Tag: London

Amy Winehouse R.I.P

Posted in news, PersonalTagged , , 1 Comment

Simon McGregor-Wood, ABC News © Steven Lee

Drink, drugs and raw talent don’t mix.

Now that I have said it, I’ll let it go.

Being Sunday, and a beautiful sunny day, I wandered up to Camden town, more particularly, Camden Square to pay my respects to Amy Winehouse, the 27 year old London music icon who unexpectedly died yesterday here at her home. Camden Square is about a 10 minute walk from Camden Town, and is an upmarket residential area of terraced mansions and bungalows, surrounding a leafy garden square, with a children’s playground in the centre. Although I do not follow her music I realise she had an originality in her sound and style, having won 5 Grammies with her second album ‘Back to Black’. As a naturally gifted artist her demise is a sad and tragic loss to the British music world.


She’s been dubbed the Billie Halliday of our time, combining a retro-Detroit sound with modern jazz and RnB vocals. Her father is also a brilliant jazz musician in his own right. She has only produced 2 albums, but none in the last 5 years. For more details about her life, please visit here.

Tube portraits

Posted in PersonalTagged , , Leave a comment

I love surreptitiously taking photos in the London Underground, in off-peak times, as I often find there are plenty of interesting stills to capture, and people to photograph. People are usually so absorbed in their newspaper, paperback or smartphone nowadays to notice me snapping a few here and there. I find people’s shoes and stance often amusing, especially if there are suitably well dressed or have some item on them that stands out. Here’s three I snapped with my phone cam yesterday.

Back during film days, I shoot stealthily with a near-silent Konica Hexar, one of the best cameras ever made, in my opinion. I still have a Hexar sitting on my shelf, dying to get out for a run, like a house-bound Jack Russell. Nowadays, shooting silently is easy with compact digicams, but don’t forget to turn off that super-bright focus assist lamp! That, will surely give you away.

INTRODUCTION TO DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY : LONDON

Posted in workshopsTagged , 2 Comments

16 Feb 2010 : I think we have got everyone’s best pics up, thanks to all of you for making this London weekend workshop as successful, as can be seen in the photo gallery below!

8 Feb 2010 : The London weekend workshop went really well, and I am beginning to post the ‘Best of..’ from each participant’s mini-project Iconic London, in the gallery below. Apologies for not showing my images on Sunday, but as promised, included are my edited selection..SL

6 & 7 FEBRUARY 2010
1 & 1/2 DAYS INSTRUCTION £175 pp

As a replacement to the Venice Workshop in February, we are holding an Introduction to Digital Photography weekend here in London, for new adopters to digital photography, and for those wanting to get more out of your DSLRs in terms of compositional tips, exposure settings, and using different lenses for effects. We will be photographing Central London and its magnificent public spaces, stately buildings and people on the first day, followed by a brief introduction to digital editing, review and selection combined with a personal critical feedback of your photographs.

Program

Saturday 6th

9am to 1pm : Camera handling, exposure settings, compositional aspects, and lenses

Lunch

2pm to 6pm : Guided London ‘walkabout’ shoot, covering Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, London Eye, South Bank, Embankment and the West End : architectural studies, people and dusk images with a difference

Sunday 7th

11am to 3pm : Digital editing of shoot results, creative commentary and review of previous day’s images, Q&A and wrap-up

Includes a workshop handbook.

Who is this for?

Photographers seeking to make full use of their digital camera and lenses by developing their digital photography knowledge and mastering the basics – then beginning to explore and improve on compositional skills and image impact.

Keep reading!