Reflection upon the Environment

Building and Reflection

Fancy title today, eh? I took this one on another of our local strolls (there's lots of that 'round here) - I think it's a block of university accomodation or possibly flats. Its positioning by the canal lends itself to this reflection composition...I particularly like the pure geometric study of the different angles and lines leading you around the frame. There's also the allegory here of the reflection inferring things about our impact on the environment....but I'm not very good at all that so I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions.

Veteran at the guns

Veteran at the guns

I took this shot when we were at the open air museum in St James' Park commemorating 60 years since the end of the Second World War. This old boy jumped up and sat on the guns and gave such a fantastic facial expression. It's like an environmental portrait of 60 years in one shot.

Leanin' on a Lampost

Leanin' on a Lampost...Bethnal Green...July 2005

This one I really quite like. It was a darn hot day and we were on one of our walks around the local area, when I spotted this guy leaning on this post to catch his breath. It wouldn't have been remarkable if it weren't for his amazing long hair, and for the fact that a car or something had hit the post at some point setting it at a crazy angle. The way he's leaning on it looks either like he's propping something up or he's pushed it over with his ninja-long-hair-strength. Either way the detail in the jacket, the pose, and the 'character' of the man I think make this a picture that's reasonably good.

The Non-Leaning Tower of Pisa

The Non-Leaning Tower of Pisa

Another Pisa shot today - I have a couple of standard leaning tower of Pisa shots - I like this one because, although the tower is leaning, the treatment of it is such that it just looks straight up and down....no harm in looking at things a bit differently, eh...?

Wistful Monkey

Wistful Monkey...Marwell Zoo...September 2005

From sunsets to monkeys...you can't say we don't give ya variety here now, can ya...! This shot was taken whilst wandering around Marwell zoo, which we went to for an old family friend's 50th wedding anniversary. It was a very pleasant day (despite being grey and overcast) with plenty of photo opportunities - you'll probably see a few more of those images crop up on here as time goes by...! Anyway, the above shot was inside the monkey house and shot through glass - fortunately there weren't too many greasy fingerprints or reflections, making this shot possible. I just like the way he's looking up to the sky - I get to be anthropomorphic here and make out that he's a little bit wistful. Either way, I think it's pretty nice....!

Sunset over Alexandra Palace

Sunset over Alexandra Palace...August 2005

Well. This is exactly what it says on the tin...! This was a slightly tricky one to get as it was taken from the roof of a block of flats below the hill that Alexandra Palace sits on. We were visiting some friends who live there, and it was such a beautiful evening that I couldn't resist the shot. Even if it meant climbing over a barrier and up a roof-access ladder...! I'm not sure it's particularly special...I just like the way the light's coming through the glass domes on the room. This image has been rotated slightly to correct a gimpy horizon. No other significant changes.

Tree Frame

Tree Frame - Paris - Feb 2005

Today's shot was taken in Paris in February 2005 - The Wife had taken me there for the day as a Christmas present. The day was very hazy, overcast and cold...it looked like most of the picture taking was going to be a complete bust. In fact, I took a fair few shots that day, although most are definitely in the realm of record shots or holiday snaps. When we were walking along the Seine, I saw this fella standing under this tree over the other side of the river - I couldn't resist the shot and as it turns out the framing couldn't have been a lot better. I've tried several crops of this one, going in much tighter on the tree or relocating the focus of the frame, but I think the original is still the strongest. With the man slap bang in the middle of the frame, the tree provides a frame for him, the wall a frame to the tree, and the river and buildings add a further frame and some context.

The colour on this one is interesting...the light was weak and hazy and lazy that day, so there's not a lot of colour in the shot. Occasionally I try a black and white treatment, but have yet to find one that I'm happy with - maybe I need to find a Photoshop filter that looks like Ilford Delta 3200....if ever there's a case for football-sized grain on a shot, this is it! Anyway, if I manage a nice B&W version I'll post it up here for ya....!

Are you done yet...?

Are you done yet...?

And now for something completely different. Well, not completely, it’s still a photo after all. In the spirit of Henri Cartier-Bresson (I can dream), this was a ‘moment’ I saw while wandering around near the Leaning Tower of Pisa in September last year. I just love the expression on both of their faces. I can’t work out if he’s fed up or just being patient...

Peter Piper....

Peppers...outside a shop near Columbia Road

Today, we shall be mostly talkin' about peppers. This shot was taken on the same day as the bread man. We were having a stroll around our local area (as we do every so often) and the light hitting this box of peppers was just awesome, and I couldn't resist the shot.

Bread Man

Bread Man...Columbia Road...Jan 2006

This was taken outside a nice bakery just off Columbia Road Market, around about the end of January. It was a snap shot - the guy's head was in the right place for a few seconds at most. Whilst it's not exactly a technical masterpiece, the light was decent and I like the composition.

Introduction

Hello, and welcome to Photo Rhythm. This blog is all about photos, plus a little bit about odd things that I think are interesting. Photo Rhythm is all to do with life, people, interaction between people and places, and the rhythm of life, all as expressed through the medium of photography.

Mmmm....photography....All the photos on the site are my own (except where explicitly stated). I won't provide technical details for the photos, unless people specifically request that I do. But just for your general information, for the most part, images are produced with a Minolta Dynax 7D with various lenses, all shot raw, with some very basic post-processing done in Adobe Photoshop CS2. I'm also presenting everything full frame at the moment - any crops will be specifically labelled as such alongside the image. You can click the image to get a slightly larger one too. I'm also working on a gallery....watch this space for the info on that when I get my act together to do it.

That's all for now, y'all...

Jon