My random eye

Wanna see how random my eye is when I’m out and about? OK, I’ll show you - in the order I shot these. I saw those alarms on a building as I was walking from the tube towards the Spilliaert exhibition on Piccadilly. People had to duck as they walked past me taking this. I thought they must think I was taking such a weird picture. Maybe I was.

I walked past this lady with her woolly hat greeting me, and I circled back as I thought it was so funny I had to get the shot. I feel quite shy taking pictures of strangers up and close, and when I walked past her the second time I took the picture blindly with the camera at my hip, hoping that I’d get her in the frame. But you know, one great thing about people being so engrossed in their phones, is that you actually can just shoot the pic however you want, without them ever knowing.

See what I mean? Phones are gooooood. This lady’s green dress was just too fabulous darling to ignore.

Something about this empty street corner drew my eye. I think it was all that black.

With all the rain we’ve been having there’s some pretty big puddles out there. I liked how the red of the no entry sign popped.

Orange and burgundy together - who would’ve thunk it? Such a 60’s colour combo, non? And the name of the street makes me wonder what the history of it is. Quack quack?

I know I keep saying it, but I’m eternally grateful to my old art director boss who said that one must always look up. You never know what you’ll see, and seeing as so much of London is so generic at eye level, there are usually more interesting details above your eye line.

Like people making little gardens wherever they can.

Ahh, Bedford Square. You so pretty.

And finally, this building number on Tottenham Court Rd, before I got back on the tube to go home. Nice colours will always draw my (random) eye.

Last week's camera walk

Looking down, walking from Holborn tube station towards Somerset House. I’m trying to get out at least once a week with my camera, and I always start with an exhibition, as it’s a sure way to get me out of the house.

In one of the big majestic stairwells in Somerset House. I went to see the 24/7 A wake up call for our non stop world exhibition, which was interesting. In a nut shell: “With every moment seemingly an opportunity to connect and work, unrelenting pressure to produce and consume, sleep itself monitored and commodified, how we cope is one of the most urgent contemporary issues affecting us all.” I didn't take any pictures in there, I just wanted to give it my full attention, and take it all in.

Waterloo Bridge from underneath.

Personally I’d be waiting in the sun, but each to their own.

Looking down on the Thames. Wondered what the water temperature would feel like compared to the pond. You’d drown if you tried to swim here though, as the river currents are so strong. And let’s not even think of how polluted it is.

Flapper.

Flutter.

This feels like too much of an ask, but I’m curious, who’s reading this blog? I have no idea who you are, and it would be so nice to hear a bit about you (all three of you - haha). Who are you, where are you, and is there anything you’d like to see more of here? Hope you have a great weekend!

Walking the camera

So here’s some of what I saw on my stroll in town at the beginning of the week. It’s been ages since I’ve been out actively taking pictures, as opposed to just being out and about, and by chance having my camera on me. There’s a huge difference. I recently watched an old documentary following Joel Meyerowitz shooting on the street (sadly the picture quality is rubbish), and it was so exciting to see how he worked and what he thought about what he saw, when he saw it. There’s a huge treasure trove of old documentaries about famous photographers on YouTube that I’ve only just discovered, and I’m looking forward to diving into them soon. And my intention for 2020 is… to take pictures more intently. Hehe.