Street Near the British Museum

Street Near the British Museum
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

I took this picture during my short stay in London a few years ago. We went to the British Museum on a rainy day. Afterward, we explored some bookstores close to the museum. I remember standing in the doorway of the bookstore and taking this picture of the street scene across the way. Tonight, Mel was watching "84 Charing Cross Road," a movie (based on the book) about a small London bookstore. Well, this is definitely not Charing Cross Road, but the movie reminded me of London bookstores and of this image. The picture was easy to find, but not quite ready to post. So I cropped it, then opened it Painter IX and cleaned up a bit of street litter with digital pastel. Then I added a little color to the sky and intensified a few lines on the buildings just to add contrast, using colors that were already in the photo. I wouldn't call this image a fantasy, but it has been digitally modified, so I guess you could say it is a bit of a London daydream.