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Trip to London.A few more pictures.

Re: Trip to London. A few more pictures.

LondonDragon said:
rawr said:
Just out of curiosity to all you street photographers - do you actually ask before taking a photo of people etc or just go ahead and hope they don't charge at you? :lol:
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If you ask them they will just pose and not look very natural 😛
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I just got sneeky and used my girl friend as a decoy, making it look like i was taking her picture or shot from the hip, holding my camera by my side as if I wasn't even looking.

There was this amazing looking women though, she was very thin afro Caribbean women, with, I kid you not, an afro about 3ft tall, it was immense. I watched her charge another photographer taking her picture. He asked first mind, but she looked mean.....real mean, lol.

Here is some more shots....

If you look close, you can see my girl friend in it.









I hope you all like them.
 
Top draw mate, the third picture is just awesome, you've really captured the scene.
 
Re: Trip to London.

Graeme Edwards said:
I cant imagine how it would be to live there. I can imagine very tiring, pushing through the crowds and having to keep your wits about you.
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Most people harden to it naturally with time (good luck picking my pocket, quite a few have tried over the years 😉 ). THen it beocmes quite an impersonal place, I think there is something quite sad about that. Edinburgh is the friendliest city I think I have seen in the world. People hold doors open for you and basic things like that.
 
Re: Trip to London.

a1Matt said:
THen it beocmes quite an impersonal place, I think there is something quite sad about that. Edinburgh is the friendliest city I think I have seen in the world. People hold doors open for you and basic things like that.
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I agree with this. It's so busy and hectic that most are interested in no.1 only. New York was similar for me, on an even bigger scale.

Anyway, my favourite shot is the last with the really effective motion blur. Just the right amount. But why is there a stool under the van??
 
George Farmer said:
a1Matt said:
THen it becomes quite an impersonal place, I think there is something quite sad about that. Edinburgh is the friendliest city I think I have seen in the world. People hold doors open for you and basic things like that.
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I agree with this. It's so busy and hectic that most are interested in no.1 only. New York was similar for me, on an even bigger scale.

Anyway, my favorite shot is the last with the really effective motion blur. Just the right amount. But why is there a stool under the van??
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a1Matt said:
Graeme Edwards said:
I cant imagine how it would be to live there. I can imagine very tiring, pushing through the crowds and having to keep your wits about you.
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Most people harden to it naturally with time (good luck picking my pocket, quite a few have tried over the years 😉 ). THen it beocmes quite an impersonal place, I think there is something quite sad about that. Edinburgh is the friendliest city I think I have seen in the world. People hold doors open for you and basic things like that.
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Deffinetly, I can see that being the case. Toughen up or get out. I saw some freindly people to be honest, and they where the ones who looked local, but there was plenty who weren't. It was in the tube that struck me. I knew it would be packed, but jeezzz, i thought there was no more room at the next stop, i said, nah, they aint getting on here....how wrong was, they just shoved and pushed their way in, shocking!

Glad you like the pic George. When I was editing it, i was going to crop it out, but I actually like it...... its kind of strange and like you say, it leaves a question as to why its there.

Coooooooooooool 8)

Cheers guys.
 
Hi g man,
dont know if its just me but that third picture looks sort of black and white and 70s looks,even though it has colour in it,
or am i seeing things you guys dont see,or shall just shut up :lol: :lol: ,

nice pics mate
john.
 
No mate your spot on. I increased contrast, vibrancy and then I took saturation to around 30% so i wiped some of the color away, but kept enough to keep it interesting. Very retro mate, thats what I was after. Well spotted.

Cheers John,
 
Graeme Edwards said:
Glad you like the pic George. When I was editing it, i was going to crop it out, but I actually like it...... its kind of strange and like you say, it leaves a question as to why its there.
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My thoughts exactly mate. It's the kind of prank played on a mate when you'd know he has to reverse. We used to do the same with bricks to guys' cars at work!

Respect on the '70s-style post-processing too - I did ask about it earlier in the thread... 😉 Did you come up with yourself or follow a guide?
 
George Farmer said:
Graeme Edwards said:
Glad you like the pic George. When I was editing it, i was going to crop it out, but I actually like it...... its kind of strange and like you say, it leaves a question as to why its there.
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My thoughts exactly mate. It's the kind of prank played on a mate when you'd know he has to reverse. We used to do the same with bricks to guys' cars at work!

Respect on the '70s-style post-processing too - I did ask about it earlier in the thread... 😉 Did you come up with yourself or follow a guide?
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Sorry G, missed that question. I did it all on my own through the CS2 RAW editor. I find thats all I need, it does a great job. All I did was fiddle with exposures, contrast, making blacks darker, playing with saturation and color toning. Nothing fancy, just played mate. I love playing with RAW now. Cant believe I just did JPG for so long.

The only thing I find, is the lens I have is not as crisp as I would like, which is a shame, but as im not selling any shot, or going to publication, im happy with it for now. Though I would never say no to a new lens. Im happy with the camera too.
Tonser said:
Sounds like a cracking weekend Graeme, and some lovely shots too 😀

Well done for actually getting out there with a camera, and shooting whats around you, its amazing how different your immediate vicinity looks through a viewfinder 😀

Cheers

Tony
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Cheers Tony. I see taking pictures in 3 stages. 1, The location....your bedazzled by so much in your vision you take in far more than you can proses or latch on to. 2, Possible location/subject found...your vision narrows to start the process of creativity, framing the shot, getting the nice angles and trying to see what might work. 3 , How it actually looks on screen, post edit and what seems so far from the actual scene you saw with your bare eyes. Its there of course, but its almost sensationalized to make it say something or seem more interesting than the area or subject actually is.
Nothing is really that interesting at a quick glance, but stop for moment and there is always something to find interest. the hardest bit some times is transferring that through the photography......NICE 8)

Cheer dudes.
 
Lovely pictures, Graeme - as another Londoner born and bred, you've certainly captured the vibrancy and variety of one of the world's great cities.

I used to do a lot of street photography for a previous job and I'd agree with whoever it was who said that for good street shots you shouldn't ask to take people's pictures - in this country, at least. In London in particular, people are so good at ignoring ANYTHING that you could walk down the street naked and no-one would bat an eyelid. Taking pictures is going on everywhere, all the time, so you don't stand out as much as you might think you do. But if someone takes exception, you just have to apologise, offer to delete the shot in front of them and walk away.

In other countries and other cultures I'd be very careful indeed about taking pictures without asking - I usually look at them, smile and hold the camera up with a questioning look and then be guided by their reaction. Of course, more general shots that include people are something else entirely. Ironically, taking pictures of children is much more sensitive here than elsewhere, unless you're somewhere with a bad reputation for sex-tourism (it's a sad, sad world).

I think the surreptitious shoot-from-the-hip approach is really hazardous - if you have to hide what you're doing you MUST be up to mishief, no? Get caught and you'll be hard-pressed to justify what you are doing. So be upfront, straightforward and quick - most times people won't notice, will ignore it or won't mind.

London can be a hard and lonely place - but I think it sometimes gets an unnecessarily bad press. London is so big and busy that the social niceties possible elsewhere simply wouldn't work in London - especially when you add English reserve into the mix. Put it to the test - ask a Londoner for help (when you genuinely need it) and they'll usually come up trumps, just like everywhere else. And ask yourself, how come people from all over the planet can readily make their home in London, if it is so unwelcoming?

No, London is a great place - and Londoners just like to mind their own business, keep a bit of psychological personal space, and let everyone get on with it. Just my two penn'orth 😉
 
paul.in.kendal said:
London can be a hard and lonely place - but I think it sometimes gets an unnecessarily bad press. London is so big and busy that the social niceties possible elsewhere simply wouldn't work in London - especially when you add English reserve into the mix. Put it to the test - ask a Londoner for help (when you genuinely need it) and they'll usually come up trumps, just like everywhere else. And ask yourself, how come people from all over the planet can readily make their home in London, if it is so unwelcoming?

No, London is a great place - and Londoners just like to mind their own business, keep a bit of psychological personal space, and let everyone get on with it. Just my two penn'orth 😉
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Bad press indeed, I have been living in London for 20 years (this month) and I love it here, I though about moving out a few times to a more quiet area around London but always think about the pros and cons and always end up staying.
I like the fact that when you want something I can just leave the house and travel 30 minutes in any direction to get what I want no matter what it is, also there always something to do in London and there is always some event taking place every weekend from all the diverse communities London has.

I take a lot of photos around London (haven't done much the last couple years, busy time in my life) and show my firends and most of the time I get "Oh I didn't know this place existed" or "I didn't know these events took place".
When I want to get away from all the confusion all I have to do is get my camera and go a walk in the many parks London has, go down to Richmond park in some areas you don't see a person for ages, and many other large green spaces. Go for a walk down the canals, down the Thames in the Richmond area (beautifull) or just go down to the London Wetland Centre (http://www.wwt.org.uk/centre/119/london ... entre.html) and spend a whole day there with nature.

I would not swap London for any other City in the England to be honest.
 
So much atmosphere in your shots - they're very good!
 
LondonDragon said:
I would not swap London for any other City in the England to be honest.
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After 45 years in London I moved to Kendal - but we're hell-bent on moving back to inner-city living once we retire.

London rocks, baby!

Sorry for the hi-jack, Graeme. 🙄
 
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