Geometry in Iron

Repeating shapes always make for interesting visual exercises, and this is mid-Victorian ironwork—Brunel’s masterpiece, Paddington Station, in London. After booking into my hotel on Sunday, October 31^st, 2010, I walked back round to the station to play with imagery, and this one was taken from a footbridge spanning the tracks. In the 1850s (Paddington opened in 1854), British railway engineering was a boom industry, and cast iron was the masterstroke of the age, making possible shapes and sizes of structure previously unknown. Here, thousands of tons of iron create an airy, arched pavilion large enough to accommodate the smoke of steam trains without choking the commuters, and to this day it is one of the busiest railway terminals in London. A simple shot, it took advantage of the topography, creating an almost organic feel. Minor enhancement only—just contrast and colour. Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike