Week 27 - London at Night
It seems like a very long time since I got a train up to London. And I have to admit to feeling a little bit apprehensive, unsure of what to expect and still experiencing recently learned insecurities.
I was really looking forward to being in London on a Saturday night again and with my camera. There is always so much to see and so many of the people are interesting and photogenic.
However, this photoshoot, arranged by Guildford Photographic Society and Peter Merry, was London at Night, working with low light and high contrast conditions.
Not something I have done much of before, so a good learning opportunity.
We had planned to visit Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus but suddenly faced with masses of young people, all out and about having a great time, my learned insecurities kicked in and a couple of us opted for the less crowded spaces.
So I have vowed to visit again, next time during the week, when I may make it to the popular spaces without the scary crowds.
I had a good time venturing beyond my recent limitations and staying up well past my normal bedtime!!
And I got a lot of images I rather liked - hence 3 panels this week.
Week 28 Guildford Cycle Races
This week I walked into town with my camera to see the Guildford Cycle Races.
The evening started great with the little kids giving it everything they had, twice around the road course.
The High Street incline is quite enough if you are shopping but when you are less than 4ft tall and on little wheels it is an enormous challenge and they all tackled it valiantly – some with gritted determination, others with giant smiles as if they were out for a Sunday afternoon jaunt!!
There were a couple more age group races, all well attended and performed. And then we were into the serious stuff - adult events.
A lot more speed and fading light made the exercise of taking photographers live up to the title “Challenge”!
So there were a great many images taken but with quite a low rate of successful, useable photos!
The weather was kind, the competitors, organisers, facilitators and crowd all seemed to have a good time and so did I.
What did I learn? Sports photography is very difficult and takes a great deal of practice and patience.
So for now I will stick to slower moving subjects!
Week 29 - Sunday Brunch at the Dabbling Duck, Shere
Sunday Brunch is a little treat I haven’t indulged in for quite a while, mostly because we haven’t been able to, but also because I always feel a little bit guilty if I take time out to relax and spoil myself on a Sunday.
Time to relax and lounge is something reserved for holidays – well in my head anyway!! Not sure if this is a “nature or nurture” characteristic, probably a bit of both.
So to mollify my inner demons and to justify the treat I thought I could use the time to create this week’s panel!!
And I hope you agree, the subject matter makes a pretty panel.
Shere is such a lovely quaint little village, very old with bags of character, history and interest.
It is a location used for filming in several movies over the years.
It is neatly situated amongst the Surrey Hills making it a popular stopping place for keen cyclists.
The River Tillingbourne runs prettily through the centre of the village with ducks waiting to be fed right beside the Dabbling Duck Café/Deli.
The Dabbling Duck is quite small inside but has a fair sized outside space and they are very busy with take-away orders from the front window.
We were 3 for brunch – two vegans and a meat eater – and we were all well catered for. The food was great.
Week 30 - Waverley Abbey Photoshoot with Marcus Masse
This week I joined a group of fellow photographers from Guildford Photographic Society at Waverley Abbey, Farnham for a photoshoot with model Marcus Massey.
Waverley Abbey is an English Heritage protected site - the first monastery in Britain of a reforming Cistercian order of monks from France - dating back to the 13th century.
The shoot was arranged by Graham Mansfield and we met at up 7pm to make the most of the Golden Hour/Sunset light. The weather was steamy and the gnats in their best biting form!!
For nearly two hours Marcus had a group of about 12 photographers all shouting at the same time the direction for the pose they wanted – all different of course.
Yet despite the heat, despite being dressed in overly warm costumes and despite having orders shouted from every direction, Marcus was the ultimate professional. No complaints, just kept on working, trying to give each of us the pose we wanted.
I very much enjoyed the evening, the photography, the location and being out with friends again