Sunday 31 May 2015

Old School Computing

GR, f2.8, 1/125, ISO 640, RAW
Old school computers are just cool these days and it's always great to see them and see how it all evolved.
After the beige desktop boxes, we're at the boring aluminium wedges these days and they are still all boring lookalikes.

I do miss my Commodore C64 though, great memories. :)

Saturday 30 May 2015

Tree in B&W


This is a 20mp image created by zooming in and using the rectangular panorama mode on the OnePlus One phone with the Google Camera app.

Now, you might rightly ask why I bothered to zoom in and use the panorama mode given that I could have much easier taken one photo with the 13mp camera as is.
My reasoning was that by zooming in, I got a slight different field of view and while this decreases resolution, by utilizing the panorama mode I did not only get the resolution I lost back but also the field of view closer to what I wanted. While for this photo it was not really necessary as I could have got the same result by moving closer, it is certainly something I am thinking to explore more.

Sunday 24 May 2015

Hiking in Eastbourne


Having a long weekend is always a great opportunity to go away and out of London. Today's plan was to go to Eastbourne,




While the day started nice and sunny, it became cloudy and a bit chilly just as I arrived at the beach to start hiking along the cliffs.




For this outing, I decided on taking the Panbasonic LC-1 along since I haven't used it in years and it's a fantastic camera.



I enjoyed both the hike and also using the Panasonic LC-1 again. It's always great to go out of London and do some photograhy with nice to use cameras.


Thursday 21 May 2015

Tuesday 19 May 2015

Clouds over the Barbican

GXR A12-M, f8.0, 1/540, ISo 200, RAW, 21mm (Voigtlander Heliar f4.5 15mm LTM)
The first outing with my newly acquired 15mm Heliar lens, it's still a fantastic lens and great to have it back. The LTM version also just looks very nice. Despite me selling off almost all my lenses, this one was a worthy purchase.

Monday 18 May 2015

Enough of This?

GRD, f5.0, 1/400, ISO 400, JPG b&w
The title of this post is a bit of what I'm thinking right now regarding this blog. I can see some people still follow it but it's not as many as it used to be and I'm not sure if it's still the right thing for me to do.
It takes a lot of work to keep it updated and while I like to take photos every day, I'm just not sure blogging is the right platform for my photos overall.

The main reason I hesitate about stopping this blog is that I met some fantastic people all around the world through it.

I will have a think about what to do next as I am not sure about the interest, from both myself and of people reading this blog, is in continuing it.

Before I stop posting completely though there will be some posts I want to finish first. My Photokina 2014 report, which is still outstanding, and the full Ricoh GR review which I never finished and might come too late for most people by now.
Depending on time and what I decide the Photokina report will definitely be posted but the Ricoh GR review might have to stay unfinished although I want to post at least the RAW files for comparison.

Feel free to post your thoughts in the comments.

Sunday 17 May 2015

Photographica Fair

R-D1, f2.8, 1/250, ISO 800, RAW, 42mm (Ricoh GR f2.8 28mm LTM)
After finding out that there was a photography fair near Victoria it made sense to go and check it out. I decided to take the R-D1 along for the occasion it being the more old-school style camera I have and one that blends in well with all the old film cameras there.

My main intent was to sell some of my old FED-4 cameras and an old OVF and while I've done this, I walked out with a Bessa-L and the main reason for buying it, the Voigtlander Heliar 15mm LTM lens in great condition. The camera will find it's way on eBay as will the OVF that came with it but I'm glad to have the Heliar 15mm back after my lens got stolen.

Saturday 16 May 2015

Blossom Mural

OPO, f2.0, 1/1099, ISO 101, JPG
Maybe a bit too much processing but I wanted this to look like a painting or wall mural and a bit abstract.
Sometimes it's not about being close to reality but having something different to look at and here I did like the result more than some other photos I processed a lot less.

Friday 15 May 2015

Coffee & Subs

GR, f2.8, 1/125, ISO 4000, RAW
After spending the evening in Greenwich and becoming slightly annoyed by the drive to monetize everything since it became a Royal Borough, I had to change trains at Lewisham which seemed to undergo some changes itself with new apartment buildings popping up.

Thursday 14 May 2015

Umbrella Lady

GR, f6.3, 1/320, ISO 1000, RAW
Another photo that fits in my 'People with Umbrellas' series but also in a 'People with Phones' series, although I guess a 'People withOUT Phones' would be more challenging.

Wednesday 13 May 2015

Story in 8 Pictures - People and Signs


The weather was great and I had no other plans so what better than join the Simple Street Photography group for a meetup after work.



Today's meetup was actually different as there was more of a theme to it and a challenge to tell a story in 8 photos.



At first I didn't have a particular theme in mind but after the first few photos I kind of settled on 'People and Signs'.



While reviewing my photos and selecting the best 8, I almost changed the theme to 'People with Phones' because most people did actually look at phones in my photos so I had to take out some phone photos to better balance this.


Tuesday 12 May 2015

Break

GR, f6.3, 1/320, ISO 100, RAW
Took this during my lunch break and liked the broken glass and how he was leaning against the door.

Monday 11 May 2015

Preacher Guy

GR, f2.8, 1/320, ISO 100, RAW
I don't think much of religions of any sort and find people preaching about god and the end of the world quite funny. This guy has been standing on London Bridge for a while and tried different way to get noticed and when a megaphone didn't work, he resorted to climb up on the pillar to get attention.
I guess if he's enjoying it it's the main thing but his efforts would probably be better spent trying to sell something of actual value and what people care about. Still, if the world does end he can say he was right and nobody listened. ;)

Sunday 10 May 2015

Anchor

GR, f6.3, 1/320, ISO 140, RAW
Sometimes I do wonder how many people actually read my blog and how many just look at the photos?

For the people who do read, I have enjoyed the nice and sunny Sunday with a walk along the Thames from London Bridge to Rotherhide and back while taking some photos along the way.

Saturday 9 May 2015

St. Pauls by Night

GR, f8.0, 8 sec., ISO 100, RAW
Been to see 'The Merchant of Venice' at the Globe Theater and went for a walk along the Southbank before and after the show. This photo could have maybe done with being exposed a bit longer but I still like it and think it shows the colors of the lights better.

Friday 8 May 2015

Frown

GR, f6.3, 1/320, ISO 250, RAW
Didn't take many photos today, just a few on my way back from lunch. This I liked best because the expression on her face mirrors almost the graffiti on the wall.

Thursday 7 May 2015

Boats and Clouds

GR, f8.0, 1/2000, ISO 100, RAW
Just a photo I took on my way to work this morning, nothing too exciting but I did like the clouds and the light.

Wednesday 6 May 2015

One Day in Aberdeen


It's great to travel, even if it's for work and you have to get up at 3am to catch an early flight.


Today, I had to go to Aberdeen for a client meeting and it was great to be back in Scotland even if my free time was a bit limited.


Still, I always make sure I have enough time for sightseeing whenever I travel for work and it was no different here.


Aberdeen is not the most exciting city in Scotland but it's great for drinking with some of the nicest looking pubs and it's also good for people looking to do some shopping.

After the meeting and wandering around I made sure to sample some of the local whiskey and a pint of Tennent's.


Tuesday 5 May 2015

Over There

GRD, f5.6, 1/500, ISO 400, JPG b&w
Being back in London and at work, I realized that I do miss travelling. It's just different to experience  and explore a new place, meet new people and just not know what you will end up doing for the rest of the day and certainly not tomorrow.
Being in an office can be difficult even if you have a nice job, nothing comes close to travelling and the feeling of being free to do what you want when you want it.

At least the weather was nice when I went for a quick walk around lunchtime to take some photos and get some air.

Monday 4 May 2015

A Day in Holyhead


After a nice day and a half in Dublin it was time to go back to Holyhead with the morning ferry.



It was another sunny morning with a low sun and a bit of chill in the air but exactly as I like it when travelling early.




The crossing was relaxed and not very eventful but thanks to the free wifi, I could catch up with my blog updates and just browse in between taking some photos.



In Holyhead, I decided to take a later train back to London and have more time for a wander around.

The weather was very nice and people were out for a walk and hanging out by the beach which was a first for me to see.

It was a nice and relaxed stop over before getting back to London in the evening.