In the Shadows of St. Paul's

I just love contemporary art, especially art that transforms our perceptions of the environment around us.

Changing Directions │ Sony RX1 │ 35mm F2.0 1/60s ISO2000

Cutout Crustacean

If I squint hard enough, this image suggests a giant, angular crustacean striking a warning pose. No, I haven't been drinking. Do you prefer it in black & white or color?

Among Friends Part 2

This is the second part of the post about the evening I spent with my friends and fellow bloggers in London. I thought I'd wait until I got back home to post more photos since publishing posts from my iPad is somewhat cumbersome. But back to my friends: Cristian and Kesh are not only fun to spend an evening with, they're also both talented photographers You can click on their names to check out their blogs. I haven't forgotten you either, Sam; it was a great that you could make it as well and not only your for your patience while posing for test photos.

As I already mentioned, I had a chance to try out Cristian's Ricoh GXR Mount A12 with the Voigtländer Nokton 35mm F1.2 on it. I only managed to get about half of my shots acceptably sharp. Needless to say, I was pushing the limits of the GXR, trying to manually focus the Voigtländer wide open at the the maximum sensitivity. My lack of familiarity with Ricoh's innovative peaking mode probably also led to some errors of judgment on my part.

The top row of photos was taken with my RX1, the bottom with Cristian's Ricoh GXR Mount A12 and Voigtländer 35mm F1.2 lens.

Among Friends Part 1

Last night I had the pleasure to spend an evening with a small group of passionate photographers. We had a lot to talk about and even had a chance to try out each other's gear. I was able to take the impressive Voigtlander Nokton 35mm F1.2 for a spin on a Ricoh GXR. I'll post more on that and include links to my friend's blogs when I get back to Amsterdam.

A Nice Day at the Beach

Today in Stonehaven, Scotland it was pretty much as cold as it looks in the photo.  The conditions certainly explain for the lack of crowds flocking to the seaside.

Liverpool Nights

I admit it's a little odd to start a post titled “Liverpool Nights” with a photo that was obviously taken during the day. But it's there to show the kind of sombre, flat light that drove me to take photos at night in the first place. While the misty, seaside photo has a certain atmosphere, it's much less vibrant than a similar image taken at night.

Monoliths │ NEX-7 + Carl Zeiss Biogon T* 35mm F2.0 ZM │ 35mm F4.0 3.2s ISO100

Darkness presents a good opportunity to photograph prominent buildings and landmarks. They're usually lit very well with a lighting scheme that's designed to emphasize architectural features and create a sense of three dimensionality. It's not just about what you can see though: if the light designers have done their job well, distracting things like cables, street signs and parking lots disappear into the shadows as well. So you can get some pretty spectacular photos of landmarks at night. Not that that's never possible during the day, but you might have to wait around for an awfully long time if you visit in the depths of winter.

Rhythms of the Night │ NEX-7 + Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E24mm F1.8 ZA │ 24mm F1.8 1/125s ISO1600

Arriving

Whenever I use a different brand of camera for the first time, it takes a while before its user interface becomes second nature. During that time, I have to be extra careful to make sure that my exposure and focus settings are correct. That's easy to do when I can take my time, but when attempting to grab shots as they unfold in front of me, my hit rate goes down. For this photo, luck was on my side. Despite the low shutter speed caused by the camera running into it's automatic sensitivity limit of (only) 1600, the non moving parts of the scene are sharp enough. Of course the guy stepping out of the Taxi is blurred at such a slow shutter speed, but that's good in this case because it conveys a sense of movement.

Baltic Fleet

While beer seemed to flow reliably out of very tap in Liverpool, the hotel we were staying at couldn't get he electrons to flow back and forth between the web and my laptop. “Oh, I'm sorry sir, but we have no control over our internet service” was the helpful comment from  reception. I guess one has to get one's priorities right. So I had no choice but to sit back and go with the flow. As to the photos I took in Liverpool over the weekend, they'll be trickling onto this blog over the next few days. Cheers!

This is the Baltic Fleet, an original sailors' pubs near Liverpool's Albert Dock.

On Tap │ NEX-7 + Carl Zeiss Biogon T* 35mm F2.0 ZM │ 35mm F2.0 1/60s ISO200

Queuing for Ilford

I was going through my London images with a friend yesterday when we found this photo. He pointed out that the bus is headed for Ilford, which is also the name of a company (that was?) well known for its black & white print film. Who knows, maybe I've even used Ilford film in the decades preceding digital. But that seems like an awfully long time ago and I for one wouldn't want to go back to film; I prefer the immediacy of digital.

As to the photo, to me it says something about London. The orderly queue to get on the bus isn't disturbed by the pouring rain in the gap between the shelter and the bus. The well dressed guy seems completely unperturbed by the rain, while the guy behind him is pulling his hood up to prepare himself for the crossing. But both are waiting patiently for their turn. Quite a different image than the ones the media kept replaying a couple of weeks ago.

Behind the scenes, I was using the roof of the bus shelter to keep the camera dry. I enjoy street photography in the rain, even if it is sometimes challenging to keep my gear dry.

Among Friends

I'm back in the Netherlands now, going through the photos I took in London. I chose not to post more photos from the Hotel due to the prices they were charging for logging on to the internet: enough for a Pint or two a day. That goes against my principles and there are more rewarding ways to spend money (see below).

Camera Sunset │ GH2 + Leica 45mm F2.8 │ 45mm F2.8 1/100s ISO500

On Thursday, I had the pleasure of being able to spend an evening with Cristian Sorega, his girlfriend and a friend of Cristian's who is also an avid photographer. So there were a lot of interesting cameras and lenses scattered on the table among the beer glasses. Even the weather played along for the few hours we were seated at an outdoor table overlooking the Thames.

Thames │ GF2 + Voigtländer Nokton 35mm F1.4 │ 35mm F5.6 1/1600s ISO100

I even had a chance to take some photos with a Fuji X100. The camera feels good in the hand and is smaller and lighter than I remembered. I won't comment on its operation; I think it's better not to make snap judgements based on using an unfamiliar camera for a few minutes.

(Greenwich) Meantime │ GH2 + Lumix 20mm F1.7 │ 20mm F1.7 1/30s ISO3200

"Good" Morning London

This was taken a short while ago from our 10th floor hotel room overlooking Spitalfields. Hopefully the incessant and heavy rain will let up sometime soon.

Crispy Masala Fish

Eager to dig in, everyone at the table has to wait while I take photos of the dishes. That's really tough to do and I appreciate it.
The dish above was photographed at Spice Village Tandoori Restaurant in Southall, Northwest of London. It's their crispy, spicy, flavourful rendition of Masala Fish. Looking at the photo is making me hungry.

Water Under The Bridge

Rebuilt in 1908 after concerns about the original 1846 bridge's structural integrity, the structure nonetheless retained its gracefulness. I exposed for the underside of the girders in order to make the bridge look light and as if it's defying gravity.

Richmond Railway Bridge over the Thames, Richmond, Southwest London, UK

A Stroll Through Southall

While the city was packed for the London Marathon, we escaped to the colourful western suburb of Southall. It's home to a large South Asian community with bustling street markets and spicy odours wafting from restaurants. It made me yearn to be back in India.

Between Buses │ GH2 + Lumix 7-14mm F4.0 │ 14mm F4.0 1/500s ISO160

Town Meeting │ GH2 + Lumix 7-14mm F4.0 │ 8mm F4.5 1/800s ISO160

Mirror Mirror │ GH2 + Leica 45mm F2.8 │ 45mm F3.2 1/250s ISO160