The Thing on the Bus

Sometimes, I think my photography blog is as much about the paranormal as it is about photography.  Whatever the case, when my photogaphy and I come across something strange or inexplicable, I publish it on the blog.  Having a camera, and taking photographs, ensures that you don't miss out on what's going on around you....even if it takes years to notice.

Tonight, I was going through  photographs stored on my hard drive that I took years ago.  When I don't have current photographs to work on, I  often find older images that I've missed to work on as possible fine art images.  The entrance to the Gresham Hotel is one image that has been ignored for eleven years, until I came across it again tonight. 

On my walk, I passed by the Gresham Hotel just to see if it was still there.  I had stayed there 22 years earlier, as a college student, while studying communications in Europe.  It was just as I  remembered it.

Another image is that of a tourist bus in London, taken only minutes after the image of the hotel. While the photo below lacks the aesthetic to be a fine art image, it certainly tells a story, as you will see from the zoomed-in view of the shot. The unaltered photograph of a London double decker bus was taken on June 11, 2002 at 4:07 p.m. (according to EXIF data stored with the image.)  I had been visiting the British Museum, and was on the way back to an underground station when I photographed a bus stopped in front of the well-known James Smith & Sons Umbrella Shop  (http://james-smith.co.uk/). 


A London double decker tour bus in front of  the James Smith & Sons Umbrella Shop on New Oxford St., London

The photo of the bus was shot just a few minutes after that of the hotel.  The image sat on my hard drive, and was transferred to other computers over the years as the old computers became obsolete.  I haven't viewed the photo since it was new, until tonight. However, as I zoomed in on portions of the photograph in Photoshop, I became clear that one of the passengers on the bus was not the usual sightseer.

Behind the driver, a hooded or cloaked sinister-looking gray figure, facing the back of the bus, arms crossed, seems to be turned and looking over its left shoulder at the camera.  More than likely, it is the driver's jacket or over-shirt, folded in such a way that details take on human or sub-human form.  If so, however, I'm amazed at how easy it is to make sense out of an inanimate form and make it seem something out of a horror movie.

The Thing on the Bus looks over its left should directly into the camera, as if caught by surprise.  Eyes, nose and mouth are easily visible under the cloak.

I don't know what the Thing on the Bus is.  I do know, however, that I  don't want to come across it again.  If you have any thoughts on the matter, please post below.

You can view my fine art photography blog at:  www.tombellart.com.