Photo Rhythm by Jon

Photo-Taking Pose

2007-03-12T10:31:00.000Z

Photo-Taking Pose

The Avenue of Stars is a wonderful place to people watch, especially as the fabulous views of the harbour ensure there are lots of photo-opportunities. I love the pose this guy's striking whilst taking a picture...maybe this is the answer to camera-shake!

Busy Kitchen

2007-03-09T11:50:00.000Z

Busy Kitchen

An open doorway into the back of a restaurant kitchen provided the framing for this shot, during our wandering round the Stanley Market area.

Getting Some Rest

2007-03-07T08:49:00.000Z

Getting Some Rest

I guess living in Hong Kong is tiring. We saw this kind of thing more than once...

Tian Tan Buddha from Po Lin Monastery

2007-03-05T09:19:00.000Z

Tian Tan Buddha from Po Lin Monastery

Hmm, I'm sensing a new theme of colour photos on Mondays.....Anyway, another Po Lin shot, this time from the steps of one of the temples in the Monastery complex. I like the way the other temple roof is just peeking out through the trees...it makes it all look a lot more overgrown than it felt when we were there!

Taking a Break

2007-03-02T10:03:00.000Z

Taking a break

Another Stanley Market shot - this time on the sea wall by a newly-decked area where there are some new shops in the works. Not quite the same ambiance as the market itself, perhaps, but it was rather pleasant to sit on the sea wall and have a break from wandering around.

Reading the Paper

2007-02-28T09:35:00.000Z

Reading the Paper

Whilst wandering around Stanley Market I came upon this little scene. I think it's the expression on the Lion's face that appeals to me the most...click for a larger view.

Tian Tan Buddha from Ngong Ping

2007-02-26T09:17:00.000Z

Tian Tan Buddha from Ngong Ping

Ngong Ping village (in its current form at least) is an attraction purely created to link between the new cable car (from Tung Chung) and the somewhat older Tian Tan Buddha and Po Lin Monastery. Previously the only way visitors could get to the buddha was via a long bus ride - the new cable car is absolutely fantastic (although any pictures taken from within are somewhat ruined by the reflective windows), and this shot was taken walking through the tourist village from the cable car.

Tea Time

2007-02-23T09:01:00.000Z

Tea Time

One of the Amex benefits at the Intercontinental Hong Kong is that you get afternoon tea for two in the lounge. I don't know if these ladies were making use of this or just a pair of tired Saturday afternoon shoppers there while we were having tea ourselves. Anyway, this shot is all about the eyes.

Empty KCR

2007-02-21T11:18:00.000Z

Empty KCR

On our last day on this trip to Hong Kong we went out to Sha Tin to the Hong Kong Heritage Museum. Sunday morning was pretty quiet on the KCR, as evidenced by this shot.

Lunch Break

2007-02-19T10:36:00.000Z

Lunch Break

Another people photo today. While sitting having a rest in the food court of City Super in Ocean Terminal/Harbour City, this young man sat down next to us for a similar break. I think the light reflected onto his face from the book is rather nice.

Cocktail Hour

2007-02-16T10:59:00.000Z

Cocktail Hour

So this one was taken on our first night in Hong Kong, sitting in the Lounge Bar of the Intercontinental - you can see the lights of Central through the windows in the background. It was rather a nice environment for peoplewatching, and the light was such that occasionally faces were drawn out of the evening dimness. This is one such face.

Return to Hong Kong

2007-02-14T10:14:00.000Z

Return to Hong Kong

Yes, I know it's no masterpiece, and the focus is a bit out (in my defence it was somewhat dark and this is handheld at 1/18th of a second), but this best sums up where we've been for the last week. It's a wonderful place and we had a fantastic time there - ironically the weather was better this time than it was last summer. Most of the shots I'll be posting from this trip will be from the Epson R-D1 digital rangefinder, which is a fabulous camera to use. You wait until you see some of the street stuff I shot with it...!

Short Break

2007-02-06T14:30:00.000Z

Hey folks. Just to let you know there won't be any posts until next week now - either the 12th or the 14th as we'll be away. See you soon...!

Pleased as Punch

2007-02-02T09:56:00.000Z

Pleased as Punch

Every tourist in Trafalgar square takes a picture of their friend/son/mother/dog in front of Nelson's Column. This shot was taken just after one of those pictures, as the whole family gathers to give their verdict on the result. The lady's expression to me seems to imply she's pretty happy with it.

Ladies at Lunch

2007-01-31T09:54:00.000Z

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

2007-01-29T11:20:00.000Z

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

2007-01-26T09:02:00.000Z

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

2007-01-24T10:10:00.000Z

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

2007-01-22T12:00:00.000Z

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

2007-01-19T09:35:00.000Z

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

2007-01-17T11:30:00.000Z

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

2007-01-15T09:44:00.000Z

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

2007-01-12T10:18:00.000Z

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

2007-01-10T11:06:00.000Z

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

2007-01-08T14:22:00.000Z

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

2007-01-05T12:41:00.000Z

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

2007-01-02T12:23:00.000Z

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.

Fisherman on the Falls

2006-10-11T14:24:00.000+01:00

Fisherman on the falls

Righty, here we are in Ireland again, just above one of the many sets of falls on the river above Sheen Falls Lodge. This fella was clearly enjoying fishing one of the pools on the falls - he didn't notice me taking this shot at all.

In blog-news, I'll be posting a few more in here from Ireland, then we'll be moving on to some nice B&W street photography, with any luck. Yes folks, I'm going to be shooting film for a bit....!

The Long and Winding Road

2006-09-27T10:02:00.000+01:00

The Long and Winding Road

This is the view in the other direction from the last post. The road approaches on a very (very) winding route from the south (the direction of the photo) and, although you can't see it in the above picture, kinks back round to the right and passes by me around 200 feet away. It was quite the drive, with an amazing view at every turn.

View from Healy Pass

2006-09-20T16:40:00.000+01:00

View from Healy Pass

Apologies for the irregularities in posting lately...work's been a bit busy so we'll probably be down to 1 or 2 pictures a week for a little while. Anyway, enough excuses...! Todays pic is of the view down to a lake on the Ring of Beara in South West Ireland. We were in the area for the weekend and drove over this winding pass on our way to the hotel. The views were spectacular so we absolutetly had to take some pictures. Enjoy!

Winter Sun Tree Shadow

2006-09-11T09:30:00.000+01:00

Winter Sun Tree Shadow

It's exactly what it says on the tin. Christmas day, last year, and the sun is winter-low in the sky. It's 2pm and the shadows are already long, the light a golden glow through the skeletal trees onto the old heugenot house. Towards the bottom of the image you can see the curve of the church gate projected in some detail onto the building. Happy Monday, everybody...!

Memento Mort

2006-09-06T09:13:00.000+01:00

Memento Mort

Another shot from the Edinburgh Graveyard, this tombstone certainly caught my eye. The Burrying Place of J.A.Strachan, Tanner, was quite the sight. The only thing that annoys me about this shot is that the framing is off. Ah well, we don't mess around here, you get the good with the bad, warts an' all...!

Jersey Orchid

2006-09-04T16:30:00.000+01:00

Jersey Orchid

This is one of many orchid shots I took when we went to the Jersey Orchid centre last year. It's an amazing place, where they have such a huge range of Orchids that you can't quite believe there are so many varieties. This is but one.

Ubiquitous Pagoda

2006-08-30T09:51:00.000+01:00

Ubiquitous Pagoda

Where would we be on a visit to China without the Ubiquitous Pagoda. This however is a very special little pagoda. It's at the end of a winding bridge in the tree-lined and overgrown base of a quarry. A quarry? Well, behind the block of flats where we used to live was this quarry, and this pagoda has been here since long before I left HK in 1988. One for the family, perhaps, but photographically speaking the dappled sunlight and the symmetrical composition I think present quite a nice scene.

Christmas Cow and Calf

2006-08-23T14:59:00.000+01:00

Christmas Cow and Calf

Apologies for the late post today - twas a busy morning in my world. This shot doesn't look particularly Christmassy, does it? Well, rather than it being in the rural setting that the surroundings imply, this was taken at the city farm near our flat, on Christmas Day last year. We like to have a nice stroll on Christmas Day...it's so wonderfully peaceful out. This cow and her calf were sitting perfectly under the tree, so I had to try for the shot. The colour's gone a bit washed out in the post, although if you click for the bigger version it looks a bit better.

Britain's Last Word to Italy

2006-08-21T09:41:00.000+01:00

Britain's Last Word to Italy

Last year's outdoor World War 2 museum was a goldmine photographically speaking. I just love this veteran's whole look - it makes for quite a striking image. Oh, and you'll probably need to view the larger version to understand the title.

London Cloudy Sunset

2006-08-18T11:05:00.000+01:00

London Cloudy Sunset

It's Friday, and I think it'd be nice to have a lovely London Cloudy Sunset to brighten things up. This is actually shot from the window of our flat, when the light was backlighting the clounds and giving them a loverly glow. Click on it (as with all my images) to see a bigger version...enjoy...

Eiffel Tower and Seagull

2006-08-16T09:21:00.000+01:00

Eiffel Tower & Seagull

When we went to Paris last year it was a somewhat hazy day, so I had trouble getting any decent 'tourist' shots. This one happened by ~~accident~~....I mean through very careful timing....! And I think it works rather well.

It's That Steep

2006-08-14T09:43:00.000+01:00

It's that steep

So for all of you who know Hong Kong, you'll know about the Peak Tram. For those of you that have no idea what I'm talking about, a brief history lesson.

In the early days of Hong Kong the rich folk lived up on Victoria Peak - literally a way of rising above the hoi-polloi - but the journey up the winding road to the peak was a pain in a sedan chair. So they built a funicular railway running straight up the side of the hill. It's still running today, although on the third or fourth generation of tram.

The route up the hill is very steep in places - the buildings in the background give a good perspective on how steep the run is. As a side-note, click on the picture for a bigger version - I like the expression on the central lady's face too...

Are You Done Yet...? The Return of the Photo-Spouse

2006-08-11T10:34:00.000+01:00

Are You Done Yet...? The Return of the Photo-Spouse

Continuing to mine the rich vein of people-watching travel photos, shot in the same place a few minutes later than the last one, we have another nice photo-spouse shot. I've decided to coin the phrase 'photo-spouse'...maybe I should trademark it. You photographers all know the definition, and those of you who are married/attached/related to us know who you are too. Denise is a wonderful photo-spouse and actively supports and encourages my pastime - the lady above and the gent here are slightly more long-suffering perhaps. Either way, her positioning and body language is saying to me...do we really need 400 shots every 6 yards along the promenade....?

Umbrellas on the Avenue of Stars

2006-08-09T10:29:00.000+01:00

Umbrellas on the Avenue of Stars

On the few occasions when the sun was out lots of people in Hong Kong use nice brightly coloured umbrellas to keep the worst of the heat off them. This shot was taken on our last day in HK before moving off to Thailand. I guess I just like the composition of this one, especially considering it was a snap-shot.

Push to the Line

2006-08-07T09:02:00.000+01:00

Push to the Line

This is the last horsey shot from Ascot I think...next time we shall move onto different things. So here we're looking at the final push to the line on the biggest race of the day - these guys are clearly urging their mounts on to give every last drop of effort to try to win the race. I just like the sensation of speed in this shot.

Smile for the Camera!

2006-08-04T09:19:00.000+01:00

Smile for the Camera!

Well this horse wasn't shy in looking straight at me for this shot. Nothing else to say about it - except that this one's for you, Denise.

Phone and Break

2006-08-02T13:34:00.000+01:00

Phone and Break

A second shot from Ascot - it had clouded over by this time, and we were watching the horses come out to parade prior to the second last race. These two chaps were standing opposite us, and I like the symmetry of the composition.

Ascot Crowds

2006-07-31T09:26:00.000+01:00

Ascot Crowds

Saturday was our annual trip to Ascot's Diamond Day, courtesy of Denise's company. This is the first trip since they've completely rebuilt Ascot, and we now get grandstand seating as part of the deal. This is a view down over the general public enclosure from the 4th level of the grandstand, looking at the huge crowds of people that come to watch (and bet on) the races. I quite like this shot on two levels...it's a nice scene in and of itself, but on a more abstract level I like the four stripes of colour moving diagonally across the image. I have to be honest and confess I didn't see that at the time - it's one of those things you only see when you come to examine the image later.

Skyline and Typhoon

2006-07-28T10:48:00.000+01:00

Skyline and Typhoon

We were dead lucky on our trip. The most severe typhoon to approach Hong Kong in May ever hit us on that trip...the above shot is from our room in the hotel, the rushing clouds scraping the top of the buildings over in central. The typhoon missed us by about 100kms in the end. It did provide some spectacular skies though.

Rainy Thailand

2006-07-26T14:26:00.000+01:00

Rainy Thailand

So, those of you that we've spoken to since the holiday will know that Thailand was a touch wet for our tastes. This shot is taken from the bedroom of our villa, looking out over our pool with the sea out in the distance. If you look carefully you can see the rain hitting the pool. It was a beautiful place and the villa was fantastic...it was just really upsetting that the weather wasn't better...!

I want that one...

2006-07-24T11:46:00.000+01:00

I want that one...

Last goldfishy picture - this guy had somehow decided that there was one particular fish he was after in that rather full tank - and he wasn't afraid to spend some time getting it. His intense concentration makes this a picture I'm rather pleased with.

Abstract Goldfish

2006-07-21T11:03:00.000+01:00

Abstract Goldfish

Back to the Goldfish market now and this shot is of one of the many tanks filled with turbulent tumbling tumultuous fish. Alliteration aside (there's another bonus one for ya), I think the mild abstraction caused by the slow shutter speed emphasises the depth of movement in the tank, giving an end result that's rather nice.

Electronic Monk

2006-07-19T10:54:00.000+01:00

Electronic Monk

Not much to say about this. It was a quickly-grabbed shot in Bangkok Airport when this monk wandered around looking at the shops. He paused in front of this electronics shop and I couldn't resist the moment.

Not Pak Tak Yuen

2006-07-17T10:27:00.000+01:00

Not Pak Tak Yuen

It's back around the other side of the world now, and on the hottest day on the planet Denise and I decided to set out to see what had happened to the place where I used to live. We took the KCR out to Sha Tin, and had a good wander around the shopping centres there - I think they've been breeding since I left. We then thought we'd take a walk out to see if we could find Pak Tak Yuen. Unfortunately, I didn't realise that Fo Tan was actually the closer station so it was a very long (and hot) stroll. Eventually we got to Fo Tan and walked up the hill to find, as expected, that Pak Tak Yuen just isn't there any more. This photo was taken from the road directly below, looking up at the new apartments that have replaced the complex where we used to live. Not a photographic masterpiece by any means, but one that my clan will nonetheless appreciate I hope.

Sister and Niece

2006-07-14T09:23:00.000+01:00

Sister and Niece

So I thought I'd round out this little set of pictures with an impromptu portrait of my sister and my niece. This was taken standing on the balcony of Annis and Andrew's flat in Aesch. I think it's quite a sweet little picture. Have a nice weekend folks!

Parapet and Hillside

2006-07-12T16:32:00.000+01:00

Parapet and Hillside

It was sufficiently hot on our trip to Basel that we couldn't really go for a proper walk. Instead Andrew drove us up the hill above Aesch to a castle ruin, and we had a brief stroll around there. This shot just presented itself - the parapet is being reclaimed by the vines and trees, and the descending hillside in the background provides a nice counterpoint I think. One could say something here about man's transient and brief impact on the earth but I'll leave all of that stuff to the philosophers.

Amateurs & Professionals

2006-07-10T10:00:00.000+01:00

Amateurs & Professionals

As we headed back up to the car, we zig-zagged through the streets, attempting to avoid the piper troupes. The associated drums were somewhat loud and we didn't want to wake the sleeping Amber. We were about to head up this street when we saw this sextet of non-uniformed 'older' pipers. I've no idea whether they're amateurs or not, but the group behind in their red uniforms created this juxtaposition, and I couldn't resist this shot.

Celebrating Pipers

2006-07-07T10:12:00.000+01:00

Celebrating Pipers

Rather randomly, when we arrived in Basel on saturday, there was a bit of a piping competetion going on. It's no exaggeration to say that you couldn't throw a brick without hitting a piper or drummer - they were marching up and down pretty much every street, bridge and thoroughfare in town. We walked down a street where they were actually judging this contest, and as we turned the corner at the bottom, a troupe (if that's the right word) came past having just given what was presumably the performance of their lives. Above is a shot of the pipers celebrating just around that corner, looking exceedingly pleased with their display of piping excellence. I just love the expression on the centre guy's face. There's a captured moment if ever there was one...!

Amber Delice

2006-07-05T09:18:00.000+01:00

Amber Delice

In a somewhat unusual departure from the normal order of things here, I present my new niece, Amber Louise Mayne, daughter to Annis (my sister) and Andrew. She's the first new child in our family since...well...me, 28 years ago. We went over to Basel in Switzerland to see them last weekend and had a great, if exceedingly warm, time - you'll probably see a few other pictures crop up from there over the next few posts.

Junk at Sunset

2006-07-03T09:35:00.000+01:00

Junk at Sunset

When I was a kid living in Hong Kong, you NEVER saw a junk in Victoria Harbour with its sails up. You just didn't. They were on the postcards, sure, but you never saw them in reality. Now they're such a symbol of Hong Kong they run tourist dinner cruises on them. This one posed perfectly for me in front of the skyline at sunset. It doesn't seem as magical (or legendary) as when I was a kid, but I guess that's what growin' up does to you. Still, it's as typical as a Hong Kong photo could ever be.

Goldfish

2006-06-30T11:01:00.000+01:00

Goldfish

There is, in Mong Kok, a goldfish market. In this market they sell...well...you guessed it...goldfish. Several of the shops have tanks full of multiple different kinds of goldfish, and most have racks filled with pre-bagged fish. This is one such rack. I rather like this picture.

Room with a view

2006-06-26T11:30:00.000+01:00

Room with a view

This was the view from our first hotel room in Hong Kong. The outer walls provide quite a nice framing effect, and I've not tweaked the colour - it was very hazy and the window adds a touch of a brown filter. Anyway, this is what we woke up to every morning - and the views of the light show every night were nothing short of stunning.

Pleasant Palace

2006-06-23T14:10:00.000+01:00

Pleasant Palace

This is perhaps the quintessential sign (pun intended) of Hong Kong. Neon stacked upon neon, in English and Cantonese, with major international chains right along side local specialities. I saw this as we were walking up to the Temple Street Night Market, just as we were waiting to cross the road. It's one of my favourites from the trip.

The Hong Kong-Kowloon X-Ray Service

2006-06-21T13:52:00.000+01:00

The Hong Kong-Kowloon X-Ray Service

Simple little shot, looking up at some of the older apartments/offices above Nathan Road, hiding above the shiny neon. Some have old signs on them - who knows, maybe they're still in use - but I like this one. I like that there's an ivory factory and an x-ray service in the same building. Convenient!

Hong Kong at Night

2006-06-19T09:43:00.000+01:00

Hong Kong at Night

Yes, yes, I know, I said it'd only be a couple of weeks, but I was wrong. Work's been mad-busy since we got back from the holiday so I've not had the chance to post anything. So, here we go. This shot was taken from a bar/restaurant called Aqua, located on the 29th Floor of One Peking Road in Kowloon. The view of Hong Kong is exceptional, and a good introduction to the next batch of pictures. Thanks for being patient...!

Rainy Sea View

2006-05-12T09:35:00.000+01:00

Rainy Sea View

On our trip to Jersey I took shedloads of photos - you'll see them cropping up on here every once in a while. This is one of those ones that I took on a whim and only discovered I quite liked it when I looked at it enlarged later on. It's a nice view out to sea with the rain hitting the car window sufficiently to produce a nice effect on the image - it's not adjusted in photoshop at all.

Further note: I will be away on holiday for two weeks so there'll be no posts for a fortnight - looking on the bright side however, there should be a fair few photos to go up from the trip when I get back. Yay!

Red Sea and Jetty

2006-05-11T16:08:00.000+01:00

Red Sea and Jetty

This was shot from our balcony at the Red Sea Riviera Hyatt at Taba in the Sinai region of Egypt. It's a simple late-afternoon view - although I quite like the composition: the round sunshade on the beach, then the leading line of the jetty into the water, followed by the mountains shrouded in haze on the other side of the sea. As with every day at this resort it was exceedingly hot. So hot that you couldn't really walk on the sand without flip-flops on. Unfortunately we both got botulism and spent half the week in bed. But that's a story for another day...

Blue Sky with Gliders

2006-05-10T10:02:00.000+01:00

Blue Sky with Gliders

Taken at Ascot's Diamond Day last year, we noticed that there were a lot of gliders hanging above us in the sky. You can (just about) make out 4 in the above shot - no, that's not dust on the lens. Unfortunately the lens I was using that day didn't have much in the way of pulling power, so I couldn't get them any larger in the frame. Also, you may notice that, quite remarkably, there is a bit of blue sky in there. Yes! I know! Blue sky! In England! Who'd a' thunk it?

Bodiam Castle

2006-05-09T10:51:00.000+01:00

Bodiam Castle

This is the main gatehouse and entrance to Bodiam Castle. It's a pretty straightforward image - I deliberately took it down low and with a wideangle lens to exaggerate the perspective. It's a bit formulaic I guess - would have been nice if there was more going on in the sky too.

Buddhas Photography

2006-05-08T13:48:00.000+01:00

Buddhas Photography

This is just one of those things you see that just seems amusing at the time. It's from the pier at Eastbourne - one of those small shops on the pier itself that sells...well...tat, at best. The two of these 'products' side-by-side I find quite funny.

Cherubs

2006-05-05T13:08:00.000+01:00

Cherubs

Sorry for the lack of imagery yesterday - I'm in the midst of a big office move so didn't get time to get anything up. So I shall treat you today with one of my favourite images. This sundial supported by little chubby cherubs is located in the gardens of Polesdon Lacey - a National Trust property in the south of England. I quite like the composition and the somewhat grumpy sky on this one. It started to rain very shortly after I took this one. That's England in the summer for you!

Monument and Tower

2006-05-03T09:23:00.000+01:00

Monument and Tower

In Edinburgh, near the new Scottish parliament, there is a wonderful old graveyard, with a selection of fantastic monuments to the dead distributed on terraces around the hillside. This is one such monument, and a tower that marks the eastern boundary of the graveyard. I like this image - it's just a shame there's not more 'feature' in the sky.

Alley with Bicycles

2006-05-02T13:44:00.000+01:00

Alley with Bicycles

No post yesterday cos it was a bank holiday...sorry folks...! This image was shot in the italian town of Lucca - just one of those things you come across whilst wandering around a town. Not a lot to say about it really. I like the differing angles of the arches, and I also like the bicycles leaning in random places down the alley. The light could be better, but the roman gods were clearly not smiling down on us on this day.

Neptune and his subjects

2006-04-28T09:40:00.000+01:00

Neptune and his subjects...Amsterdam

Just a little shot of crowds being pulled by the statue 'performers' in Amsterdam. Not much to say about this - I just like the 2 anonymous spectators looking up at the Neptune statue. Perhaps paying deference to the god of the sea, or perhaps just rubbernecking at a fool in green bodypaint. Yooooooou deciiiiiiiiiiide.......

Stone Balls

2006-04-27T15:50:00.000+01:00

Stone Balls...Wakehurst Place

These sculptured stone spheres are located outside the international seed bank at Wakehurst Place - a National Trust-run place known as Kew's country garden. Photography wise this is a great location, and I like this shot for the shapes alone. The lines in the grass and the spheres against them particularly appeal to the kind of graphicism I like in some of my photography.

Watching the World Go By

2006-04-26T14:18:00.000+01:00

Watching the World Go By

This one is a little experimental, and is perhaps more of a technique-work-in-progress than some of my other photos. It's a shot similar in theme to the Waiting series, shot in the National Theatre in London. I like the contrast between the lady in pink on the left and the people moving back and forth in front of her. Shot from a low angle in order to exaggerate the perspective.

Waiting...2

2006-04-25T14:07:00.000+01:00

Waiting...2

Not a lot to say about this one...same series as Waiting. Same location - in this one I was trying to get a little bit of the 'looking to the heavens' thing that you see at airports and train stations as everyone stares constantly upwards at the arrivals/departures boards.

Waiting...

2006-04-24T09:39:00.000+01:00

Waiting...

And now for something completely different. One of the things I do to try to add some sort of focus to my photography (no pun intended) is to have projects or themes that I'm working on. One of these is 'Waiting/Anticipation'. Whilst waiting for...I don't remember now, my sister I think...at Heathrow a while back, the usual flight delays gave me the opportunity to experiment a bit. This was shot on my Dimage A1, with the camera sitting on my lap and the screen tipped upwards, so I could shoot with some stealth. You'd be surprised how dark it is in arrivals, in photographic terms - hence the motion blur of her arm and of the person walking past in the background. I quite like it. There's a nice implication of the world rushing past as she sits and waits for her...well, whoever it is she's waiting for...!

Booster

2006-04-21T09:57:00.000+01:00

Booster...Brighton Pier

This is the possibly the last of the Easter Weekend shots - this is shot very wideangle, in order to get the whole 100ft contraption into the frame. It's slightly silhouetted, so the foreground is a little dark, but I didn't want to lose the texture in the clouds. I also tried to get various in-action shots, when the device was swinging through its arc of torture, but the grey light meant I couldn't get a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the action. I have 1 that might be useable, so I'll show y'all that next week sometime.

Beachy Head Lighthouse

2006-04-20T09:16:00.000+01:00

Beachy Head Lighthouse

Righty, this one had some serious tweaking in Camera Raw to get any kind of colour into it. On the same hazy horrid day as the shots below, this is a view down to Beachy Head Lighthouse from the top of Beachy Head itself. The haze/mist was so strong at this time that in a couple of longer distance shots of the lighthouse I took you couldn't even see the lighthouse!

Seagull

2006-04-19T09:26:00.000+01:00

Seagull...Brighton Promenade

Yep, he's in charge alright. As usual with me, anthropomorphisation time again. This fella looks like he's totally in charge, this is his domain, and we're merely permitted to visit. And to feed him, should we so choose. I like the composition of this shot, but I'm not so keen on the completely hazy and featureless background. Unfortunately, that was the weather on the day, and there's not a lot I can do about it...!

Turbo

2006-04-18T09:20:00.000+01:00

Turbo...Brighton Pier

Lookatdat! Some motion blur! Yes folks, we're gettin' technical an' clever on you today! This weekend, being the Easter weekend, we were guaranteed to have some pretty poor weather. We went down to Brighton anyway, figuring we'd get some fresh air at least. Lots of people on the pier meant that there were a few photo opportunities - unfortunately this is the only decent shot I got - and even then I'm not very pleased with the grey featureless background. At least the foreground is ok - I set a low shutter speed to get the blur in the rollercoaster train, and I like the composition with the couple in the foreground looking up to the loop.

Jersey Beach Fortifications

2006-04-13T11:18:00.000+01:00

Jersey Beach Fortifications

On the Channel Island of Jersey there are many remnants of the Second World War Nazi occupation - this is just one of them - a beach gun emplacement on the western side of the island. The day this photo was taken it was dark, squallish and there was very little sun. Fortunately we were in such a position that we were in the right spot to take the shot when the sun briefly broke through the cloud and illuminated the tower. Click on the image to see it larger - you'll see the effect better then.

Eleven and a Half

2006-04-12T09:48:00.000+01:00

Eleven and a Half

This is one of my favourite shots from the local area - this resident clearly decided that 11a wasn't for them, and went for a much more witty and original approach. Shot wideangle on the Dimage A1 I went for a fairly symmetrical composition. It works quite nicely I think.

Hen Cloud Climbers

2006-04-11T09:13:00.000+01:00

Hen Cloud Climbers

My wife and I have been known to go rock climbing on occasion. The shot above is of Hen Cloud, which is a peak near the Roaches in the Peak District. This was fairly late in the day - we were walking off the hill towards our accomodation - the sun was hitting the south west face of Hen Cloud rather nicely. Also, these very considerate climbers were in just the right spot to give a rather nice composition. We give you variety here, that's for sure!

The Weather Project

2006-04-10T09:17:00.000+01:00

The Weather Project

A bit of art today...! And no, it's not upside down. This rather amazing installation at Tate Modern is by Olafur Eliasson - you can read more about it here: http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/eliasson/about.htm. This shot was taken looking up towards the ceiling, where a giant mirrored surface reflects the half-sun and the floor below, where people are lying down and adding themselves into the artwork. How's that for an interactive experience?

Swedish Tree

2006-04-07T08:59:00.000+01:00

Swedish Tree...Angelholm...Feb 2006

This tree is outside the balcony of my swedish friend's house - it's the only shot I took of note during the weekend I was there. Simple. Effective. Tree. With sky. Thankya.

Lock and Tree

2006-04-06T09:05:00.000+01:00

Lock and Tree...January 2005

No poncey nonsense today. Instead we have another local shot, from a lock on the canal near Victoria park. I like the way the buildings almost disappear in the background. You have this wonderful legacy of the canal era - when the canals were the highways of commerce in this country - looking freshly painted and as good as the day it was constructed. Added to that, the trees breaking into the sky provide some nice background interest.

Orange Abstract

2006-04-05T09:19:00.000+01:00

Orange Abstract

This is where I get to go all snooty poncey art photographer...this is all about shape and form and the small imprints of the human psyche on reality and perception.

Alternatively it's just a nice abstracted shot of a sculpture in a local park.

I would guess that the patterns on the individual tiles were applied there by local schoolchildren in some sort of participatory exercise - y'know the type of thing; if they've had a hand in building it themselves maybe they won't cover it in grafitti or attempt to destroy it.

Laughing Pig

2006-04-04T09:28:00.000+01:00

Laughing Pig

It's anthromoporphisation time again! Except this time with a pig rather than a monkey. This was taken at a local 'city farm'. The pigs there are normally very sleepy, or heads chuntering down into the ground - when this big fella looked at me like this I couldn't resist the shot.

Victorian London

2006-04-03T08:52:00.000+01:00

Traditional Foods, Fine Wines...Christmas Day 2005

I love it when you're wandering around the local area, and you discover a scene that wouldn't have looked out of place a hundred years ago. Apart from the obvious and unfortunately unavoidable anachronisms in this shot, you could be looking at a closed shop from Victorian London. This shop is actually facing the refurbished Spitalfields market complex - the glass frontage of the refurbed bit is acting like a giant reflector. Anyway, I like it.

Reflection upon the Environment

2006-03-31T09:04:00.000+01:00

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

2006-03-30T13:13:00.000+01:00

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

2006-03-29T13:42:00.000+01:00

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

2006-03-28T13:02:00.000+01:00

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

2006-03-27T12:23:00.000+01:00

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

2006-03-24T10:49:00.000Z

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

2006-03-23T11:09:00.000Z

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...?

2006-03-22T13:05:00.000Z

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....

2006-03-21T11:10:00.000Z

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

2006-03-20T11:08:00.000Z

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

2006-03-20T10:53:00.000Z

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