LONDON

London 2012! What a fab weekend in London, I have taken so many photos this blog is rather long and there will be a second part...maybe even a third.
Here is a selection of the black and white images I took with my PEN, I love the street photography style and thought the gritty black and white grainy filter really adds to the urban atmosphere.
I find street photography quite liberating as you are literally pointing the camera at people who you don't know. In that split second you can get some great facial expressions and the results are usually quite interesting although I am not sure you would get the same reaction to the camera anywhere else in the country? Who knows maybe I will snap up the streets and people of Blackpool?

Lytham

A few weeks ago I managed to get a few snaps of the quirky and quaint Lytham on a lazy Sunday afternoon. I love the unique doorways, cobbled stone paths and the old cheese shop on the high street. I am planning on going back the week of the queens Diamond Jubilee as the village usually 'dresses up' the high street according and will look very British (whatever that means nowadays!)

SERI-GRAFFF 2 : THE RETURN OF THE PRINT

Last night was the launch of Seri-Grafff 2 : The Return of the Print, an exhibition of limited edition hand pulled prints by artist Robin Ross. The night was very popular with Aunty Social, artists Colette Halstead and Garth Gratrix making appearances.
The art work varied from portraits, NYC scenes, buildings and retro designs, some even made it to edible cupcakes thanks to Caz Fisher from Aunty Social.
The first 20 people through the door received a free print which was a combination of John Lennon's face and a building in black and red colours. A great night had by all!

CONFERENCE ROOM 7

Welcome to conference Room 7 at Progress House. I had a morning meeting there and I am always interested in the building as it has literally had no maintenance or updated furniture since it was opened. It feels so retro and I couldn't help snapping up some of its features while waiting on my client.
The Langdale centre photography group are having an exhibition and I have been asked to advise on how to do this. I am so excited to get this show up as they have a massive amount of images that have never been shown in a public place. Watch this space for the opening night in a few weeks!

HAPPY WEEKEND

Happy Weekend guys and girls! Hope its not too rainy where you live!

GOOD MORNING NYC!

After a heavy night in the Big Apple, it was time for a real NYC breakfast. Huey's is a diner situated near Columbus Circle that is open 24hrs and serves the best pancakes in upper Manhattan.
I find the view from a cafe window to be the most interesting past time, being in a new place makes it even more exciting.
This shot is of the A board but you can feel the vibrant atmosphere going on just behind with the bikes, truck and hint of a person walking.

Pedestrian Exit

Like many of my posts, this one includes some pigeons!
I thought that it was quite comical with the exit sign pointing to them, especially the one walking away on the right side.
A tip when shooting is to look for signs and wait for that moment when something interesting happens that either contradict or compliments what the sign says.

Seascape

After a short trip to see the new Blackpool Comedy Carpet I decided to take a walk on the beach. The tide was out and it revealed the new stairs and water front that has been regenerated over the last year.
Looking back on Blackpool I could see a big change in its landscape and with new art work appearing it was a good chance to get a landscape.
Using the stairs as a guide to the shapes I decided it was best to keep the water stream in the foreground.
The sky was another part that was very busy with movement, shapes and shadows. I bought these out with the use of the HDR tool. I am no expert with this and don't really like to use anything on my images but what I took at the time but this combination was quite dramatic and so I kept it.
Let me know what you think and to this effect?

Pigeon Poo

It seems that every where I go there are Pigeons. Its seems that every time I see Pigeons I photograph them. London was no exception.
I have no idea why I take their photo..maybe its because they are familiar in places that aren't? Or because they all look the same with a changing backdrop from city to town.
Either way - here is another Pigeon photograph!

Pleasure Beach

Following on from yesterdays bright and breezy post this of a tunnel is quite a contrast. The Pleasure Beach Blackpool had a passage that leads through to the promenade and still has the original brick work dating back to the opening of the theme park.
The bright sunlight illuminates the features inside the dark concrete and draws our eyes to the lines and structure.

Scorpion

Portraiture is one of my favourite subjects and as with this image, it is the chance encounter portraits I love the most.
Simply scanning around and observing the people about you as they observe an event is an easy way to capture these. Their attention is focused else where so shooting in their direction ensures they aren't looking your way. This is a good way to capture these style of images.
I was lucky with this shot as I was able to get a good frame of lights almost pointing in his direction.

The Storm

As you all have probably noticed, Blackpool is quite a rainy place and this shot was taken on a particularly stormy day in 2008.
The waves can get so high and the contrast with the dark jagged rocks really balances this shot out.
I added a few effects in Photoshop and converted to black and white to add to the dramatic atmosphere.
It's not one of my favourite images but its always good to show images that are not from your comfort zone to see any reactions out there.

Let me know what you think guys!

Frozen Lake

I took this shot yesterday when most of Blackpool was frozen stiff with the fog. I decided Stanley Park would be the best place to capture some atmospheric shots and here, with a little help from Photoshop, I think I have achieved my goal.
This image almost reminds me what it was like to shoot on 35mm film while at College and I love the textures that have been highlighted in the skeletal trees.
The toning has also given the image the dated feel and reminds me of a spooky film still - not my favourite choice of look but I thought it fit the image rather well.

Mint Tea. Camden

I am aware that I have posted two images in a row that involve different types of tea, but this one is in such a beautiful setting!
I am always blown away by Camden Market and when I arrived a decided a nice cup of tea was in order. It would give me a minute to work out my shopping strategy! But when I was given this beautiful dish of mint tea I had to stay a bit longer and get a shot.
I love the black and white as it brings out the details and these weren't that visible in colour.

Jasmine Tea

I came across this image when searching through my archives.
Its one of those shots that get lost when looking through reams of images taken from travels and usually never sees the light of day.
After a few changes in Photoshop I thought the skin tone really stood out, making it a moody shot.

This was taken Christmas last year when the snow had fallen and turned to ice and there weren't many people about. Me and a friend went for Thai food and managed to get some hot Jasmine Tea to keep warm before the food came.

I have to say its grown on me the more I look at it!

London Taaaaaan!

Foggy London proved quite photogenic..especially at this park during the night.
I love the solitary character walking down the path as it adds another eerie element to the shot.
Using my point and shoot camera you can't really get the effects and density of the fig but never the less I like the shot!

'Freddie Rock'

This is an image taken from a shoot for my exhibition. This isn't the one I will be using but I thought it was such a great shot I had to blog and share it! 'Freddie Rock' owned a rock stall on Blackpool's Golden Mile for about 30 years in total and was quite well known on the Blackpool circuit for a long time. Bringing him back to the Golden Mile area we talked about the different characters and stories of what happened back in time when he had his stall - it was a great afternoon.

Let me know what you think of this photo or to see more photos look here or here!

Tickled Trout

This photo of a fake flower is probably one of those photos that I take while looking around through the view finder and when I look back think why did I take that? Although I like the shallow depth of field and the way the lighting highlights the fake petals, I guess this is just a random shot.

Let me know what you think of this photo.

Film v Digital

Recently I have been looking over some of my old black and white negatives and found on some of my contact prints that I am really interested in the un-edited, grainy (sometimes scratched!) images I have taken. The digital versus film debate has made me question some of the basic image re-touching I do on a daily basis to my images. The one above was taken with my digital camera and has only been darkened to bring back some detail in the womans face, but it does remind me of the negatives I have been looking at recently - the blown out whites especially.

Let me know what you think of this photo.

Bolton Services

I love this photo. Taken at Bolton Service station I think that it has a 70's feel to it and reminds me of some of the photos taken by William Eggleston or Nick Waplington even.

Let me know what you think of this photo.