Ladies at Lunch

Ladies at Lunch

During Saturday's wander-round-athon we went to Selfridges. They have a couple of cafes, this one conveniently located next to the escalator to the basement. The focus isn't fantastic on this shot, but I blame that on being on a moving escalator at the time...!

Smokin' Bloke

Smokin' Bloke
Saturday saw another good opportunity to get out and shoot more (which is my principle aim for this year). The above was taken at Trafalgar Square. Note that this is adjusted to be B&W (obviously) and rotated slightly to fix a gimpy horizon.

Centurion on his mobile

Centurion on his mobile

Outside the Colosseum there are lots of guys in these outfits posing for tourist photos. When this one took a call on his mobile I couldn't not take this shot.

Imprisoned Bicycle

Imprisoned Bicycle

Wandering around in the back streets of Rome gave rise to some interesting opportunities. I happened to glance up at one point and saw this bicycle hidden behind the window grate. I also really like all the different textures that are going on around the window as well...the waterstains on the walls add some nice variegation to the image.

There are some shots that are just irresistable.

Museum at Night

Museum at Night

Whilst wandering around Rome, the sun was setting (as it does), reducing the amount of available light photography I could do. This shot was taken by leaning up against a wall on the opposite side of the square - the blue light is actually pretty accurate as the museum had blue floodlights behind the columns.

Unimpressed 2

Unimpressed 2

Another shot from the Russian Festival. This gentleman was standing at the back of the roped off area eating his lunch and looking unimpressed - whether with his food or the activities going on around him we shall probably never know.

Grinning Russian

Grinning Russian

Another shot from the Russian Festival in Trafalgar square - shot in the gap between two people just as the cap-wearing woman turned and grinned at her friend - who is not visible in the shot. A lucky moment!

Unimpressed

Unimpressed

On Saturday we went into town to the National Portrait Gallery to see the annual photographic portrait competetion, formerly sponsored by Schweppes. Our feelings about the results where somewhat mixed - whilst we felt the winner had some merit we personally preferred work by other exhibitors. Anyway, afterwards we went for a walk around Trafalgar Square, where the "Russian Winter Festival" was taking place. Wandering through the crowds for 10 minutes netted a fair few pictures - although shooting with a 50mm f1.7 lens wide open was quick to focus, the speed at which I was working meant I got the wrong point of focus at times. There's a couple of "keepers" in the pile, the first of which is above.

Discussion at the Colosseum

Discussion at the Colosseum

These stalls are either side of the exit to the colosseum tourist trail. We didn't go in, mainly cos we were only there for a couple of days and didn't really want to queue for hours to get in. But sitting on the wall nearby for a while gave the opportunity for some interesting shots. This animated discussion between these chaps was ripe for the picking.

Pantheon Ceiling Detail

Pantheon Ceiling Detail

This shot of the roof of the Pantheon, with the sun shining through the central hole, beautifully illuminates the textures in the ceiling material. Click for a closer look.

Wheel and Hooves

Wheel and Hooves

Just outside the Pantheon - and everywhere else in Rome for that matter - there are horses and carts ready and waiting to take tourists around the town. This particular horse was posing in such a way that the picture was irrestible.

Old Couple in the Market

Old Couple in the Market

Another Rome shot - again converted to black and white as the background was somewhat distracting in the colour version of the shot. Unfortunately the focus is slightly off on this (it was very dark at the time), but at web sizes certainly looks alright. I think this is my favourite from the trip.

Policemen & Motorbike

Policemen & Motorbike

Ok, so it's been a touch longer than planned. My sincerest apologies and a very happy new year to you all. Anyway, on with the show...

At the beginning of December we went to Rome for the weekend. I was like a kid in a sweet shop when we arrived at the Trevi fountain - wonderful people shots everywhere - most of which I failed to capture. You may want to click the above picture to view in greater detail as it is a rather cluttered shot.

PS: The above was shot digitally - I've yet to develop the first film from the CLE.