Media Circus

This was the edifice built for the worlds media opposite The Abbey, and remember this is 4am!


This smartly dressed man was completely at odds with the mass of people swirling around The Mall as he waited patiently for the procession, flagged furled but ready.

And lastly, well, I just liked the casual insolence of British workmen when in the presence of their so-called betters ...

Royal Bash

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Even at 4am, there were crowds ... I spoke to some who had camped two nights and were still in good spirits! Very good atmosphere, everyone seemed friendly and there for one thing only, a celebration. Good to see! Very difficult to get any really good shots due to the restrictions and barriers. The Plod kept telling me off for walking where I shouldn't, but one policewoman (shown above), was particularly charming, not to mention rather beautiful! It's a bit disconcerting when the Plod is attractive ... Constable Erdem is her name. The media circus was astounding, top and last shot, on purpose built stands for the worlds TV. Two billion they recon will be viewing. I'll watch the highlights ... I made my escape at 6.30am when the crowds were really starting to build.

Leica M9 + 35mm

Arabia

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Late one afternoon in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, I was lying in the gutter swatting away flies and cockroaches and trying to get an interesting angle on this building, when this chap wandered into frame. I think he briefly glanced at me and probably wondered what the hell I was doing. Maybe I surprised him, but whatever he thought, he paused long enough for me to wipe the sweat from my eyes and take one picture. He then crossed the road shaking his head at crazy foreigners without a second glance. (I expect that today, in a similar scenario I might get shouted at or at least aggressively challenged as to what I was doing) But the thing is, without him in frame all the other shots were dull.  I've often wondered how it is that when I have my camera in my hand and looking for a shot, one often presents itself right out of the blue. It's happened so many times I no longer think it a coincidence. And without a camera to hand I've not noticed many missed opportunities, and it's not because I'm not looking because I'm always looking. It seems that just by 'doing something' by holding the camera, working the scene, very often things come together visually almost serendipitously. I guess you make your own luck. So the conclusion I've come to, is that it's no use sitting around hoping for a shot, you just got to get out there, camera in hand, and start working. And then if you're lucky, just like magic it all comes together. Well, more often than not ...

Nikon F3, 24mm f.2 Ektachrome 64. 

Missing You

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This poor old chap had just about had enough I think, a bit like the rotting wagon behind him, and where the hell was his missus?

Leica M9 + 90mm

The Two Kings

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Edward II in front being pushed by Edward I, both looking chuffing pleased with themselves. I had about five seconds to get this shot as the anoraks had bagged every point on the fence several days prior to this point in time. I managed to duck under a huge Cannon camera with an equally huge lens wielded by a monstrous woman in a bright orange anorak and snap this shot. She wasn't best pleased, but I got the shot, that's what elbows are for! The engines were moving, honest.

Top image, Leica M9 + 90mm, 2nd image on the 35mm 

Big Boy's Toys.

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Day out to Didcot Railway Musium yesterday to see the newly restored steam engine, King Edward II actual under steam. This shot was very quickly grabbed just before the engine pulled away so I was lucky to catch the two drivers unposed and concentrating on their work. A few more shots from this excursion to come but not many good ones as there were far too many people - and every one of them had a camera or video! Anorak heaven for the train enthusiasts. I saw one couple and yes, it was the woman crawling under the bogies of a rotting hulled happily snapping pictures. Managed to get a few train rides up and down the little railway and the smell - no, wrong word, aroma - of the smoke and coal sent me back to the days as a young boy where I'd stand on a bridge as a steam engine roared and chuffed underneath enveloping me in smoke and steam. Lovely! 

Leica M9 + 35mm

Into the Sun

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Shooting directly into the sun is one of my favourite angles. It reduces the component parts of an image to shadows and blocks, sometimes giving a very evocative and graphic image. This was taken on transparency film, and I suspect many younger people will now be wondering what that is! I probably wouldn't have retained the detail in the sky around the sun had I shot digital or I would have had to do HDR and worked long into the night to process the image. As it was, I just shot the image, sent the film to be processed and that was it. Ah, those were the days! Shoot and hand over the transparency to the client, end of job. 
Nikon F3 + 24mm f2. Kodak E64

Processing an Image

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It's rare that a shot straight out of the camera works best. It can happen of course, but more often than not, it needs to be interpreted somehow to show better what you feel the image should convey. Here is a pretty ordinary picture with the colour shot shown 'as is' straight out of the camera while the monochrome has been processed. The monochrome works much better, but I still don't like the background ... Still, one of the great things about digital photography is the ease that you can return again and again to an image and re-interpret and re-create any original shot.

Taken on a Nikon D70 and 18-70 zoom.

Then & Now

Back in 2004 I had a little Fuji snapshot digital 2mp camera and I recently found a couple of images taken with it back then. How quality has improved! These images were found on an old Flickr account I had completely forgotten about. I can't now find the original files as several computers and clear-outs later have made them vanish!

However, the servers on Flickr have kept hold of these low-res ones for me. Unfortunately I didn't upload the full files wary of the thieving bastards that lurk there. The images aren't important and were never good enough to have been stolen anyway. I'm far more relaxed these days as theft is unavoidable but I still never allow full files to be seen on-line. But I am more careful about saving original files these days. So this clearly shows that on-line storage is a good back-up option - as long as you can protect the files from tea-leaves.

Ice cream weather

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As today is the warmest day of spring (so far), my thoughts have turned to ice cream. Which is better? The super-soft creamy machine-made version, or the quality, scooped hard stuff?  Hmmm, much testing required ... I love quality ice cream, but and I also love the cheap (not so cheap these days) soft stuff. And usually best with a stick of flakey chocolate stuck in a cone. The famous 99. No idea where that name came from. The thought springs to mind to google the name and find out, and just as quickly, thankfully, the thought vanishes. Now, I think I have a tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream in the freezer. I'm just stepping out to see, I may be some time ... 

"I may be some time"

The British public was stirred by the death of Captain Lawrence Oates, whose swollen feet were badly frostbitten, and who knew that he was holding his companions back. Scott described Oates' self-sacrificial suicide:

He took pride thinking that his regiment would be pleased with the bold way he met his death. We can testify to his bravery. He has borne intense suffering for weeks without complaint... He slept through the night before last, hoping not to wake; but he woke in the morning yesterday. It was blowing a blizzard. He said 'I am just going outside and may be some time.' He went out into the blizzard and we have not seen him since.

Ice cream man shot taken last summer on the Leica + 35mm.

Photo Competitions

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Well, I don't usually bother with them because they more often than not are simply a way for companies to farm hundreds, sometimes thousands, of images they can then use cheaply and without obligation in perpetuity. Call me cynical ...

The I saw this prize of a trip to New York and thought, what the hell. It's just one image and a few words. It's called My Life, My Story. The idea being to link any picture that holds a life defining moment and say why. So I sent them this one. Some visiting friends wanted to see The Downs and as I hadn't really gone anywhere or done anything since my heart attack, I took them. I found the climb tiring and I was quite breathless but otherwise fine. It helped my confidence and this shot of their daughter running through the summer fields summed up how lucky I was just to be there. Vote for this shot (if you want) by following this link - although I don't think the votes actually count for very much. I think a 'cute' puppy has the most votes, followed by some out of focus shot! There are already hundreds of shots entered...

Taken on the Nikon D90 + 18-200mm

Spring

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And the blossom is flowering beautifully on the apple tree in our garden. Taken in the shade this evening as the sun was setting. I'm not really into photographing nature but thought the 'bokeh' (the out of focus parts of the image), might look good using the Leica's 90mm lens. And I think it does!

  

I Have My Eye On You ...

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As I re-worked the shot of Chris, so I thought I'd do the same to Amanda, taken at the same session and using the same old prime 85mm f1.4 lens. She has flawless skin which is just as well considering how sharp this lens is ...

Nikon D90

Low Key

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I took this shot about a year ago and decided to revisit it. This is Chris, my eldest's boyfriend. (Very useful having daughters with boyfriends that can be dragooned into being in front of my camera) Interestingly I used an old prime 30 year old lens on this shot and its turned out lovely and crisp. Who needs modern technology ...

Farnborough Airport

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Is in the news lately due to the sudden;y high number of ex-Libyan political honchos arriving in private jets. I drive past most days and see a number of Middle Eastern tail fins above the security berms. I'd love to get inside the airport as it has some interesting architecture to photograph. Unfortunately I'm not a famous/rich/royal/lucky person who owns a private jet. I can't even get past the gate security! Posh nobs only, the sign says. At least when the air-show is on every other year, you can stand outside and watch for free! 
Taken with the Nikon D90 + 18.200mm