Snapping My Trips

Lovehearts

2011-09-09T11:01:00.004+01:00

Sometimes when working with make-up artists we do some experimental work. We wanted something different while showing off the lipstick. The make up artist had some lovehearts and wanted to use these as props when shooting the lipstick. I like this image for a couple of reasons. First is the obvious in that it works with light points on the fingertips. Second is that behind the model is a mirror and I have got the lighting right so you would never guess there is a mirror there.

Caerphilly Castle

2011-09-03T12:13:00.003+01:00

I went to Wales in August, visiting places in and close to the Brecon Beacons. This is the entrance to Caerphilly Castle, one of the largest castles in Europe. Its an interesting place , one of the towers is leaning over. I tend to prefer photographs of castles in black and white.

Chilham

2011-07-21T15:20:00.003+01:00

The previous post was about a family wedding I attended. The reception was in nearby Eastwell Manor. The wedding ceremony was in the church in the village of Chilham in Kent. The village itself is popular as a tourist destination as it is pretty. Top Gear recently filmed her as well for a piece on the Jaguar E-Type - the link being the prettiness of Chilham and that of the E-Type. The church, pictured here, is a lovely Norman building. I took this photo as I wanted a different angle with the sundial giving a point of interest in the foreground.

Eastwell Manor

2011-07-13T19:01:00.004+01:00

I recently attended a family wedding in Kent. The reception was held in Eastwell Manor. It's a large country house in beautiful grounds. I took this photo as I was walking from the car park.

Harry Potter and Trafalgar Square

2011-07-08T11:14:00.006+01:00

I went to the west end yesterday. Huge numbers of people just standing around. It turneed out they were people who couldn't get into Trafalgar Square to see Harry Potter. The group in this photo had had the idea of standing on the steps of St Martin in the Field to look over the fence surrounding the square. I'm assuming they could see the screen which was at the foot of Nelsons Column. Otherwise it would have been a bit pointless.
The weather was foul so the pictures a bit murky.

Birmingham Canal Bridge

2010-12-23T10:32:00.003Z

Birmingham has a lot of canals. More than Venice apparently. This is a path up to a narrow bridge that crosses one of the canals. I liked the brickwork, slightly damp. When I took this I was thinking black and white would work best. However, I found that by just warming the picture up a bit it worked just as well in colour.

Snow on Piccadilly

2010-12-21T19:15:00.003Z

More snow. Here I'm looking towards Piccadilly Circus. The large statues in the centre are a memorial to the Crimean War, being covered in snow is somewhat apt. On the left of the centre piece is a statue of Florence Nightingale.

The Mall in the Snow

2010-12-20T12:51:00.005Z

Lots of snow in London over the past few days. This photo I took when crossing the road. Not much traffic and what there was was going slowly. This is looking towards Buckingham Palace. It is snowing at this point, just not very heavily.

Birmingham Selfridges

2010-12-16T10:54:00.003Z

I was up in Birmingham the other day. I had never been to the centre before so was looking forward to seeing it. The Selfidges building has proven to be very popular with photographers since its construction, hardly a surprise as it's an impressive building. This of course creates a challenge in taking a different photograph of it. To that end I tried this, lining the Church up with Selfridges , I haven't seen a picture like this (doesn't mean there aren't plenty). I like it. As I didn't have a tripod with me I had to push the ISO and try hand held at 1/20th sec using a very heavy 24-70 2.8L lens.

Nightime Photography

2010-12-07T20:32:00.003Z

I decided to investigate some of the functions on my little Ixus camera. I usually only do point and shoot with it as I do more serious stuff with my professional camera. Anyway I thought I'd try some experimental nighttime photography with it and found a 'fireworks' setting (I don't have a user manual for the Ixus. To take this shot I selected a brightly lit shop between two darker ones pressed the shutter and rotated the camera. It's a bit hit and miss as I wasn't sure how long the shutter would remain open. Anyway, I got this image which I quite like.

Black and White Snow

2010-12-02T12:20:00.004Z

I took this photo in colour but intended from the off to convert it to black and white. I was drawn by the shape and texture of the branches. I feel this kind of image works best in black and white.

Snow Reaches London

2010-11-30T19:55:00.003Z

It's taken a few days but the snow has reached London. I went out this morning to get a few shots in the forest. Not a lot of snow, but enough to get some nice views.

Jewellery Advert

2010-11-23T20:19:00.005Z

I took this photograph for an advertisement in Vanity Magazine. It's for Kyles a jewellers based in east London. The background has been changed as it was taken against a plain background. The shoot involved four different sets of jewellery with different clothes and make-up for each set.

Marie Antoinette Pops Round for Tea

2010-11-18T13:13:00.003Z

Walking along in the West End I noticed this and had to photograph it. I'm hoping its a couple of actresses in the back of the theatre. Failing that it's a worrying list of options.

Blur on the Tube

2010-11-16T19:23:00.003Z

I decided to experiment with the little Ixus to brighten a tube journey. I turned off the flash, placed the camera against the window and as we reached the station opened the shutter. Each picture is different as stations have different layouts and different numbers of people waiting on the platform. This one was taken on Liverpool Street. I like the slight blur.

Portrait Photography

2010-11-11T11:53:00.004Z

Working with a make up artist here. The picture is largely as it came out of the camera. The only change being to remove a few stray hairs going across the face. I always aim to get the image right in camera so they require the minimum of processing later.

Autumn

2010-11-09T11:15:00.006Z

Autumn seemed to go very quickly in London this year. The leaves went from green to red to being on the floor in a few days. I did get this one on the little Ixus in a park the other day. It was raining so colours a bit dull but it was about the most colourful tree I saw this year and you can't let autumn go with a picture or two.

Black and White Wedding Photographs

2010-11-04T11:35:00.005Z

I often find some photos work better in black and white, or some other type, than colour. With a wedding careful use of black and white images in the album works. This photo of the groom and best man is one that worked well in colour and B&W. To take the photo I wanted a different look and found this ramp way. I got them to walk towards me and put the camera at a slight angle, again something that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't.
I always take the photo in colour so can make any changes in lightroom or photoshop.It gives greater scope for the final look.

Bomb Damage at Tate Britain

2010-10-27T16:00:00.004+01:00

I went to Tate Britain the other day. Walking along Atterbury Street you can see a lot of bomb damage to the wall. This photo shows part of the damage dating from World War II. The gallery was hit a few times during the almost nightly raids. Apparently the art work was safely stored elsewhere except for a piece outside that was too large to move, Truth by Frank Dobson. This survived a near miss in May 1941.

Wedding in Plaistow

2010-10-21T13:19:00.004+01:00

I photographed a wedding at Newham Registry Office a few weeks back. The office itself is in the old Passmore Edwards Library. The room the service takes place in is decorated very nicely. I took this photo in the waiting room. The bride was unaware I was taking it so she has a natural smile. I like the photo as it is so natural, so did the bride, which is more important!

Cover Shot

2010-10-14T11:55:00.006+01:00

At the end of August I did a shoot for a magazine called Vanity. It is based in Ilford, so not far from me. I've done quite a few shoots for the magazine and its advertisers before. However, this one was going to include the cover. This shoot took place at City Pavilion in Collier Row, which offered plenty of scope for locations even though it was open at the time. The whole thing was for adverts for Gul's Style, a designer fashion store, also based in Ilford.
This is one of my favourite shots. The outfit is fantastic and from my perspective I have lit the model nicely but kept the exterior correctly exposed, which is the trick in photography and not that easy. This isn't the cover or one used in the adverts. I'll probably post some of those later. Obviously when I do this kind of work I can't place it on my sites until the magazine is published.

Life Guards on The Mall

2010-10-07T13:19:00.005+01:00

Being a Londoner who spends quite a bit of time in central London I've seen the Household Cavalry a few times. Not taken many pictures though. A few days ago I was walking by the Mall and saw the Life Guards coming along. I had my small camera with me so took a couple of pictures. I think this is what is called the Short Guard. The Long Guard is when the Queen is in London and consists of 15 soldiers. The Short Guard is for when the Queen isn't in London and consists of of 12 soldiers. It doesn't look like 15 in the picture.

Robots in Trafalgar Square

2010-09-29T13:08:00.007+01:00

To launch London Design Festival some robots were put in Trafalgar Square. They were borrowed from Audi's production line in Ingolstadt and fitted with lights. They were then used to write messages. It looked quite smart.

Brighton

2010-09-16T11:38:00.004+01:00

I took this picture as I walked back to my car. The weather that day had been terrible, but for the couple of hours I had been in Brighton it was nice. A period of good weather just before the sun sets is always pleasant and has a relaxing effect. The light is also warm and good for photography. I just liked this view, blue sky with some thin white cloud and the shapes of the lamppost and surrounds in the foreground.

Colourful Buildings

2010-09-09T13:13:00.005+01:00

St Giles is the area of London to the east of Soho. It's not had the best reputation through its history. Its a bit of a no-mans land between more interesting places around it. There's a new set of buildings gone up recently which will liven it up a bit. They have bright coloured fascias. Called Central St Giles and designed by Renzo Piano they are interesting and definitely stand out. Remind me a bit too much of lego though.

Brighton

2010-09-07T15:02:00.005+01:00

Trying to drive back to London the traffic was dreadful. According to the radio the M25 was bad as well. It was also pouring with rain. So I gave up and headed towards the coast instead. Arriving in Brighton at 6pm, just as parking fees are suspended. I parked on the sea front and the rain had stopped. Had an amble around for an hour or two enjoying the sun and sea front and took some photographs with the little Ixus. I must go down there with the proper camera one day.

Anyway, here's a picture of the pier, sea and beach. It also shows part of the rail track.

Heathrow

2010-08-28T18:08:00.004+01:00

I went to west London, a part close by Heathrow, to visit a client. The tube station I used is close to the end of the runway so I used the little Ixus to take a number of shots. Here I've got a 747 on approach and then, somewhat closer than I expected, overhead. Still it shows some nice detail.

Portsmouth

2010-08-25T19:21:00.003+01:00

Taking shelter from one of the showers in Portsmouth I started taking pictures of various things. Not much else to do really. I had my little snappy camera with me so thought I'd take some pictures of ships, not something I get much chance to do in London. This picture is of one of the Isle of Wight ferries going past a jetty with some determined anglers on.

RFA Argus

2010-08-24T16:06:00.007+01:00

I was down in Portsmouth recently. The weather was fairly grim, with low grey clouds and frequent rain. I did see RFA Argus leave port. RFA Argus is a support vessel that can carry a few helicopters. She isn't a hospital ship but can receive casualties and has a CT scanner. She started life as an Italian cargo ship and was bought by the MoD during the Falklands War.

As she was going past it was just about possible to see the Isle of Wight in the background. It wasn't raining at that point but visibility wasn't that good. The hovercraft was late, presumably because the Argus was going across the hovercrafts route.

Trafalgar Square Maze

2010-08-11T14:03:00.004+01:00

A maze has been installed in Trafalgar Square for a few days. I'm not sure of the connection between naval warfare and hedge mazes, but there you go. Dotted around the maze there are things about various places to visit in London. Seemed popular.

Boris Bikes

2010-07-31T15:43:00.004+01:00

Yesterday saw the launch of the mayors bike hire scheme in London. There are racks of cycles at intervals around central London. At present only registered users can use it, soon anyone with a credit will be able to. They are cheap to hire for the first hour of so, but start getting more expensive.

This rack is along the Embankment. I don't think it was ready for use at this point as someone was working on the control point.

Make Up Artists

2010-07-28T18:36:00.004+01:00

As mentioned before I work with make up artists to take photos for their advertising and portfolios. In this case I had worked with the artist and the model before. This happened to be the last picture taken in the session. I liked it, it is different to those typically used for this kind of market.

Horse and carriage

2010-07-23T18:01:00.004+01:00

I was walking around west London near Lancaster Gate the other day and heard the sound of horses. There was a convoy of carriages being drown by horses. The people on them were all dressed up in period clothes. What it was in aid of I don't know. Looked nice though.

Magpies

2010-07-11T09:09:00.004+01:00

From the previous post here's the two magpies sitting on the, still fairly green, lawn.

Magpie

2010-07-06T17:02:00.004+01:00

I went to go out into my garden yesterday and saw two magpies just sitting on the lawn. They were a shortish distance apart facing the same way. I don't know if its common for magpies to sit on lawns, but I've never seen it. They are usually hopping around and squawking at anything that takes their fancy. So here's one of them, sitting there

Dragonfly

2010-07-03T18:04:00.004+01:00

I was walking along a lake in Wanstead Park and saw a dragonfly flitting about. I watched for its favoured perch and it turned out to be a post slightly out in the water. Making it difficult to get close. Still no choice really, I was using my 100mm Macro so being a bit further away than ideal wasn't too bad. After half a dozen attempts I got this nice close one.

Roding Valley Path part 2

2010-06-30T17:40:00.004+01:00

This picture shows a signpost for the Roding Valley Path in Newham. The sign shows a river, grass and trees, all very pretty. Except there isn't much evidence of any of that near the actual sign. From here its a case of walking past some flats, turn right past some garages and then out into a concrete road with gates to the cemetery, you can also see a car scrap heap. Not the nicest of starts. Its difficult to see the actual river either. The path is split in two. One is a narrow overgrown muddy track with the cometary on your right, the other is a broad asphalt road that doesn't exactly say 'nice riverside walk'. After about ten minutes you get to the nice parts.

Roding Valley Way

2010-06-28T12:04:00.005+01:00

The idea of a path along the River Roding has been around for a while now. Parts have been completed others haven't. In some places there have been objections from residents about the proposed path (claims that cyclists going along would make their houses more liable to be burgled rather oddly), delaying the whole thing. I took this photo in Redbridge. Ilford Golf Course is on the opposite side of the river from where I'm standing and its difficult to believe how close you are to a highly built up area. Sadly not far from here the path goes into Newham where it takes you into a housing estate and then vanishes. Its a pity things like this get bogged down. Where the path exists it is great and its extension through Newham and Barking would be welcome.

Ducks in a Row

2010-06-23T18:35:00.006+01:00

Walking around a lake in Epping Forest I saw these ducks sitting on the bank. I didn't want to disturb them so took this picture from where I wasn't disturbing them. Bits of grass in the way, but there you go, its only a quick grab shot.

Damselflies

2010-06-21T16:49:00.006+01:00

I went for a walk in Epping forest today. Took my camera with the macro lens attached. Lots of Damselflies around. I took this one of a pair. There is part of a plant in the way so its not ideal, but if I had moved I would have missed the shot. Also decided to try a new layout on the blog. Just a simple one from the list.

Make up Artist Shoots

2010-06-10T13:00:00.005+01:00

I've done a few shoots with make-up artists for their publicity recently. They are local to me and take out pages in a London magazine called Vanity. I had never worked with this make-up artist before. She wanted to try a number of looks. For this one I decided to slightly over-expose the image to create the look of bright sun-shine to go with the sun glasses, looking at the correct exposures I tried justified the decision. I was very pleased with the shoot, as was the make-up artist and the model. This picture was one of those used in the magazine

Makeovers and Photo Shoots

2010-02-10T15:41:00.005Z

Recently I've done a few jobs with make up artists. They make someone look good and I take the pictures and make them look even better by use of lights and poses. This kind of shoot has a few purposes. Obviously the person being made over wants the pictures for their own reasons, looking good is reason enough, but the make up artist wants images that show off her work and the photographer wants an image that catches the eye. Sometimes the clothes have been supplied by a local shop and they want their clothes looking good.

I also get to play with different backgrounds!

Prested Hall

2010-02-09T15:28:00.005Z

Last week I attended another of Jeff Turnbull's courses. This one was over two days with one afternoon given over to practical wedding photography at Prested Hall, near Colchester in Essex. Courses are a good way for photographers to develop their skills and keep their work fresh. After the shoot everyone presents selected shots and they are discussed. Praise where its due and the odd constructive criticism, it helps improve your work. Its interesting to see different treatment of the photos, including conversion to black and white or adding frames, as everyone takes shots of the same set-up. The skill coming in selecting the angle and framing along with some post processing to enhance the image.

I've put up one of my favourite photographs I took on the day. Its close to sunset so the light has a lovely warm feel.

Snow!

2009-12-23T13:33:00.005Z

The first downfall of snow in the London area didn't hit my area that hard. A few miles away people were getting six/seven inches of the stuff. Didn't get enough here to cover the lawn. So not much to photograph. However, on Monday an unforecast snow storm arrived in the early afternoon. I managed to get out to the forest today. OK not deep and crisp and even but a few interesting views.

There were a few people out with dogs so I waited for a dog to run into view before taking this.

Leadenhall Market

2009-12-07T14:34:00.003Z

Leadenhall Market is on the eastern side of The City. A market existed on the same site during Roman times. When the Romans left London was largely left in ruins so it doesn't have an unbroken record of being a market place though. A market was operating on the site in the 15thC. The current building was constructed in the 1880s. It was restored in 1991, something I remember. I worked in The City from 1980 to 2005 and Leadenhall was a bit run down and tired when I started in the area. After the restoration it was a lot nicer. Also had a decent book shop in it.

The market was used during the filming of one of the Harry Potter films. I can't say I know which one, nor that it would mean anything to me if I knew. Not exactly my favourite films.

This photograph was taken from Gracechurch Street and shows the current Christmas decorations. The pub in the foreground, The New Moon, is a place I spent a few evenings, though its not that close to any of the places I worked in.

Reflections

2009-12-01T15:57:00.006Z

At the southern end of London Bridge is am interesting building, well from a photographic perspective. One face is angled across and mirrored, but isn't flat all the way up. Right at the top there is a hole. Looking at the mirrored wall there are reflections to the north. St Pauls and Cannon Street Station an be seen. Its a building I've taken quite a few pictures of, I've also been inside for an interview and walked through it a few times as there was a shortcut through to Tooley Street through the building.

For the picture above I have cropped the image to concentrate on the reflection. There wasn't much I could do about the bus though. It seemed determined to stay there and I was on my way to a job so couldn't really hang around waiting for a bus to go.

Rainbow

2009-11-26T19:38:00.007Z

Leaving the house today I saw bright sunshine out the window. I opened the door to find heavy rain. I went out anyway. A few yards along the road I went to cross a side road and checking for traffic saw why I had sunshine and rain. Dark clouds on the right blue sky on the left. With a nice rainbow going across. Quick shot with the snappy camera.

New View of Lloyds Building

2009-11-24T20:02:00.004Z

One of the nice things about redevelopment on the City is it opens up new views. Recently the building at the end of Cheapside near to St Pauls was knocked down. This gave a view of St Pauls previously blocked. The new building is largely completed so the views has gone again. Currently a hole has appeared in Bishopsgate, I think it was Standard Chartered office, which opens an angle of view onto the Lloyds building and the new Willis building next door. I like both these buildings and took the opportunity to take a quick shot. The weather was a bit poor, so its not exactly a great picture. Still I hope I'll get a chance to get down there on a sunny day with my proper camera before a new building shoots up. Though a clear morning/evening will be handy.

Somerset House

2009-11-23T19:38:00.004Z

I was walking along The Strand, I seem to walk along The Strand quite a lot lately, late afternoon and had a look in Somerset House as I walked past. The Christmas tree was up and the sky was was turning pink. So I took a took a picture with the little snappy camera. I'm quite pleased with it, it captured the colour of the sky nicely. Though I'm less pleased with the guy in the high viz jacket!

New Office Block in The City

2009-11-17T20:46:00.004Z

I had a wander through part of the City. Its going through a lot of changes again. buildings being demolished and new ones being built. What was Barclays head office now has a womens clothes shop in the ground floor. I'm assuming the shop doesn't occupy the rest of the tower though. One of the new buildings is Heron Tower on Bishopsgate just south of Liverpool Street station. This will, apparently, be the tallest building in the UK. It's got a few metres to go yet. I took this picture standing in by what was the NatWest Tower but is now Tower 42 and was the tallest building when it opened.

Running With Cameras

2009-11-12T19:36:00.005Z

Not running with scissors, something we are all warned against, but running or walking with the camera shutter open. As I mentioned in the previous post I enjoy experimenting with photography. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. With that in mind I wondered what would happen if I dialled in a few seconds shutter and walked along. Pretty colours everywhere, much like one of those paintings by a monkey.

Light Trails

2009-11-11T20:03:00.004Z

I enjoy night time and early morning photography. The light changes quickly and you get to experiment a bit. Digital photography has the benefit of having no cost when experimenting and instant results which film doesn't.

I had a wander around London from London Bridge to Covent Garden. Took a fair number of photographs. I took a number looking along the Strand. Sometimes I zoomed when the shutter was open. This is one of those. The road bends directly in front of where I set the camera up. This gives light trails crossing from right to left and going off into the distance.

View From a Fountain

2009-11-10T16:19:00.004Z

I took a few pictures in Trafalgar Square and decided to try something different to the views I had tried before. So I put my camera as close as I could to the surface of the water in one of the fountains. I couldn't see what I was taking, as my head would have to be under water to look through the viewer, so it was a case of lining up as best I could.I did expect to be lectured by one of the wardens there, its the only place I've ever been hassled over photography.

Anyway I got this shot which I quite liked. I've got the whole of Nelsons Column, albeit a bit crooked, the surface of the water and a couple of water jets. A bit of experimentation is worth trying.

New Statue in Trafalgar Square

2009-11-09T13:51:00.004Z

The empty fourth plinth is now being used for the statue of a war hero, just like two of the other three. It's only temporary though. The statue is of Sir Keith Park who commanded RAF 11 group fighter command, defending London and south east England during the Battle of Britain. He was a New Zealander. The statue was designed by an Australian and manufactured in Wellington, New Zealand. This is a fibre glass version. A permanent bronze statue will be erected in Waterloo Place.

More St Pancras

2009-11-05T16:38:00.008Z

As I mentioned yesterday I liked the restored brickwork and metal roof supports. I took this photo to get a number of elements in.

The clock and some detail of the roof have been captured, along with the rivets in the supports. The top of the statue by the clock is visible. I'm quite happy with the level of detail captured by the little camera. I do want to go there with the proper gear at some point.

One of the nice things about small cameras is that I can carry it around at all times and take shots when something catches my eye. I can then use these as a base for planning trips with the heavy stuff. As the small digital records the time I can plan for light direction as well.

St Pancras Station

2009-11-04T20:19:00.006Z

St Pancras Station is somewhere I had been meaning to go for sometime. Following its redevelopment to handle Eurostar people have said how good it looks. I needed some equipment from a photographic store nearby so I decided to kill two birds with one stone, shopping and sight seeing. As I'd be doing some shopping I didn't take my main gear and used my little snappy camera instead.

There were quite a few people taking pictures there. The roof is impressive and the restored brickwork looks good alongside the metal roof supports.

I liked this picture of the statue of Sir John Betjeman I took. Rather than a straight shot I wanted the clock in the background as time is part of the statue and also wanted some of the roofing.

I took several shots before toddling off to Neuhaus to get some chocolates. Well it was my birthday and I've not been to Belgium for ages so I thought I'd treat myself to some excellent chocolates.

Happy Birthday to Me

2009-10-15T21:22:00.004+01:00

Today was my birthday and I had to work. It was for head and shoulders shots at a medical centre. The nature of medical practices is that they never have everybody there at the same time so I'll have to make one or two trips back to complete. Its not far from me so its not an issue, though parking is a nightmare.

Walking along I did spot The Saints car! A Volvo 1800. Wonderful looking car so I had to photograph it, though I used my little snappy camera not the bulky professional one.

Wedding Photography Course Part II

2009-10-13T15:31:00.003+01:00

More on the Jeff Turnbull course. The length of the course allowed for some experimentation. One of the things about photography is that photographers have different styles. These styles change over time and develop from experimenting during shoots and looking at other photographers work. Now you're not going to develop a distinct style during one course but the encouragement to experiment during the training helps build your confidence when shooting real weddings. I came away with some non-standard shots I preferred over others and now have a clear idea of how to develop that over time.

Obviously when it comes to an actual shoot the client won't always agree with me over what are the best photographs.

Here's a couple more from the shoot. Again a straight shot and one that's not quite a straight shot.

Wedding Photography Course

2009-10-12T17:18:00.003+01:00

On Saturday I went on a course to learn wedding photography. Although I've been doing photography for years now, wedding photography is a different skill set so wanted to learn whats involved from a good wedding photographer.

I found Jeff Turnbull's site, liked his work, and booked up on a course. He's based near Braintree in Essex, so a nice easy drive. Its a long day, with 7 other photographers. We got lots of instruction and tips. Jeff uses a real couple as models, got a limo and arranges access to a local church, so its close to the real thing. Definitely worth doing.

I've finished processing the 100's of photos I took and am really pleased with the results. There's a couple of pics here, a nice traditional shot and an arty one.

Contrasts in The City

2009-10-01T13:00:00.003+01:00

I was having a wander around the City the other week. It was a nice sunny Saturday so all the City bankers would be at home making it peaceful.

I found this place near London Wall. A classical looking building (its not really that old) with an unimaginative glass box tower over it and two slightly more imaginative glass and concrete buildings next to it. It made an interesting image, I didn't want to get the whole of the modern buildings in as doing it this way exaggerates the crowding in effect.

Low Tide II

2009-09-30T14:13:00.005+01:00

Well today has been re-tune freeview, The Sun switching support and reading about Google wave - looks interesting. I'll have to check the Aus v Pak cricket score later. With England losing yesterday looks like it could be Eng v Aus semi.

Yesterday I intended to post two pictures. Manged to only send one. Ah well. This one is the Millennium Bridge viewed from the Thames shoreline at low tide. Nicely different to the usual angle.

Low Tide

2009-09-29T15:18:00.006+01:00

Reading the news, X-Factor band kicked out. One of them is too young. Replacements brought in. Didn't they do this last year? Labour make or break conference. Wasn't that last year as well? Maybe as I'm running backups of my laptop I've somehow found a backed up copy of the news.

Looking through the backed up pictures I found some from a walk along the southbank at low tide. Walking along the shore rather than the much higher embankments gives a different perspective. Here's a couple of pictures of the Millennium Bridge ,which is one of my favourite photographic subjects, from the lower angle afforded by low tide.

In the garden

2009-09-28T12:51:00.005+01:00

Trying to escape the Gordon Brown on medication stories in the news as well as X-Factor and Strictly Come Dancing - unless they are a cricketer I never know who the slebs are - I did some repair work on the front of the house. Doing so I attracted a robin. So I went and got the camera. Put the 100mm macro lens on, its lighter and smaller than the 300mm which would be better suited.

Still I got this shot of the robin. OK its not going to win any prizes but its nice all the same. I've read that robins in the UK trust people more than robins do in Europe. Something to do with continentals viewing them as foodstuff but Brits not thinking of them as edible. Whether its true or not I don't know.

Guido Fawkes Goes to Parliament

2009-05-24T14:33:00.006+01:00

As it was a nice sunny day I had a wander around Westminster. I have hardly really looked at Parliament from up close. Usually lots of people milling about making it difficult so it's an area I avoid. This Saturday it was OK and had look good look round. Then I spotted press photographers and decided to go and have a look at what was happening.

Turns out it was a protest by a small group including two people dressed as Guido Fawkes. They had a pretend barrel of gunpowder and a dragon. Not sure about the dragon but there you go.

I took a few pictures, wondered whether the press outnumbered the demonstrators by 2 or three to one. A TV bloke said it was more like 5 to 1.

The first picture is of one of the protesters lining up with a few police. I took this Angle so I could include the statue of Cromwell in the background. He was someone who knew how to clear Parliament!

The second picture is towards the end of the demonstration. There's a mixture of the Guido Fawkes people and a group from UK Jury Team who were there for different reasons. A party from Socialist Worker and The Christian Party were also milling about, the European elections are due soon.

Dawn at the Millennium Bridge

2009-04-02T20:08:00.004+01:00

This is one of my favourite parts of London now. The bridge looks good, St Pauls is visible in places and there are no really ugly buildings. From this angle the sunrise creates silhouettes of the buildings as they get taller without any breaking the line of the bridge.

More Snow

2009-04-01T19:53:00.004+01:00

More snow pics, but its a bit of a rarity in London. I was taken by this tree looking a bit overladen with snow. Just needed a few baubles to finish the christmas tree look.

More Snow

2009-04-01T16:34:00.005+01:00

This is a stream that feeds into the River Roding, just about where the stream vanishes in this picture. The Roding is a tributary of the Thames.

To get this photo I had to walk past this point and then walk forward to avoid footprints in the snow. To the snow white I overexposed by 1/2 a stop.

Snow

2009-03-31T20:00:00.003+01:00

This is a building in Wanstead Park. It's all that's left of the Wanstead Estate, there used to be a mansion and a boat house as well as this summer house. The owner of the land gambled the wealth away and now the grounds and lakes are part of Wanstead Park.

I took this photo during the snow in February. It's close to where I live so I walked there early to get some pristene snow photos.

Epping Forest

2009-03-31T17:11:00.004+01:00

Epping Forest is to the north east of London, largely in Essex. The southern end of the forest is in east London. It's easy for me to get to any part of it and it's a nice place to spend some time.

It can be busy in places on the main paths, some of which allow horse riding and cycling. Wandering off the paths it is very quiet. It can also be very muddy!

I spotted this scene when I happened to look over my shoulder. The sun was streaming through some gaps in the trees. I'm pleased with the results, I've captured some detail in the strongly lit area and the greens and reds in the shaded parts

Sundial on Thames

2009-03-30T19:39:00.003+01:00

This large silver sun dial is in front of the hotel by Tower Bridge. I like it as a subject. Often I've taken it with Tower Bridge in the background. Here I was going for the sun reflecting off the dial.

Parliament Sunset

2009-03-29T14:42:00.004+01:00

This photo was taken close to where the one in the previous post was taken. Just a lot later in the day. At this point the Thames runs roughly north/south and the sun sets behind the Houses of Parliament.

Albert Embankment

2009-03-28T14:05:00.004Z

This was taken on a cold morning opposite the Houses of Parliament. It's not the most colourful place during winter but it's pleasant enough with a good view across the river. Being a grey area the photo lends itself to being converted to black and white.

A couple of minutes after taking this photo a man jumped into the Thames right in front of me. A bit of a shock, but the police and an ambulance were on the scene within five minutes of me calling the police, handy things mobile phones. The guy was pulled from the river still alive, must have been freezing cold though, the temperature was just above freezing.

Barnes

2009-03-26T16:39:00.005Z

Outside central London the banks of the Thames are totally different. Here I am walking from Hammersmith to Barnes Bridge. Instead of tall buildings and traffic there's housing and trees and a lot quieter. There are fewer boats on the Thames at this point as well. Teams of rowers go past at times. Yet it is still in London. This is getting close to sun set, as can be seen by the orange sky on the horizon.

Colour versions

2009-03-25T17:36:00.003Z

I've done some work on the previous image but in colour. I think I was right when I was taking the photo to view it as a balck and white image. Though the skies a good colour.

The flyer for The Southerner pub (sells a nice Speights) shows up more in the colour picture as well.

Atmospheric Stairs

2009-03-25T13:22:00.005Z

This is another place I had been wanting to photograph for a while. Its a stairway that runs underneath a building connecting the Strand with Victoria Embankment. The brickwork and lights give it an atmosphere ideal for balck and white.

I was a bit later getting here than I intended so didn't get all the shots I wanted. Will have to wait for the next decent weather forecast to coincide with when I can back there.

Colour or Black and White

2009-03-24T10:59:00.004Z

This view of the along the Stand of the Royal Courts of Justice is one I've been meaning to photograph for some time. It's difficult to do during the day to a continual stream of traffic and lots of pedestrians.

The entrance to the court is very brightly lit so it's difficult to get the exposure right. It can be seen on the left of the picture how it differs from the rest of the building in lighting. Left of centre is a statue. It is a dragon which represents the boundary of the City of London.

Having taken the photo I thought I'd compare the straight colour shot with a contrasty black and white one. The lack of traffic avoids any dating of the image so the BW one looks old and moody, which I like. Though the cycle lane gives a clue to it being a new photo, suppose I could photoshop that out.

St Clement Danes

2009-03-23T12:47:00.006Z

This is St Clement Danes, the RAF church. It's on the Strand just by the Royal Courts of Justice. There is a bus stop to the left and the light trails of a bus can be seen in the picture.

The exposure for this picture was around 15 seconds. A couple of tourists did decide to stand in front of the camera for a couple of seconds but don't show up. Never sure why people decide that have to stand directly in front of the lens, ut there you go.

Ugly Buildings and Pretty Lamp Posts

2009-03-19T13:33:00.005Z

A few yards on from the previous picture. I'm now between London Bridge and Cannon Street Rail Bridge, in front of what was Ebbgate House. Ebbgate was an ugly building a grey hulk of a building sitting where a decent looking building (or park) ought to. On the plus side you could get between the building and the river and get some nice views. Southwark Cathedral can be seen and the lampposts are more interesting than the standard street ones. There's also a floating pub on the left of the picture.

I fired the flash gun once for this image. Held it off camera and fired it at about 1/4 to add some definition and highlights to what is a black post.

London Bridge - Early Morning

2009-03-18T15:45:00.004Z

This is a part of London I know very well. I worked in an office close to where I took this picture. It used to be the case you couldn't walk along the path here. There were a set of steps to the river under the bridge but there was no way of crossing the inlet they were in. Now a little bridge has been built so you don't have to take a diversion.

I'm not sure when the lights along the bridge were changed to red. Looks nice though.

Driving and Taking Pictures

2009-03-17T12:51:00.009Z

Bit of experimentation going on here. Taking photos from inside the car while driving. Now clearly you can't use a camera and drive at the same time so it needs a bit of work.

First set the lens to manual focus and choose a focal distance. Second enter a shutter time and an aperture. The program the camera with the remote release to take a number of pictures at set time intervals with a ten second self timer for the first picture. I then put my tripod in the front passenger seat and fixed it in place, absolute must that it cannot move. Then fix camera to the tripod and take a test shot to ensure it is pointing through the windscreen. Last stage is get ready to drive off and start the self timer before pulling away. Ten seconds into the drive the first picture is taken. Drive around at random and see what happens. I pulled over at one point and changed a couple of settings. This test was done near my house. Having got the hang of it I'll give it a go in the City in a few days time. The buildings are more interesting and lit up so should be interesting.

A clean windscreen helps.

Morning Bus

2009-03-16T14:08:00.004Z

Walking through the City one morning I decided to try something I hadn't done before. Normally for low light shots I use a tripod and leave the camera still. Traffic appears as light trails, buildings are visable. This time I decided to pan the camera with a moving bus. Here's the result. I quite like it. The bus is recognisable as a bus, which is what counts.

Westminster Bridge

2009-03-14T16:16:00.005Z

Between Westminster and Lambeth Bridges the Thames Path only runs on one side of the river. The Houses of Parliament sit right on the river bank on the north London side. Westminster Bridge has been undergoing some renovation recently, the lights are being restored. I like the lights on the bridge I find they are good subjects for photography.

For this shot I waited until there was just one person in shot and they were past the London Eye (the big wheel). The was cloudy but the clouds were broken with the concrete part of the bridge dominating the lower right of the photo I went for 'moody'. Using Lightroom I converted the image to a cynotype. This is an effect I like. Seems to work well with textures and buildings.

Early Morning

2009-03-13T13:09:00.004Z

Still on the Thames Path, this time in the City. This picture of Southwark Bridge was taken early morning. I fired the flash gun during the exposure to lighten the darker areas.

The Beginning

2009-03-12T13:28:00.008Z

Still on the Thames Path. I started at Hampton Court Bridge, the first crossing in London (or last if you're going in the other direction). It was a nice day, fairly unusual in the UK last year. The pathway is only on one side at this point and runs longside Hampton Court Palace for part of the way.

Here's the picture, a nice quiet still morning. Good for reflections in the water. Not the most exciting image but pleasing and easy on the eye.

Battersea Power Station

2009-03-11T12:56:00.006Z

At some points the Thames Path leaves the Thames as buildings are right on the river bank. As one of these parts rejoins the river side I spotted this view. A traditional red phone box with the power station behind. In isn't the most colourful view in winter and the red stood out. I thought straight away that this would work being converted to B&W but leaving the box in colour, colour popping. This isn't something I tend to do, like a lot of effects it gets done to death and used where it doesn't add to the image and the effect lessens. This is only the second time I've used this effect and I think it works here.

Back - Thames path

2009-03-10T14:13:00.009Z

I've been walking along the London parts of the Thames Path recently. The pathway runds from it's source in the Cotswolds to the Thames Barrier in Greenwich. The London section is easy for me to get to using public transport. In some sections it's on both banks in others just one. I'll be posting photo's from my walks, not in any particular order though.

This one was taken at sunrise. Looking south east near the Millennium Bridge. I noticed the way a shaft of light caused a distinct split in the orange sky next to the plume of steam coming from the tallest building.

Car Service, Toy Town Railway and a fun job

2007-04-17T21:51:00.000+01:00

Car had it's service. The drive towards docklands isn't too bad. Tend to be stationary near traffic lights on roundabouts, rest of the time the traffic flows.

Drop off the car and walk to the nearest DLR station. Look at the indicator board. Next train Stratford, 2 mins. 2 mins later a train appears, it says Bank on it. Makes no difference can't get on. Look at board, trains have all moved backwards. 15 minutes later a train finally arrives that it's possible to get on. I'm told the DLR is reliable.

No major work needed on the car so £700 less than last year. Trouble is I get the car at 5:15. Evening rush hour. Traffic not too bad for start of the drive. I go through the stations to find the Oz-Sri Lanka match. Then the traffic grinds to a halt. Move forward a few yards and then stop. It's like this for a few miles. Not enjoying this, wonder how people do this every day. then I see a central line train. People jammed against the doors. It's a warm day so I know what it's like on there. So I think again. In my car I have a nice comfortable seat, air con and my own music. I don't have to put up with 'personal' stereos, inane conversations on mobiles, BO or, on the off chance of having a seat, someone trying to take up two seats. The traffic seems much nicer now.

The other day I had a job photographing make-up. So the interest isn't the model, the clothes or the props just how she is mad-up. It was quite fun. The traffic going there wasn't though. The AA route planner gave a time of 30 minutes. So gave myself an hour. 30 minutes after setting out I had travelled a few miles, traffic was solid in both directions. Made worse by people sitting across junctions - buses are good for this. Got to the clients with a few minutes to spare. I can't put any of these pictures on here. However, I did stick a camera to the dashboard after the car service and was able to trigger it.

So here's a picture of a traffic jam!

Slow bus through a building site

2007-04-17T14:42:00.000+01:00

Went to get change from mainline to the Central Line at Stratford and noticed the tube passengers where all standing by the doors. Decided to get back on the overground, then heard announcement that Central Line wasn't running. At Liverpool Street I went for a bit of a walk, had a look at the old Stock Exchange Tower where I used to work. It's being refurbished and the ugly concrete is being covered with glass. Do not know if it's possible to make a coffin shaped building attractive but you never know.

Having checked out the old building I caught a bus to get to the west end. Watching the news we're led to believe the congestion charge has reduced traffic. Can't say I noticed. The traffic was moving at less than walking speed, same as it did when I worked in the area in the 80's and 90's. The City is a building site once more. There's always some building going on but it seems to be in one of it's busy times at the moment. Cheapside has scaffolding most of it's length on both sides. Don't know what new buildigs are being put up but I hope there's some inetersting ones going up. Cheapside was the only place in the City with shops a few years back and had some of the most non-descript buildings in the area. It was always a bit of an architectural desert.

Eventually I gave up on the bus. it was a nice day so I couldn't see the point of going slower than walking speed, different if it was snowing or raining (though I like rain and snow).

I did take a picture out of the back of the bus using the old Ixus. it sums up the journey, a traffic queue and a building crane.

Motorcycle Orchestra

2007-03-28T21:27:00.000+01:00

Interesting past week or so. My laptop packed in. Kept rebooting itself and wouldn't start in safe mode. Warranty expired about three weeks back. Worked out it was the memory by taking bits out and re-starting until it worked. Amazing how slow it is just running on 512, bought a replacement 512 so back up to a gig and working at decent speed.

A couple of days later I broke my sunglasses. Don't know why I'm surprised, every year I break a pair. Then my season ticket got mangled so I spent a day having to get LU staff let me through the barriers. Then today I went to add the copyright sign to some photos and the Photoshop action decided it couldn't add it. Had a closer look and three steps had vanished from the action. So I've just recorded the process again.

A photo I sent to a customer seems to have gone astray in the post. No sign of it on the tracking system. Took two weeks to get the cheque from them now I've got to say the order has got lost in the post, sounds lame. Ah well good news today. I've been left £5.1m in someones will. I've never heard of the person and the law firm doesn't exist. Wonder if it's a scam?????(no I'm not serious I know it's a scam)

Went to Queensway Station today. It's one of those with lifts. A very bossy voice tells you to keep clear of the doors. Had a walk through Kensington Gardens. Hazy sunshine, warm enough for short sleeves, pity about the broken sunglasses. Got to the Albert Memorial and found a motorbike orchestra 'rev for a reason'. Drums, piano, brass and motorbikes. It was related to a campaign concerning accident rates for motorbikes

http://www.revforareason.net/index.php

I took some photos during the wander. I think it's easy to figure out which are of the orchestra and which are of Kensington Gardens.

High Easter

2007-03-13T19:30:00.000Z

Drove to High Easter, a village in Essex, today. Drive took the usual form. Tail back from the Redbridge roundabout, today drivers on the A12 let me out rather than just roll across the junction. Usual stuff on M11, people sitting in the middle lane or wandering into outside lane at 60, protected by the magic indicator if you're lucky. Going along, a sensible gap to the car in front and on comes an indicator on a car going slower than you and they just move straight over into your braking space.

Went trough some roadworks on the way out. I waited at the temporary lights for a minute or so. The queue from the other direction was over a mile long, got to wonder about the light sequencing. Remembered not to go that way on the way home, the SatNav took a few minutes to figure out a new route.

High Easter is a quiet place. I had a walk along the lanes, not much traffic. Nice sunny day. Took a few photos.

Congestion? Whats that?

2007-03-10T21:00:00.000Z

Drove to a job on Friday morning, had to drive through the local town centre. I was lucky enough to time it after school run but before shoppers turn out in numbers. Drive home was just as empty. Nice clear run, rare event.

Later travelled up west for a drink. Central line was running OK. No strange people or oboe players.

Can't post any pictures I took on Friday. Two reasons - one somebodies paid for them, two they're of accident injuries so aren't very pleasant. So here's a couple from Thursday instead.

One of the Tower of London. It includes one of the typical Evening Standards placards 'someone famous dies'. The other is the entrance to Tower Hill tube station. Unusually nobody is coming out of the entrance. Concepts such as 'exit' and 'no entry' seem to be beyond a lot of tube travellers.

Oboe players on the train?

2007-03-08T21:22:00.000Z

After yesterdays peaceful trip today's tube ride was a bit odd. In the carriage on the District line there was a man playing an oboe, badly. Competing with this was a man doing Skippy impersonations into his mobile. There were also two people wearing sunglasses, one of whom was an unconvincing transvestite. I've never understood why people wear sunglasses underground, it's fairly dark and sunglasses aren't going to help visibility.

At least the journey home was OK.

Took a few photos today. I haven't processed them though. I'm watching a C4 programme about global warming instead. It's presenting the "it's not co2" side of the argument.

A civilised day on the tube

2007-03-07T19:37:00.000Z

I travelled to Covent Garden, Soho and Liverpool Street today. Disturbingly there were no weirdos on any of the three tube trips today. No extra loud 'personal' stereos or silly ring tones on the above ground bits. No delays, no long waits, no crowds. The tube was very civilised and good to use today. Wonderful when that happens.

Took some photos of Liverpool Street Station. The modernisation of this station was very good. When I started commuting in was a dark, dingy, cramped place with a leaky roof. It's now light and more open, but they kept some of old Victorian engineering.

inside - out

Not much photography going on

2007-03-06T10:02:00.000Z

Not much chance to go out yesterday or today. Meeting someone from a marketing co. today.

Yesterday went shopping. As ever I park away from other cars. Yet when I get back to my car I have a car parked on each side of me. Car parks less than a quarter full, I'm not close to the shops. Why do people decide that parking so close to my car it's difficult to open the doors is such a good idea? Is it the colour, a pearlescent Audi blue? Do some drivers have a bird like flocking instinct?

Waiting for the eclipse

2007-03-03T22:38:00.000Z

No photographs on Friday, too busy drinking. Got home and had an e-mail from from my old office. Another one leaving, two e-mails in one week with the same type of news. Two leaving drinks!

Went out to Epping Forest today, the northern bit, not the southern end I live next to. Journey got off to a good start. Driving towards the Redbridge Roundabout I noticed there was no massive tailback. The I saw the traffic lights weren't working. This is good news as since the lights were put there the tailbacks are permanent and the roundabout is very dangerous to drive on. Lights off, traffic flows and it's much safer as people use the correct lanes. Anyway, only four cars ahead of me, but the driver of the front one seemed to be waiting for a written invitation before pulling out. Eventually he spotted a gap large enough for the QEII and QMII to pull out and he went. After that no waiting, straight round to the M11.

As ever on a motorway I found myself having to go from the left hand-lane to the right to overtake some idiot poodling along the middle lane at 60. On to the country roads to experience another type of odd driving. I find myself sitting behind someone doing 30/40 on the 60mph roads. Get to a village with a 'Slow 30' sign and these people go scampering off. Get through the village, I start building up speed get to 50 and catch up with the same car now doing 30 having gone through the village at 50. Do these people think speed limit signs are inverted? Sometimes I have the pleasure of these people driving behind me. 60MPH road no-one behind me. I slow down for built up area (aren't I law abiding) and suddenly there's someone almost in my boot. Get through the town/village and accelerate. Car that was in my boot vanishes into the distance behind me as they slow down and I go faster.

Park in one of the forest car parks, thankful that I keep my wellies in the boot, and head off with camera round my neck. I like photographing trees. The shapes and pattern of the bark and roots or the forms made by the branches. I look for images that will work in black and white as well as colour, this time of year there's not exactly a lot of colour around. Great thing about wandering around forests is going to bits of it I've never seen before. I came across a small stream, complete with tiny waterfalls; probably helped by all the rain we've had.

Having wandered around for a while it crossed my mind that I've never seen a deer in Epping Forest. Five minutes in the New Forest and I saw three, twenty odd years of wandering around Epping and not one. Then, suddenly, I spotted a rabbit. Then another, then another. Rabbits running round all over the place. I was in bunny central. Didn't take any photos of them, not only were they very fast but I also had the 24-70 lens on. Didn't see the point of putting a 300 on as I wouldn't be able to catch a rabbit belting through the undergrowth.

I turned back towards the the car park and managed to find a boggy part of the forest. Mud up to my ankles.

Drove back home, lights still not working on the roundabout so no tailback again. Hope they're still off tomorrow. Run the photos through Lightshop, converted a few to BW.

I've been nipping in and out tonight checking for the lunar eclipse. Yes it is red.
Here's a couple of pics from Epping. Both fallen trees, I said I like the patterns.

Much more succesful this time

2007-03-01T20:14:00.000Z

After yesterdays aborted attempt things worked out a lot better today. One hour to Sloane Square, not bad. I didn't have anything to read so I thought I'd look around and see what my fellow travellers were doing, can't look out of the window on the underground! As ever some odd things going on amongst commuters. Bloke opposite was reading the 'Metro' of the woman next to him, even though he had exactly the same paper. She glanced at his paper at which point he moves his paper so close to his face his virtually wearing it. Later two women get on the train. Plenty of empty seats but they choose to stand. Two stops later all seats are taken. Then when someone stands up one of these two women shouts "ooh there's a seat. Sit down you need it". The other replies, equally loudly, "But what about your poor knees? You need it more than me." Why'd they not sit down in the first place? Maybe they had a hidden camera and were trying to prove how people don't give up their seats for women. Could be they just like trying to make people feel guilty.

Later, walking through St. James's Park I came across a pelican sitting on the foot path. This pelican was surrounded by people staring at it. The pelican stands up, takes a step and all these people run around screaming. Have I missed the 'Killer Pelican' headlines that warranted this reaction?

On to Soho and a quick pint, then home. Load the pictures on to the laptop and run them through Lightroom. Adobe have got Lightroom working nicely now it's live. Was so slow in Beta, but the live version is brilliant and it was free!

Got some photos today - Horse Guards,

Sloane Square Station and the "pelican that terrorised St James's Park" - how brave of me.

Start with a failure.

2007-02-28T22:08:00.000Z

I was going to start this blog off with images from a visit to west London. Unfortunately I got stuck on the edge of London by a fire brigade inspection at Bethnal Green station. So after two hours I had got no-where. So no pictures. Carrying all the weight of the camera gear for no result is a pain, as was walking back home having managed to travel two stops. So I'll put up an oldish photo of part of London I enjoy photographing.

I'll try again tomorrow. I might also start to get the hang of the Blog.