A Visit to the World of Harry Potter

 It's no secret that I'm a bit of a Harry Potter fan.  I first came to London to work on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone back in 2000.  It was a great thrill when Warner Bros announced that  they were going to have a Harry Potter attraction up at their Leavesden Studios in honor of this very successful film franchise that spawned 8 films over 12 years.








I managed to see 4 of the 8 films while here in London, and as someone working in visual effects, I can appreciate the numbers of artists that a fantasy film series like this can employ over a long period.












The display is a terrific tribute to the craftsmanship of the artisans that labored over this film series.

It is absolutely staggering to see how many sets and costumes were created for this series, and all of them are wonderful.















From Delores Umbridge's, creepily pink office. . .

 To Professor Snapes subterranean feeling lab.  















To Dumbledore's lofty office. 





And there are so many other sets and costumes on display. 











All are wonderous works of design, and it is a fantastic celebration of the work that goes into this type of project.

They even have Butterbeer that you can drink.  It tasted just as I imagined it would when reading the books.

 The Night bus is also there in case you drink too much of it. . .

Full sized versions of some of the creatures are on display . 

As they explain on the tour, the jewel in the crown is the scale model of Hogwarts Castle.  It is a stunning piece of design and miniature work.

It was used for many exterior shots of the castle over the course of the series only to be replaced in the final film with a CG version.

The tour ends in Olivander's Wand shop, where they have on display wand boxes with the names of the over 4000 artists who contributed to the film series over its 12 year life. 









I didn't expect to be able to find my name if it was even in there, but while looking for some of my British coworkers' names, I happened across my name on a wand box.  It was a very proud and humbling experience, and one will treasure for the rest of my life. 







It was amazing to feel a part of such an incredible piece of our modern culture. 

Visitors from 2012

We had some wonderful visitors this year.  It is always great to see familiar faces from back home.  Stephanie stopped in London with her mother on their way to visit Paris.  

  

We met up with Robert and Celeste in Scotland for the Fringe Festival.

Tony's friends Scott and Lorraine came to visit for a a week.

Alice came for a break in the bad weather on the East Coast only to find bad weather here too.












Stephano  was here with his girlfriend.

Paul and David stopped to see some theater on their way to Paris for New Years.















Ishmael was in town for a conference.

And of course the Space Shuttle, which was cruising over Los Angeles, made an appearance in London thanks to photoshop.

Christmas 2012

Christmas is a time of mixed emotions for us, as it is a fun time to be in London and see all the downtown lights going up, and all the fun Dickensian Christmas qualities popping up all over town. 






It is also a time, when I feel the absence of long time friends and family more than ever. 

This year, which is my 4th, has been the hardest of any so far. 

We made the best of it, and put up a tree with decorations, and went out to see a bunch of London all decorated up. 

There was even a tuba player shooting fire out of his tuba.  You don't see that everyday!











Here are some of my best shots from Christmas 2012.

 

Going to see the Arsenal Gunners

 One Saturday afternoon recently, my friend Andy called to tell me that he had 2 extra tickets for a Football (Soccer) game at the Emirates Stadium, home of our local team, the Arsenal Gunners.








I'd been bugging him to get us in, as you need to be a member of the team club, or know someone who is.

 Andy and his father go to see a game together almost every weekend.  Andy's father drives all the way from Nottingham (3 hours north of London each way) for the games.  In fact, Andy's initials,  AFB, stand for Arsenal FootBall. 

It was a great afternoon watching the game, even though it appears that the Gunners' best days may be behind them, as they lost (again) to a team that was ranked well below them. . .

Istanbul's Spice Market

We did a self-guided walking tour that took us from the Grand Bazaar to The Spice Market. 















We took a slight diversion from the tour to visit the mosque of Suleiman the Magnificent. 











It is a beautiful mosque perched on a hill overlooking the harbor.  It is beautiful inside, and has a fantastic view of the harbor.  In fact, when I recently saw James Bond's Skyfall, I noticed that they did an establishing shot of Istanbul from a similar vantage point to where I took this picture.  Fantastical.








From the mosque, we strolled through some narrow back streets, where you can find a lot of the same stuff as in The Grand Bazaar, but at a much better price.







We weren't overly impressed with the Spice Market, but the perfumed smell of the air is worth the visit. 

 

We did stop for lunch at Pandeli, which was a recommended restaurant right in the Spice Market.  We had a terrific lunch of Lamb and grilled Eggplant.  

If you visit the Spice Market, I'd at least stop for lunch there.  It is sit down, and  the prices are reasonable.  It is only open for lunch however.