I love walking my labradoodle, Woody, in all seasons, but spring has to be one of my favourite times of year. I really appreciate the nights drawing out into lighter evenings meaning long walks in the evening through Petts Wood. The Bluebells are just starting to appear - a welcome sight.
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My latest project is to shoot solely in balck and white on the streets of London. It has made me focus closley on the shape and form of things, alonsgside tone and contrast, light and shade. Interestingly, this has resulted in a solitary mood and got me thinking about the paradox of city living. We are often surrounded by people yet have very little 'human' connection to them. A sense of loneliness and isolation pervades this project, which seems to have grown organicly.
Rain didn't dampen the spirits!2017 is the year of the Rooster, and China Town is a great place to celebrate the Chinese New Year. It was a particularly soggy affair this year, but the colourful umbrellas added something to the atmosphere, from a photographic point of view.
One of the things I love about photography is the sheer diversity in what can be captured - sometimes on the same day. The following shots are a good example. The first, early morning macro shots, show nature at its striking best, with shapes and textures we rarely take time to stop and observe. The other, night time city shots, show off the London Christmas lights. Here I used a tripod and slow shuttter speeds to blur the passing traffic and create the energy and atmosphere that a busy city generates. Certain photographers often frown at diversity, suggesting we should specialise in a particular genre. However, whilst I can see the benefits of becoming known and recoginised for a signature style, I still get a lot of pleasure from photoraphing a variety of subjets and settings. I love capturing iconic London landmarks at night, and like to add light trails from buses and cars when possible. Here are a couple of shots from last night.
A lovely session with Edward, Gemma, Holly and six week old Caspa. Autumn is a favourite time of year of mine to be out shooting, for obvoious reasons. The range of colours is a joy to the eye and the light is often perfect, not too bright and contrasty. Nature has its final throw of the dice before the bleakness of winter sets in (which can have its own stark beauty). A melancholy fills the autumn air as nature surrenders and lets go of what it can no longer afford to carry, what energy is left returning to its roots to nourish and sustatin itself through the barren winter months.
Today I spent the morning in one of Londons many parks, Greenwich Park, which has a fabulous array of autumn colour - leaves turning ochre, yellow and crimson. I decided to shoot with my aperture 'wide open' giving a narrow depth of field which isolates the colourful leaves against a blurred background. I hope this gives extra impact. I finished the shoot with a Flat White and a slice of Chocolate, Orange and Mandarin Loaf - perfect! I hope you enjoy the results, and feel free to comment and or share on social media. I visited the London Photo Show today, at the 5th Gallery just off Brick Lane, London. There were an eclectic group of exhibitors from Street Photography to Cityscapes and Travel Photography. It's always good to see what your contemporaries are doing and to support such exhibitions. There were a number of photos displayed on perspex, which I found to be a really interesting way to show your work. It gave them an almost 3D quality with a very modern feel. On my way to and from the show I took out a few mins to shoot some of my own street photography.
Borough Market and the South Bank.I had an hour free to wander down the South Bank today - one of my favourite locations to people watch and take photos. Orange seemed to be the theme of the today, with two striking red heads and a Buddhist monk in his splendid robe. I especially like image of the red headed lady, who has a striking look and enigmatic gaze.
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