New Photo Series: “La Bella Vita”
I have put together my latest photo series consisting of photos I took over a few years to various parts of Italy.
I have put together my latest photo series consisting of photos I took over a few years to various parts of Italy.
They consist of black & white and colour photographs that show off the beauty and elegance of the wonderful country and the people in it.
You can check it out below:
5 nights in New York City with the Leica M10
I love New York. Having been lucky enough to visit twice before, I never feel like I am there long enough and always miss it when I come back. When the oppertunity came to take a very short notice visit to the big apple at Christmas time, I began dreaming of what sort of photographs I may get this time around.
I love New York. Having been lucky enough to visit twice before, I never feel like I am there long enough and always miss it when I come back. When the opportunity came to take a very short-notice visit to the big apple at Christmas time, I began dreaming of what sort of photographs I may get this time around.
It had been seven years since my last trip in 2016. Back then, I had just started using my Sony camera system, was getting quite into portraits and just starting to dabble in this newfound genre of “street photography”. My photography style, interests and gear have changed a lot since then so I looked forward to what I may be able to capture in the few days and nights that I had to walk around the busy Brooklyn and Manhatten streets.
I even made a short shot-list of photos that I wanted to tick off before leaving, full of ideas like “Oculus interior” and “Radio City portrait/silhouette”. I am glad to say I only left a couple of these unchecked, (still didn’t get to the MoMa museum) and I am quite happy with some of the results.
For whatever reason, I was really feeling black-and-white during this trip so shot everything with that in mind. I took 15mm & 28mm Voigtlander lenses with me but ended up using my 50mm Summicron for 90% of the trip.
The highlight of the 5 days was undoubtedly the Strawberry Fields gathering that I took part in on December 8th, the anniversary of John Lennon’s death. Not many people can say they have sang along to their favourite album with 100 strangers in Central Park. It was a special night that I will never forget.
New York is always full of characters and I was glad to meet professional tightrope walker Ryan (who I shot crossing the steam covered road) and smartly dressed crooner Edward (who kindly stopped for me on the way to a gig). I also saw a man playing an ancient-looking Chinese string instrument and a dog with the most amazing but sad eyes I’ve ever seen.
On the way home, we got to stop in the TWA lounge at the JFK airport - a classy retro styled bar and seating area that is famous for welcoming the fab four at the height of Beatlemania in the 1960’s, and keeping the same elegant decor ever since. It’s a place I’d wanted to visit for some time and was, hands down, the most enjoyable time I’ve ever had waiting for a delayed flight, watching torrential rain splashing against the windows whilst listening to The Kinks.
I set off for New York in 2023 expecting it to be the final time I’d visit. As usual though, the days passed all too quickly and I wished I could stay for longer. With its world famous streets and the scale of the skyscrapers - being in New York City feels like walking through a movie full of interesting characters where anything could happen. Every New Yorker has a story to tell and they are just waiting for their chance to tell it.
I don’t think I’ll ever tire of those people and streets. The city that never sleeps, never leaves me disappointed. I only hope I can find my way back again someday.
My 10 Favourite Shots of 2023
2023 was another enjoyable year for my photography journey.
I shot my first music gig, attended a few photography meet ups, completed a six month “1 camera 1 lens” challenge and rebranded this website.
These are my ten favourite photographs of the year and a bit of story behind them:
2023 was another enjoyable year for my photography journey.
I shot my first music gig, attended the first “Framelines” street photography community meetups, wrote a couple of well received blog posts, completed a six month “1 camera 1 lens” challenge, expanded/rebranded this website to feature more of my work, attended a workshop from one of the masters of the genre Mark Fearnly and also met one of my biggest inspirations Alan Schaller.
These are my ten favourite photographs of the year and a bit of story behind them.
In no particular order:
1 - Keeping an Eye Out
Taken on my spring trip to Venice, I love the dapper look of this Italian waiter and the shifty look in his eye. I tried to incorporate the foreground to frame the image and create a voyeur-like effect.
2 - Upstream Colour
After unboxing my 50mm lens, I went for a brief scenic walk and captured this scene of two rowers down the river. I like the way the waves make the water look like a blue piece of creased paper.
3 - Road Runner
I had a few images in mind before departing on my trip to New York this winter and I was glad to be able to capture this one of a pedestrian running across the smoke covered and headlight-lit road. Not an easy one to capture but an image that you can only get in NYC.
4 - Entrapment
Taken at a temporary art exhibition this spring. A very busy room with a real lack of available light, I was happy to get this shot when a gentleman crouched down in the perfect spot.
5 - Walking Through Hoops
After being inspired on a photography workshop, I was playing around with framing in boring looking locations when I came across this elaborate gate and waited for the perfect subject to walk into the gap. My thigh muscles paid the price, but the final result was worth it.
6 - Brave New World
Taken at the London Science Museum, I loved the design of this room and imagined being on a futuristic space hotel looking down on the earth below.
7 - Venetian Pigeon
I was composing a high contrast shot of the top of St Mark's Basilica in Venice when this pigeon entered the frame and I was able to catch him at the perfect moment about to take flight.
8 - Coronation Boy
King Charle’s III’s coronation was a busy affair with many lining the streets brandishing their Union Jack flags. I spent the morning walking up and down The Mall capturing history and noticed this smart chap in the middle of the bustle. Thankfully, this was taken before the heavy rainfall came and turned the place into a sea of dark umbrellas.
9 - Steps and Boxes
I noticed the minimal and beautiful design of this staircase and seating area in an Apple store in the city. I usually would not like the mess of the bottom section but feel the pleasing colours and original design of these seats, adds to the overall image.
10 - Finishing Touches
For a limited time earlier this year, there was a gigantic statue of the Japanese contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama outside Harrods. I went there with the idea of getting an interesting shot of her peering into the store windows at the shoppers but ended up preferring this photo of her painting the shop front.
In 2024 I plan to intentionally shoot a bit more regularly, continue taking street portraits. limit myself to B+W only for a a period, experiment with film again, organise a few portrait shoots, create and print a new low-cost zine and get a photo or project of mine featured on a prominent photography blog.
I guess we’ll see how much of that I can pull off this time next year.
Happy New Year everyone!
What I learned from hosting my first solo photography exhibition
One year ago, I was lucky enough to hold my own solo photography exhibition. It was something I wanted to do for years but didn’t expect to ever get the chance. The opportunity came about one evening at a newly opened art gallery …
One year ago, I was lucky enough to hold my own solo photography exhibition. It was something I wanted to do for years but didn’t expect to ever get the chance. The opportunity came about one evening at a newly opened art gallery, showing a few of my photographs to the proprietor. He liked them a lot, and proposed the idea of an exhibition, with live music accompaniment and the chance to sell my own prints. A date six weeks in the future was decided on and that was it - I was to have my own exhibition of my photographs. Now all I had to do was prepare for it!
I decided I would display the entire eighteen photographs from my first project “Alone at the Seaside”. This meant I would have to find somewhere to print them and frame them, as well as a way to display them all. I also had to think about how large I wanted these prints, on what kind of paper, what type of frame I wanted, how large and at what price I would be selling extra prints, how many book copies I should produce, what to write on business cards that I would leave for people to take with them on their way out and how I would design a flyer to advertise the event. I also decided this was a good time to design and launch a new website that I had been thinking about for months. Nothing like a bit of preassure to get things done.
After a few mishaps, I managed to find a professional local print house that was able print all of my pictures to a standard I was happy with. Finding suitable frames was a lot harder but I got very lucky and was able to get a great deal on a bespoke picture framing service in south London. Jonathan hand-made me some stunning black frames to showcase my pictures beautifully. I ordered a few book copies to sell and got a few extra prints made of the strongest photos for anybody that wanted one.
Things I learnt for next time:
Framing prints is the biggest headache imaginable - or it was for me. Print sizes are usually measured in inches while frames are in centimetres. Finding 18 well-made, identical, 20” x 16” black frames on a budget is not easy.
Advertising a photo exhibition is so niche that not many people will not care. Although I tried my best sticking my flyer up in many local notice boards and posted on many local online communities, I think my advertising only brought a few people. Most people that came were there due to word of mouth of browsers of The Gallery. I am happy with my efforts though and don’t think I could have tried many more advertisement methods in the timescale I had.
If there is not space to hang everything, make sure you have an alternative display method in mind. I ended up staying up late the night before polishing and tightening a dozen tatty music stands so my frames would look great and be secure.
You will sell fewer prints and books than you think, but it is always better to have too much stock than too little
Remember to take lots of pictures of the event while it is going on - time will go so fast that you will forget to do this. Make sure you also get some photos taken of yourself with your display as you will want to look back on this day in years to come.
Overall, I enjoyed hosting my first photography exhibition very much. It was a great day talking to people about my photography, hearing nice and constructive feedback and being able to show my work to friends and family, away from a small 6” screen. I would recommend it to anybody given the opportunity and hope I get to do it again someday.
Embracing one camera one lens - six months with the Leica 50mm Summicron Version 4
The greatest street photographers that I admire all tended to stick to one main focal length for most of their famous work. With a cabinet full of great lenses all fighting for a trip outdoors anytime I pick up the camera, this idea has appealed to me recently. But which camera and which lens?
The greatest street photographers that I admire all tended to stick to one main focal length for most of their famous work. They say this removes indecisiveness, keeps you more in the moment, enables you to visualize an image without looking through the camera, creates a concise body of work and kills the dreaded gear-acquisition-syndrome. With a cabinet full of great lenses all fighting for a trip outdoors anytime I pick up the camera, this idea has appealed to me recently. Less time deciding, more time shooting is the idea. But which camera and which lens?
I have long gravitated to the 50mm. I do like to experiment with a wider 35mm or 28mm and some of my most interesting pictures from last year have come from my 15mm lens. If I had to commit to one lens for half a year though, it would have to be a 50 and though I love my FE mount 55mm Zeiss, this challenge would have to be with my Leica. The TTArtisan 50mm 1.4 ASPH is such a well-built lens that produces amazing shots but there is one problem - it weighs a ton (aka 395g), so I was on the lookout for an alternative. After months of research looking for my perfect M mount 50, I saw a great deal on my dream lens that I could not pass up. Upon purchase I made one promise to myself - I will use this Leica Summicron with my Leica M10 exclusively for six months, to really put it through its paces, get to know how they perform together and concentrate more on the composition rather than which tools to use.
The first thing that struck me about the lens was the size and weight. Coming from the TTArtisan goliath, at only 195g the ‘Cron felt so small and nimble. It is so perfectly balanced on this camera, no more tipping forward to aching wrist if I carried it for more than an hour. I also love how it looks on the camera - the quintessential M camera combination with a lens coating that gives off a beautiful orange hue when shone in the right light. When I got it, I only had a 39mm filter in silver, but I really love the silver-black-silver look this combo gives off. Very vintage looking with many people asking if I am shooting on film.
The image quality should not need to be mentioned - the Leica 50mm Summicron has been a benchmark lens that all others are measured against since its inception in 1953. Though, being older than me (these were manufactured from 1979 - 1994 with my copy coming from 1984) I am still stunned how much detail there is and how vivid the colours are on my digital sensor. Sure, if I had to be picky, I would say the images from some of my modern Zeiss or Voigtlander lenses are even sharper with a bit more pop but I love shooting a lens with as much rich history as this one, in such a tight package that does not fall victim to many of the shortcomings often found in vintage glass, such as soft focus, washed out colours and excessive flare. Speaking of lens flare, the V4/V5 Summicron’s are often chastised for their shabby flare control, but I can honestly say I have only seen one or two images in these six months that were negatively affected by flare. I normally only attach the hood on very sunny days or just when I want the camera to look even more vintage, so I am glad I didn’t let all those naysayers put me off the lens for this reason alone - in my experience anyway, flaring is not an issue.
One thing I thought might be a bit more useful, would be the lens tab. I have long had this romantic notion of being able to get to know a lens so well that I can perfectly zone focus with the aperture wide open and get tack sharp shots. I am finding this more difficult than initially expected and I have realised the people I see using this method all use wider focal lengths like 35mm, 28mm or 24mm. I think 50mm is significantly harder to do this and I might have to practice a bit longer than six months to be as quick at focusing as lifelong 50mm shooter Elliot Erwitt.
I have really enjoyed this half a year taking out the camera and not wasting energy decided which glass to attach to the front. It is quite freeing and has led me to think about what's in front of me a lot more. Since I have had the M10 I have struggled a bit more than I expected with framing a scene using range-finder frame lines rather than a mirrorless EVF, but I feel like I am a bit better now at visualising what will be in my image and what I am cutting out. Occasionally I miss the separation of f1.4 and longingly check if prices for a Summilux ASPH have come down (they never do) but in reality, with the right placement and the ISO ranges of modern sensors, F2 should be enough in almost all situations.
Now that the six months is up, I feel myself being drawn to the 28mm again and giving it another chance. I am also thinking about getting my Summicron serviced to smooth out the focus throw a bit and get the mount changed for a 6-bit coded one (I’m a sucker for accurate EXIF details). If this does not cost too much and doesn’t take too long it might be nice to send it off over winter, ready to be shot again in lovely fresh condition in the spring.
For now, I love my 50mm Summicron V4, for me it is the perfect everyday street photography lens for a Leica and hope this is just the start of my journey of taking meaningful photographs with it.