colours there are to the intricate components used. The materials used looked to have been chosen not just for quality and purpose, but also to be aesthetically pleasing too. However, that could just be me and my love of copper and brass. If only we used steam as much today, there's something I love about the physicality of a steam train. Oh! And the whistle.

Freaky Friday