Here’s the inspiration for MacFilos—the river Thames at Chiswick, looking towards Chiswick Eyot isand and Hammersmith on a crisp November morning at low tide. The view from home is ever-changing as the seasons pass and the river rises and falls on its regular schedule. Within a few hours the water will be lapping the top of the wall and the houseboats will be riding the tide. The ancient slipway in the foreground is a remnant of a ferry which plied the river before Hammersmith and Chiswick bridges were built—over two hundred years ago when Chiswick was a sleepy riverside fishing village. While in the midground, on Chiswick Mall, which regularly floods at high tide, was Miss Pinkerton’s Academy for Young Ladies from the pages of Thackeray’s Vanity Fair. In the distance, just to the right of the island, is The Old Ship, a quiet riverside pub where many a post is put to bed over a cappuccino or two. Inspiration as the tide flows.
Photograph: Nikon V1 with 10-30mm lens at 30mm, f/5.6 at 1/250s.