King's Cross, or why you should go to the end of that platform (and turn around)

Bene - King's Cross

After a profitable day at the races with Bene and some friends (our flawless tactic: bet on the four biggest nags on each race and hope that one of them gets in the top 3), it’s the train back to London through the English countryside. The sky has been cloudy but intense all day, and now that it’s 9pm, you can guess what happens: gorgeous blue & yellow sky.

I obviously take a few awkward shots through the train windows, and they are unsurprisingly rubbish.

The clouds are orange when we arrive at King’s Cross, and I’m thinking that I should really try again, this time by foot. Problem is, I don’t really know the area around the station very well, and I’m not sure where I can get a clear sky, and it’s late already, blablabla, the old it’s never gonna work feeling kicks in.

But all I have to do is to walk to the end of the platform, and I’ll capture that sky, and maybe some nice crane and machinery silhouettes while I’m at it. For some reason it doesn’t feel that easy, maybe because it looks all deserted or because everyone is walking in the opposite direction… I still force myself (and Bene) to do it and we proceed.

I take a few shots like the one on the right, but they don’t really excite me.

I turn around to check on Bene because it’s late and getting colder, and I see her gazing at the horizon, all wrapped up, straight and perfectly lined up. I take one photo, the one opening this post, and seconds later the moment’s gone.

That’s my favorite photo of the year so far, mostly because of how it happened, because it came out of the unexpected.

So whatever end of platform is waiting for you, go for it and don’t forget to turn around!

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 22nd, 2009 at 12:35 pm and is filed under All, Photoblog and tagged with black&white, horses, king's cross, newmarket, platform, races, station. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.