Millennium Dome

The other day while pulling the “Egypt” negative sheets out of the file for scanning, I noticed that the next film along was a roll of black and white Fuji NP400. The film was discontinued in 2013, about the same time as the original Acros was introduced I think. I can’t find a “birth-date” for the original acros, but as the standard Neopan 100 seemed to be discontinued in 2011, it’s a safe bet it was on hand to fill the gap. Sadly all that’s now left is the Acros 100 II – expensive stuff, which I wonder might be a version of Ilfords Delta 100 – but I digress.

What must have been fairly close to my return from Egypt, I made a visit to the Millennium Dome, built to celebrate the then new millennium, based on the idea of the historic “Great Exhibition” of 1851. I remember there being a lot of bad press about it at the time. I thought at the time, most of it was a bit unfair, and that it was ok erring towards pretty good. However by that time I’d also been to Disneyland and World, and this certainly wasn’t that! I remember thinking what a missed opportunity it was, and how good it could have been! Anyway, I scanned the negs, removed a couple of spots, and here are a few shots from the roll!

What strikes me while looking at these images is the amazing lack of people! Where was everyone? The core of the dome was given over to a performance area, I can’t remember the shows name, I do remember being impressed with the music! Fitting, as after the dome was closed it was re-imagined as the “O2 Arena- London” or as it now seems to be known “The 02”. I saw Olly Murs there years later and that was quite a different experience!

Out the back was a viewing area to look across at the then, still being developed area of Canary Wharf. A dramatic sky and a city scape – I shot the last two frames on the roll.