Stockwell Road, 20th August 2009

A slightly blurry blue on a slightly blurry night back in Brixton. I'd returned for the evening to see Animal Collective at the Academy, to whose green-arced entrance I was heading when I spotted this. They were pretty good despite a placid crowd, and it made me smile at the coincidence that their stage set was dominated by a large suspended orb.

Great Western Road, 16th August 2009

Heading home on a hot day I spotted this one being blown haphazardly along the road, scrabbled for my camera on the bus, missed it, and so got off a stop early on the off chance that it would dodge the cars for a few seconds. And it did. In fact despite a wavering path down the road from kerb to mid-lane and back a few times, it stayed intact long enough for me to capture it repeatedly at my leisure.

Such uncommon unhurried opportunities bring their own frustrations, though. Although it was a glorious sunny day, in the late afternoon this bus stop lies in the shadow of the unlovely facade of Westbourne Park tube station, so the shot is as flat and grey as the preceding few. I tried a few wider shots to better represent the scene, but so bright were the blue sky, tower blocks and industrial metal walls on the other side of the road that any attempt to include them rendered the tarmac inky and the balloon itself merely murky grey.

From South Bank Centre, 9th August 2009

And another an hour or so later, whose colour betrays its shared source. No branches caught this though, and it was a far more hurried shot for it.

Incidentally, three days later and some 700 metres from this, I released a few air- and trinket-filled balloons myself, as part of Antony Gormley's capricious One & Other project on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square. Although I'd expected, indeed hoped for, them to be burst quickly by the people or sharp edges below, most were gleefully caught by children, who ran off with their trophies intact. And that was more than good enough for me.

From Golden Jubilee footbridge, 9th August 2009

The Giraffe restaurant on the South Bank has provided balloons before, so this orange's origin was not obscure. They're branded and given out to advertise the place, but although this was snagged nearby it was shrouded by foliage and too far from the concrete walkways to be legible, so its power as an advert was gone.

Elgin Avenue, 4th August 2009

This yellow broke a rather long run by current standards, ending a few weeks of fleeting and missed chances. It's the first on a grey day for a while too, after a glorious spring and early summer - I hope the season's subsequent balloons stand on sharp shadows as did those before.