London Visit to Wex Photographic

I had decided to try to take a look at the new Canon full-frame mirrorless body to see whether this could aid my photography of birds and motorsports, but although I did get the chance to handle the camera, it had no adaptors for my Canon lenses, which lessened the value of my visit. However, despite the chilly wind the sun was bright so the chance of using the camera I had with me: the 5D MkIII and the 24-70mm with macro, it proved to be ideal to capture some of the new architecture that now crowds London’s skyline. I mean ‘crowds’ as all the new buildings are only partially seen between the gaps of others, the only noticeable exception being the ‘Shard’ which is close to the river. Also, since I was in the East of the City and I had not scheduled to spend the entire day in London, that was not on the current itinerary, so I reckon that is a for a later trip. 

Today was to get a chance to take a look and handle the Canon EOS R, and although I did manage to get some example shots taken, which were then transferred to my CF Card, I did at least get a feel for the controls. I did however come away with one very strong criticism – Why, if you are dropping the CF Card in favour of the now far faster SD variant, why was the opportunity not taken to build in two slots, which most of the current crop of rival cameras have already done? Is that a Bold Canon Statement that this Is Not a Pro Camera; that will come later? The idea behind the three EF Lens Adapter variants was very obviously saying “We want existing Canon Users to buy this body with all your acquired earlier glass, then gradually replace these with the RF variety”, to then lessen the advantage by the non-provision of a second slot – sorry Canon, why provide the competition with such an obvious advantage?

I maybe a voice in the wilderness, but I seriously reckon there should be a Model 1.1 with the second card slot, Sony and Fuji must be rubbing their hands with Glee at this lacuna. Until I take a look at the few shots I took, I cannot be certain that another observation I made is valid, but the image on screen was far cooler in colour temperature versus what I was seeing through the viewfinder, so one of the first checks I intend making is a look at which colour is recorded on the card, if that matches what I saw through the viewfinder then I am slightly less concerned, but since it is possible to alter the JPEGs before say uploading them to the Web or one’s blog, then this may well be a serious concern. To my simplistic view the two screens, despite their differing resolution should be a match for colour. The area I was in although it had supplementary lighting was largely flooded with daylight, and to my eye, the viewfinder was accurate, the flip out screen was quite an amount cooler.

I really need to learn more about this camera, but apart from the above comment I was impressed with the cleanness of the images and they were at High ISO, and the stabilisation was good when I decided to opt for an f/stop of f/11 which forced me to up the ISO, as I wanted to check the greater depth of field, as despite it being daylight the light was not particularly bright.

The flip out screen was very robust and certainly that was a feature I have often wanted for low or high-level shots. Unless Canon rapidly add a second card slot, it looks as if I will have to hang out for the next iteration which is a disappointment as in so many ways this is a body I have been waiting for, since going to Sony was never an option.

Dulwich Arts Week - Ben and Pip Rice Joint Exhibition

I have known and worked for Photographer Ben Rice over several years, and was invited to come to the Private Viewing Evening, being held at a wonderful venue at Bell House.

It is quite a trek on a Friday afternoon to head down to be there on time when coming from mid-Bedfordshire. I chose to use the M25 and then the M4 and thence through the southern suburbs to come in via the South Circular road. It certainly is not an unfamiliar area to me since I lived in Bromley many moons ago, and the route from Central London often took me through Dulwich, which this week celebrates the eponymous Arts Week.

However, the changes wrought since those times made this a very much slower and congested journey. However, one particular memory from a mere thirty years back sprung immediately to mind as I was driving along the afore-mentioned South Circular, and it was a scene of absolute destruction of Reliant Robin, which brought a wry smile as I remember the scattered fibreglass remnants of it, but it was obviously not as amusing to the unfortunate owner all those years back! What was surprising was that I should recognise the specific site having never been back to this area since; normally nowadays I cannot remember why it was I went upstairs!

I arrived at the appointed time and took out my camera before even entering Bell House to capture something of the area in which Bell House is situated, having ascertained that Ben did not mind my taking pictures of his and his wife’s exhibition. I was warmly welcomed by a tap on the shoulder and Ben darting behind me, before offering me a drink. Everyone I met was equally friendly, and considering Ben was the only person whom I knew, I was made to feel totally at ease, and became involved in numerous conversations with several of the other guests, and though there was one person who recognised me, sadly I failed to recognise him, which always makes me ashamed.

Ben was displaying numerous very large Prints, whilst Pip had a loop running in one room showing the making of some of her pieces, as well as another with her work either hanging or mounted on the walls, and was on hand to discuss how they were achieved.

Amongst Ben's photos two that were vertical caught my eye, and I felt capturing one person looking up to its full height told the story, I also spotted some who peered right up to them to check detail, andI bent the ear of one lady, by mentioning that for many photographers, how close they come when looking at a photo, is only limited by the length of their nose!

I will let the photographs I took during the evening tell their story, and for those attending, I hope they feel that my coverage does reflect the pleasure that all the guests felt towards the work on display by the two very disparate elements of the joint exhibition; I hope that it will be visited by numerous attendees of the Dulwich Arts Week who will share in the enjoyment of both the work on display, and the house that hosts the display of Pip and Ben’s work. I certainly did, and was very pleased I made the effort to accept the invitation and the travel involved. I can enthusiastically recommend that it is well worth the visit. I wish Dulwich Arts Week every success.

ISKB Celebratory Dinner at the Apothecaries' Hall

A fellow member of the Hertfordshire DigiCluster Group, Mike Benjamin, kindly asked me to help him out by covering the Dinner to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen's 90th Birthday by the Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor being held in one of London's ancient halls; the Apothecaries' Hall near Blackfriars.

Nowadays travelling to the metropolis by road is not one of life's joys if you need to stick to a timetable, so I set off very early, having decided to drive only to East Finchley where the latter part of my journey would be completed by 'Tube' – the London Underground rail service for which I could be reasonably certain of the duration.

The last part of my journey would be on foot with my camera bag and selection of lenses and electronic flash equipment and since I intended to arrive fresh wearing a suit, it was taken very easily, but despite my best efforts I was very glad to take my jacket off upon arrival! Later I would ask my host, Simon Doughty whether I could shed the jacket whilst shooting and was relieved that I was allowed that informality so managed to keep a tad cooler.

I used the time waiting by taking a few shots of my surroundings in case these would be of use to the client, and after half an hour a couple of guests arrived who had taken similar precautions to myself and allowed time for any mishaps, so took some preparatory shots of this surgeon and his good lady. They then went in search of cool refreshments in a nearby hostelry.

The next arrival was the client, Simon Doughty and so we entered the building and he gave me a rundown of the photographs he needed, and I took advantage of getting shots of the prepared tables in the Dining hall, and was introduced to some hidden narrow steps at the end of the room which fortuitously gave me a high level viewpoint and thus a better chance of my covering more of the entire gathering.

Guests began arriving, and much later than they had hoped and the main topic of conversation was of interminable delays caused by heavy traffic – I suspected this might well continue till they were seated in the main hall! However for the present there was music from a quartet playing in one of the ante rooms away from the throng in the main reception room which was crowded with small groups in animated conversation being threaded by waiters and waitresses plying them with welcome drinks as it was a very warm evening.

The guests were greeted at the top of the staircase and announced from the landing by the Master of Ceremonies, and since space was tight I often could not take shots of the Greeting, so interspersed my shooting with photos taken as they came up the stairs after their titles and names had been given.

Whenever there was a lull in arrivals, I dashed elsewhere covering some of the informality of the evening, but soon that became difficult for me to do on three counts; one the time taken to reach the furthest reaches of the room, and the second was avoiding taking the closest groups many times due to their being the easiest, and lastly I had to keep returning to the top of the stairs for the arrivals.

It was soon time for the guests to take their seats in the hall and for me to take some overhead shots and a few more views at various angles at table level and naturally the Top Table dignitaries.

My evening officially concluded once the guests were all seated, so I double-checked that I had covered all that was required and begun the return trip which was mercifully slightly less long than my inward travel, then began the task of ensuring that the shots were crisp, correctly exposed, level, balanced and there were no shots with bad blinks, or poorly-focussed, and I made a start on that process while everything was fresh in my mind.

The Whitecross Street Festival

Saturday evening was to be a very formal affair at the Caledonian Club in Halkin Street at which I was formally requested, (or should that be ‘forbidden’?) to bring a camera, with this in mind it was great news to hear that the very friends I was due to be staying with after that event were due to be visiting, and in the case of mine hostess, performing, at the Whitecross Street Festival.

This street is familiar to me, for my longtime friend Geoff Dann, has his studio at the top end of the eponymous street. I arrived at the Main Stage just in time for the start of Kit’s playing in the group, on the Gamelan, a Balinese percussive instrument. Fortunately I had already primed my camera and taken shots of a very unusual tall building by Old Street roundabout on my way to the venue, so I began shooting an tapping my feet to the strong beat of the music – always a challenge when you are photographing bands playing and the light does not penetrate the depths of a stage!

I tried my best to get shots of Kit that would be complimentary, whilst remembering there were also others in the band deserving of such care. I hope I have captured the spirit of joy that emanated from the players, I felt their slot was all too short, especially when I learned they had actually underun their allocated time; I would have enjoyed hearing more from them. The audience were equally enthusiastic which is always encouraging. Sadly since I was unaware of the timing of Kit’s playing it meant that Geoff was unable to hear her play. He joined us we sat down to have something to eat and drink, and only when he arrived did I remember he was already known to Kit and Gordon, since he had very kindly returned them to London after a Birthday Party of mine a couple of years back!

Liz Perry joined Geoff and I after our short lunch break and we explored a bit further before I had to leave to get back to north London to change into my DJ for my niece’s Fortieth Birthday Party back from Mumbai especially to be among friends and family. I did take one shot a young artiste painting at the corner of the street, and I hope she can get to see the treatment I gave to the shot when she turned to look straight at me, I wish I had managed to grab a more meaningful shot of the radio-controlled wheelie bin that squirted water at passers by that ignored it, but I do at least have the perpetrator in the background of the scene. I also managed to buy a couple of small presents for my two youngest grandchildren.

An AoP Evening with Ray Massey

The Association of Photographers put on an evening in the converted place of worship that is Church Studios, with Ray Massey, a leading advertising photographer who talked about how he became a photographer and how the landscape has changed over time, and how his earliest techniques influenced and moulded the way he works to this day.

The audience of over thirty souls listened and watched intently, and one of the number stood up at the end to say how he felt many gathered here might be pleased to have taken maybe just one or two such images over their careers, he was astonished that there were so many and varied and of such a high standard of creativity that he had done. From the applause at the end of the demonstration, the audience agreed with his sentiment.

Coming from out of town, and not being familiar with the environs of Camden Park Road, I made sure that I would be on time, by ensuring I arrived well before the appointed hour, which gave me the time to walk around and ‘capture’ (a word that is anathema to Ray!) some images from around the neighbourhood. It was during this time that I came across a man called Rem whom I met when I caught his eye as he was resting on a park bench smoking. He was trying to learn where he might find places of interest in the area. In the course of our conversation I suggested he could do worse than go to the meeting I was later to attend and informed him it would cost a tenner – he seemed unfazed by this, and I wondered whether he would be there – he was!

I took a handful of pictures in the somewhat variable light before the evening show, and later when leaving I was able to take advantage of the very different lighting that prevailed on my return to Kentish Town Station. I had wondered whether I should take my camera with me, but I feel I made the right decision, which was not to break the habit of a lifetime of having a camera with me at every opportunity! I hope I have captured (that word again!) the essence of my afternoon and evening.

ME Hotel – the Day had not ended…

My day started in Trafalgar Square and ended in a gem of a visit after the London Fashion Show by stepping into the ME Hotel, which is a Norman Foster building apparently; sited on the former Marconi and Citibank site.

I had no idea from this corner entrance just what the building was, and by pure happenstance neither did another passer-by, and though from his conversation with his daughters, he seemed to know more than me and was equally curious, he strode in to ask, and I meekly followed him in, and listened to the answer from the Concierge – I learned it was in fact a hotel and that the staff were more than happy for me to take photos of the interior.

They went further! They suggested I go to the Mezzanine floor where the Reception was, and after photographing the decor there I bumped into the lady who was organising visits to the Roof Garden, who asked had I been? To my response she said I must; as the scenes from that viewpoint, of the London Skyline were stunning. She was not wrong!

Whilst I moved around taking photos, the reception I was given was nothing less than wonderfully warm and accommodating, which is more than can be said for the bracing breeze that met me when the glass doors to the outside were opened for me – some of the guests were huddled under duvets at the outside tables as they sipped their cocktails! Presumably these were supplied by the ever attentive staff.

I felt as if I was a Prince whilst there, and that I had stepped back in time; I still cannot believe how welcome I felt from the moment I entered to the time I left – everyone with whom I came into contact was the epitome of charm and at the same time totally natural – if only everyone in such establishments could come close to the standard I witnessed there, the world would be a far better place – Thank you.

Illustrious Moored at Greenwich

Deciding to get up early on a Sunday morning to visit London and endeavour to get photographs of an Aircraft Carrier in London may on first sight seem like a good and simple idea; I also planned a route from a main London Tube station, what I failed to take into account was that the Underground does not  get up so bright and early! I arrived to see gates closed and padlocked and a sign beyond showing its opening and an hour and a half after when I had hoped to be at Island Gardens on the Isle of Dogs.

I had not scheduled for bus routes from Old Street, and had come equipped to carry a bus pass and Oyster card, and was also unaware that I had used its credit fully; hardly an auspicious start. Numerous buses also were not in service proper, displaying Rail Replacement on their boards, and life is not enhanced by bus drivers not knowing either English or other destinations or landmarks of other routes. So I used the trip down as overdue exercise and finally joined the DLR at West Ferry, and got out at Island Gardens, and made my way towards the river bank and the entrance to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel. It was just beyond there that I caught my first sight of HMS Illustrious – on the far bank beyond the Cutty Sark. It was in London to mark the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic.

As I watched, rowers came down from their boathouse with their boats for their morning's workout on the Thames. This gives scale to the size of Illustrious, since they were less than half the distance to this vessel. I watched for a while from this viewpoint, but realised this side of the Thames was less than ideal because of the angle of the sun, so I hurriedly walked beyond the Foot Tunnel entrance, taking a few more glimpses from this bank of the Carrier and other sights, before returning to the DLR station and taking one more stop to Cutty Sark and joining the early visitors to Greenwich, and the station's eponymous Tea Clipper. This also the other end to the Foot Tunnel. At that time I was unaware that there was an opportunity for me to get aboard the Aircraft Carrier, and by the time I learned of this the queue was similar in length to those that had once greeted an opening of an Apple Store or the launch of a new iPhone! I had no desire to wait for several hours in a long phalanx of families for the privilege.

Eventually I returned to the centre of Greenwich and the opportunity to revisit St. Alfege's church which was famous for the grave of Thomas Tallis and the splendid interior architecture featuring a magnificent Trompe l'oeil arched window. Many years ago I had taken black and white photos of the building for some client or other and met the vicar who had been using an air rifle to deter pigeons from nesting atop the pillars of the church's fine portico! To think that back then I had to use additional lighting in the form of expendable flashbulbs and high speed black and white film to record the scene, and now was able to take high quality colour photos handheld!

I made my way to the DLR station and while waiting took some shots of its interior before returning my car near Old Street Tube and was greeted by sunlight on a splendid piece of London architecture, so unpacked the camera once again to record what I saw, before taking the opportunity to have a sip of hot coffee and phone Adam Woolfitt to see if he was in, he was and we had a chat about how he was getting on with some lens reviews and the public beta of Lightroom 5. The front facade of his house was resplendent in the welcome sunshine as were some of his flowers, which I decided were too good to miss as well, before I even entered! I stayed only till the start of the Barcelona Grand Prix, before returning to my car, ostensibly to go home, but it dawned on me there were some other London friends I had not seen for a while. They were more than happy to see me, and we sat and chatted in their garden and I was plied with a tasty sandwich, fruit and drink before the weather changed and the forecast showers arrived. Eventually I took my leave and did finally set off for home and the post processing of the photos I had captured. The end of a most enjoyable sunday in London.

January Photo Miscellany

The last few weeks have provided me with few photographic opportunities, but some subjects have come before my lens, so the gallery I am putting up now is very much a miscellany of situations that have come my way.

Receiving several of the large bars of Toblerone provided one such occasion – having broken off a piece, I noticed that the silver foil left on, closely resembled the snow up on a mountain, so I resisted the immediate imperative to scoff the chocolate and instead brought my camera to bear!

Only yesterday I was up in London to visit one photographer in UCL, and having helped in a very small way as Tony Slade’s assistant whilst we held conversations as he worked, I then headed for Clerkenwell to visit my erstwhile retouching colleagues in The Colour Company, and although when I first arrived only John Swift was working away at his screen, I was soon joined by both his wife Annie and another past retouching friend, Steve Warner.

I had taken the opportunity to grab some Furniture and Interior Design shop windows before calling in, so this brought the changes I had noted within the Clerkenwell area into the conversation, before I set off once again to the studio of Geoff Dann, where he was coming towards the end of the day’s shooting of farmyard scenes for Trina. When this came to the end and she left for the evening we both ventured upstairs where I joined Lizzy Perry to chat over a welcoming cup of tea.

Today after clearing work in the morning I took off on a visit to the Stockwood Discovery Centre, where I took a few quick shots in the park area, and a squirrel on a wall, then wandered into the Museum area where the Wildlife Photography exhibit was, and where amongst the permanent displays was a small display of Varda by visitors from Pakistan. The disappointment for me was that two boxes for visitors in which to place comments had no forms for them to fill in, and only a couple of ladies came in to view the shows whilst I was there. I had packed away my camera before leaving when I noticed the light on a figure by the exit caught my eye. I grabbed that shot before the moment passed!

Friday Meetings and Architecture

I had an important meeting with someone at UCL in the morning, and later in the day a get together with three Pit Marshals from a long time back when we had all spent many Sundays at Brands Hatch helping others race with safety.

Between leaving UCL and the time of my meeting at the Artillery Arms, I spent the time looking at some of the contrasts of architecture between the old red brick of the Cruciform Building and the modern shiny white, green and glass of University College Hospital, and later, the spinnaker-like buildings at Old Street roundabout.

I spotted that the Post Office Tower was revolving the message of how many days there were till the 2012 London Olympics; 357 whilst I watched. The typical red London double-decker on the Old Street roundabout was also too good to miss. What is surprising is that the different styles do not so much clash as contrast.

The lighting was not always ideal, but with the help of the tools within Lightroom, I hope I have made them work.

Grace Bar, Gt. Windmill Street, Piccadilly

It is some time since I visited the West End of an evening; it was extremely muggy as I arrived to meet up with Charlie Milligan outside Grace Bar. We were visiting at this venue as guests of Vanessa Champion who was arranging an evening of live music and comedy for one of her friends Paul Gregory. Charlie who had managed to put his back out, had found a couple of comfortable seats just outside and was already sitting relaxed in one – I joined him, grateful to get a chance to cool down having travelled from East Finchley using the Northern Line Sauna!

We chatted for a while before taking a gentle stroll up towards Lexington Street. Charlie had spotted the incongruity of a school here in Soho, and I was able to let him know that Diane, my soon to be ex-wife had once taught in the Adult Institute that adjoined – I used to drive into town to pick her up to avoid her having to hang around there for too long. We soon entered the club, and were ushered downstairs where the gathering was already underway. I soon spotted Vanessa, and we acknowledged each other, but I waited till a lull before going over to chat.

Charlie meanwhile bought our drinks, and for a while we stayed on some cube seats near the front, but after a spell in discomfort, Charlie moved to the back where fortunately he found a more comfortable seat to ease his back.

I anticipated that the lighting levels would be sufficiently low as to mean I would be doing unavailable light photography, but I needed 5,000 ISO to give myself even half a chance of stopping some of the movement of the performers. I had brought along a 24 - 105mm f/4 and an 85mm f/1.8 and began shooting with the zoom, but soon swapped it for the fixed lens, and that remained on for the rest of the night.

Most of the comedy was somewhat lacklustre, but Kerry livened proceedings with her observational humour, and much later in the evening an Italian man was definitely the most amusing of the male contingent. I enjoyed the music far more from both the music and the singing – the diminuitive blonde was certainly a ‘belter’, in particular in their last session which ended the evening’s entertainment. I also liked the lone guitarist and some of his gritty songs.

Charlie had to leave before the end as he had an assignment which meant he had a six o’clock start, but I stayed on the end, then having said my goodbyes, I took a few shots out in Piccadilly Circus, grateful for the cool of the night despite some desultory drizzle. The tuq-tuqs were in abundance, but many were finding trade hard to come by and were parked up and chatting amongst themselves. Despite the abundant roadworks, there was no shortage of people out for a good time; many shops and restaurants were open and filled and the steps beneath the statue of Eros provided seating for small groups, and couples with a bongo group providing a rhythm to the drown the sounds of congested traffic.

I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to capture some of the colour and light both in the recesses of the Grace Club and out in the streets of London. I hope I have done it justice.

Anthony Gormley's One & Other – Kelly Amoss

Kelly Amoss, schoolfriend to my daughter and minister's wife takes to the Fourth Plinth to get across a more selfless message in her hour atop the plinth in London's Trafalgar Square.

Lizzy was coming to visit and mentioned this was due to take place at 6 o'clock, so we rushed through the various chores, grabbed a hasty lunch and later set off for London, making good time travelling against the traffic to arrive just a few minutes late.

Kelly used a flip chart to get across her message to the assembled crowd of interested bystanders and members of her family, every so often throwing down chocolates which were wrapped with further messages.

A lady from the RNLI, awaiting their protegé to appear in the following slot, came over to our group and said she had watched several displays from the plinth, but this was the best she had witnessed, in the main because it was not done out of vanity but was entirely selfless, she emphasised her opinion by reiterating her feelings directly to Kelly herself when she came down from her perch.

I have tried to capture the atmosphere of the hour. This means my galleries of images from Goodwood's Revival Meeting have been delayed.