Saturday, 13 June 2009

12 of 12 (v4.0) - June

Let me just say first off - I think July's 12 of 12 is my 3 year anniversary of doing this. And after that long, I've run out of ways to make my work day interesting (even with living in different places)! I mean you've seen my shower too many times, you know? ;-) So a couple of weeks ago, I looked at the calendar and booked all the remaining workday 12ves off for 2009. The aim being to get out and see some of London - which I keep meaning to do anyway! I know 12 of 12 is meant to show your day, but there's no reason you have to keep it boring and mundane - why not plan a day exploring a place, and then 12 of 12 documents that exploration? I also wanted to get some good photos - last month was a little restricted and not a day to really dwell on.

June was going to be an experiment, and renting a tilt-shift lens which gives some pretty cool effects (like making things look like miniature villages). But they look complicated enough that I'd need to read up on them, so I benched that idea and came up with a new theme for the day. See one of the (several) books I'm reading at the moment is Do Not Pass Go - From the Old Kent Road to Mayfair by Tim Moore. It's a comedy travelogue exploring London's Monopoly sites and their history.

So it seemed a good idea to pick 12 of the London Monopoly streets/areas, and take a photo of each of them. It took me about 6 hours and a LOT of walking, but it was a nice sightseeing day and I did learn some things!

Edit - I know the lighting's a bit wonky in these, and the b&w are a little overexposed - but since I've been using the Manual mode more, I'm trying to stick to it and not run back to P mode. But it does mean changing the f.stops and whatever the 1/200 stuff is. No, I don't know the names, and photography technical language books send me to sleep in about 7 seconds. So it's an entirely self taught, trial and error process (which I'm hoping'll at least make it stick!). I read two photography books about 15 years ago or more now, but you know, no chance of remembering anything from those! I got it mostly right in Germany with decent sunlight, but London yesterday was mostly overcast grey skies and a nightmare for a Manual novice like me. So just excuse those and I'll try to get it better next month!

1) 12:25pm - Strand, London

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Strand is one of the reds on the board. It runs from Trafalgar Square up to Fleet Street, bordering Covent Garden. This in particular is St Mary le Strand, a church. Reading about it now, I find it's the official church of the Women's Royal Naval Service and it's one of two "island churches" (as it sits on a kind of elliptical traffic island) in London.

2) 1:36pm - Fleet Street, London

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Another red, is Fleet Steet. It's still associated with the British press, even though the last major British news office (Reuters, woo!) left in 2005. This building I'm sure housed the publications depicted on its outer walls. Quite often, several publications would be under one umbrella company - it happens a lot with magazines I think.

3) 2:00pm - Trafalgar Square, London

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Trafalgar Square, another red. It's known for having Nelson's Column and its four lions, as well as having the National Gallery at its northern end (I warn you now, there's a butt-ugly painting on the website's main page!). It is often home to political demonstrations. Reading now, I find out that on the lawn outside the National Gallery are two statues - James II and George Washington. The Washington statue is a gift from the state of Virginia (thanks guys), and it stands on soil imported from the United States - this is to honour Washington's vow that he would never again set foot on British soil. I mean really, the lengths we go to, to accommodate people... ;-)

I realised I forgot to explain this one, when first typing it up. There are a few chalk artists and performers in the large open area of Trafalgar Square, and there seem to be different ones each time I go - this one had drawn out flags for many countries, along with "thanks" in their language, and a circle for people to drop coins into - either the country you're from, or one you like, I suppose! A New Zealand family pointed out that their flag was missing, so they helped him draw it. I think he was homeless, and it was a good way to get some money without begging I guess. Nice though.

4) 2:23pm - Northumberland Avenue, London

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And now for an purple (though they always looked pink to me). Northumberland Avenue leads off from Trafalgar Square and runs up to Embankment. It is built on the land which once held Northumberland House - home to the Percy family (who were the Dukes of Northumberland). In case you were curious, there are several ministry buildings there including the Ministry of Defence and DEFRA, as well as the Nigerian High Commission.

5) 2:53pm - Downing Street/Whitehall, London

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This photo is actually of the entrance to Downing Street, which runs perpendicular to Whitehall, another purple. Like Fleet Street, this too has a permanent association, this time though with politics - any government departments and ministries line the road. The name comes from the Palace of Whitehall which existed there until it was largely destroyed by a fire in 1698. It also has Downing Street leading off it, home to number 10 (the residence of the British Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury) and number 11 (residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Second Lord of the Treasury) of course.

6) 4:01pm - Park Lane, London

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One of the dark blues, and most expensive ones on the board. Not that exciting to look at to be honest, and I was getting a little footweary after a lot of walking, so I didn't go along the whole thing. But I got a photo of the Dorchester hotel. Looks quite pretty and everything, doesn't it? Well let's also look at this slightly less zoomed photo - the Dorchester's side is along Park Lane, and its entrance way is in the nook between Park Lane and an offshoot road. The less zoomed out photo:

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Here's something you might not know about it though - despite being in central London, an area which runs a congestion charge (an effort to reduce traffic, it charges you a premium for each day you venture inside the zone), Park Lane is of one the free through routes inside the zone. Go figure - an expensive property-lined road, but free to drive along!

7) 4:57pm - Down Street/Mayfair, London

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This might have to be the hardest one I got. Mainly because Mayfair doesn't really exist. There isn't an actual street. I pulled it up on my Googlemaps app on my Blackberry, and it said it was at the bottom of Park Lane, by the corner of Hyde Park. But when I zoomed in, there was nothing. Luckily, I'd brought along my copy of Do Not Pass Go, and so I looked at that. It opened with "Except as a packet of cheap fags and a defunct pornographic monthly, Mayfair doesn't exist." This was not encouraging... so I read on. There is a Mayfair Place, which is a tiny strip of road laid over part of Devonshire House's back garden in 1924. It's the last before "GO", the other dark blue, and the most expensive on the board.

But Mayfair used to be a Tube station, and one you could take the Picadilly line to. Down Street station was officially subtitled (Mayfair). It opened in 1907, but wasn't active long - it closed in 1932. The Edwardian tiles - as you can see, an "ox-blood red" as the author puts it - now surround a small newsagents/mini market. There's a closed door but you could easily go past it and not know what it used to be.

8) 5:13pm - Piccadilly, London

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One of the yellows, and home to the famous Ritz. Piccadilly has a silly sounding name, known the world over. It comes from piccadills - the spiked metal collars people used to support the elaborate ruffs that were fashionable in the early 17th century. A tailor who made a fortune from making pickadils bought and developed a large bit of land near what is now Piccadilly Circus. And so it got its name. Played with the manual focus here, deliberately softened it.

9) 5:32pm - Pall Mall, London

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One of the purples again. Pall Mall runs parallel to the Mall. The name comes from a ball-and-mallet game played there in the 17th century. It was introduced by Irish travellers coming from Brittany in France, and stopping off in London. The game then was known as "paille-maille", possibly coming from the Italian for "ball-mallet". Charles II loved the game so much that he had a special alley built in a field round the back of Whitehall to play it in (as well as losing some of the vowels, to make "pall mall"). Apparently, according to Moore, he used to play it so ferociously that "after additional vowel surgery it spawned the phrase 'pell-mell' "!

10) 5:55pm - Regent Street, London

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One of the green streets now, Regent Street. It's widely known for its shopping (it leads off Oxford Street, another famous shopping street), and its Christmas illuminations. Quite interesting to read about it now - It's named after Prince Regent (who became George IV), and is often associated with the architect John Nash. However, all of Nash's buildings have now been replaced, apart from All Souls Church. Here's something interesting though ('cos I know you've all been yawning thus far :P) - ALL of the buildings in Regent Street are listed buildings (at least Grade II status if not more). Combined, they are the Regent Street Conservation Area.

11) 6:01pm - Coventry Street, London

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Coventry Street is another of the yellow set, and nowadays houses the Ripley's Believe It Or Not! museum, and the Trocadero Centre. It connects Piccadilly Circus with Leicester Square.

12) 6:15pm - Leicester Square, London

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Leicester Square is another yellow, and famous now for its cinemas - though it has a pretty seedy past from what I read in Moore's book! Yikes. The square this guy was walking over is a new addition, honouring Dustin Hoffman's attendance there to watch Last Chance Harvey - it wasn't there last time I visited and looked at those squares, which are set into the floor outside the cinemas which line the square, similar to Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. It also has Capital Radio there, which broadcasts across London and wakes me up each morning. Interestingly, the main electric substation for the whole of the West End is beneath Leicester Square. And apparently, Westminster Council are planning to change the Square's apparence slightly over the next few years - not significantly change its character, but make it more film backdrop-friendly, if I understand Wikipedia's comment correctly.

Bonus - 6:42pm - King's Cross Station, London

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Very foot (and hip) tired by this point, I hopped the Picadilly Line from Leicester Square to King's Cross Station, came above ground and into the rail station for this photo, then ducked back into the Underground there to get the Northern Line back to my house. It's famous nowadays for housing Platform 9 3/4, of Harry Potter fame. It is normally located (logically) between platforms 9 and 10, but as they are doing work there, it has been "magically" moved a short distance away. 'cos you know, magic can do that. There is half a trolley sticking out of the wall, but as I had no-one to take a photo of me looking like a muppet and pretending to push the trolley, I went for a photograph of the station's architecture, which I find prettier anyway ;-)

And it seems it was built on the site of what used to be a fever and smallpox hospital - nice. Ooh, and Wikipedia tells me that according to recent urban folklore, it's also built on the site of Boudica's final battle, or else that her body lies under one of the platforms - possily platforms 8, 9 or 10. Supposedly there are also passageways under the station, which her ghost haunts.

So maybe the whistles aren't trains, but her ghostly sounds.

Anyway - that's your lot! I hope you enjoyed the Monopoly-themed tour of London, and learnt something - I certainly have (and gotten a lot of exercise too!). Thanks as always to Chad for the idea and hosting everyone's links. Click here to see everyone's 12 of 12s for June!

Wednesday, 13 May 2009

12 of 12 (v4.0) - May

Not one of the best 12 of 12s, this one. I was visiting friends and their little boys (one 20 months, one 2 weeks), and it promised to be a good potential for fun photos and activities. However, shortly before I went up, they ended up having a funeral for the 12th. I stayed in their home with Jon's Dad and Step Mum to look after the 20 month old, while Gem and Jon took new baby Jacob (the 2 week old) with them. So these are a mix of photos from early morning, play time and on the way home. Gem obviously didn't want a 12 of 12 record of a sad day, which is entirely understandable.

This post is 3 days late because I was travelling back the night of the 12th, I was worn out and didn't have time on the 13th, I had a Counting Crows concert on the 14th, and so here we are on the 15th. I'm away this weekend at a small houseparty with friends - Star Trek at the cinema, BBQ, geeky TV and laughing... all good stuff. And then off to Germany next week to see Christin. Shame most of my travelling's avoided the 12th!

1) 7:23am - Gem and Jon's house, S. Yorks

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Photo of Molly, one of their two cats. Being mostly black, she's pretty hard to photograph, especially in a low light area. But let's call it arty, mmkay?

2) 7:24am - Gem and Jon's house, S. Yorks

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Arty one of Izzy cat against the newly painted (to me) red wall in the kitchen.

3) 7:32am - Gem and Jon's house, S. Yorks

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I checked emails on the Blackberry quickly. I was off on the 11th and 12th (Mon/Tues) but obviously everyone else in the office was still at work.

4) 8:00am - Gem and Jon's house, S. Yorks

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Reading ore of New Moon, and in the background, the game of Scrabble Gem and I had played the night before. She kept getting consonants and I kept getting vowels. For almost every turn, I had 5 vowels and 2 consonants. I ended up with - wait for this - owning 8 of the 9 "I" tiles during the game. 8 of them!!

5) 8:07am - Gem and Jon's house, S. Yorks

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Kitties on watch parade. Ready to spring into guard protection. Well, Molly would chase, but Izzy'd run away wewwy wewwy fast. And hide. Bless her.

6) 8:39am - Gem and Jon's house, S. Yorks

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Molly cat in a very comfy position, where she shouldn't really be (on Will's mini version of his Dad's chair). No-one's told Molly that her black fur is kind of a give away...

7) 9:39am - Gem and Jon's house, S. Yorks

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Will playing. He doesn't know it, but he's doing the downward facing dog yoga pose...

8) 2:21pm - Gem and Jon's house, S. Yorks

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Will playing with Grandad Robert (featured arm). Will loves garages (crash!), building Megabloks, reading books, playing football, watching Fireman Sam and many other things I found.

9) 2:59pm - Gem and Jon's garden, S. Yorks

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Will being a funky monkey cool dude with his sunglasses in the garden, football in hand. He's perched on some stacked flat slate rocks. Enjoying the sunshine!

10) 4:18pm - Gem and Jon's house, S. Yorks

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Will playing with the Dyson hoover extension pole thing, shortly before it became an impromptu hobbyhorse.

11) 4:19pm - Gem and Jon's house, S. Yorks

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Baby Jacob, sleeping. Ah to have the life of a 2 week old...

BONUS - 4:19pm - Gem and Jon's house, S. Yorks

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Another picture of baby Jacob. Apparently looks a lot like his brother Will at that age (slightly narrower head and less of an upturned nose, but otherwise the same, I'm told). I have to say, I didn't see Will until he was 3 months, and I can't see the similarity by looking at photos - but I find it hard to see differences in babies. Now adults, I can do...

12) 7:53pm - National Express train, somewhere enroute back to London

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The book I'm finishing there, New Moon, and the book that's up next, Seven Up by Janet Evanovich who I like a lot. I finished the one and started the other before I got to London - and in the 3 days it's taken me to make this post (I had a concert last night), I'm almost finished the Evanovich too.

As always, thanks to Chad for the idea, click here to see everyone else's offers, and thanks for reading/commenting!

EDIT - please bear in mind the fact that my own 12 is up late and I'm away this weekend, which is why Sunday night at the earliest is when I could really start reading and commenting on your 12s - sorry for that!

Tuesday, 28 April 2009

Postcards from London - 5 (Hampstead Woods)

If you go down to the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise...

OK, no teddy bears' picnics, but as I didn't go to see the London Marathon on Sunday (hadn't felt well Saturday night), I still wanted to enjoy the sunny good weather in the afternoon. So I walked over 2 miles to the Hampstead woods (on the edge of Hampstead Heath), took some photos and enjoyed reading on a grassy knoll. Then walked back ;-)

Looking up into the tree canopy:

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Backlit ferns:

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Backlit leaves:

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I've still taken some photos since I stopped posting, mainly over last weekend - I'd had a week to try and settle into the new house a bit more. I still have a way to go, and things to sort out with the new house and people, but I'm a bit more settled. And after feeling a little narked about some stuff tonight, looking over and posting photos actually helped remove some narkedness.

Sunday, 19 April 2009

Stopping Sunday Six

Just a quick note to say that I'll not be keeping Sunday Six going. I've got a lot on with work and trying to settle into a new flat, and I am putting photos on hold for a while, until I get everything as I want it and more relaxed and happy.

If people want to still do Sunday Six on their Blogs under their own steam, feel free! There just won't be a post here for everyone to leave a link in a comment. Thanks everyone for joining in! :-)


I have some photos I want to post here generally, but I don't know when I'll get round to it. Right now I just want to feel more settled and happy after what's been quite a busy and stressful few weeks. Hopefully unpacking my room will be the start of that, and getting a few things fixed (or even being told "sorry, no can do", though obviously I'd like them fixed).

I'm sure I'll keep taking photos, though not as much for a while. Next weekend has the St. George's Day celebrations in London (picnic and stuff), and the London Marathon, so I'll certainly be out for that, come rain or shine (and last year we got mostly rain).

Cheers guys - hopefully I'll feel more settled, calm and happy soon, and be back to taking and posting photos. Because posting them, seeing people's comments and then reading their Blogs and commenting on their photos does make me happy.

x

Sunday, 12 April 2009

12 of 12 (v4.0) - April

Another month, another 12 of 12! This one had the potential to be interesting - it's a Sunday, and an Easter one to boot. But the weather was grey (see first photo) and so I chose to stay in and watch lots of films. I didn't think this would give me many interesting photos, but I was surprised (and pleased with some of them!).

You know the drill by now - take 12 photos on the 12th day of the month, post them somewhere online and leave the permalink to your post in a comment on Chad's "index link" post. You can see everyone else's links there too.

1) 8:41am - My flat, Stratford, London

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This is the view off my balcony, of the Olympic site. Normally you can see the stadium, several cranes and even buildings far off in the distance. This morning, with the weather, I could only just see the stadium. No more 12 of 12 balcony shots though, as I'm moving to another part of London in 4 days' time!

2) 9:21am - My flat, Stratford, London

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Sitting down to finish watching Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, which I'd Sky+ed a while back. I'd watched about the first 45 minutes a day or two before, but finished it today. For the non Brits here, Sky+ is a bit like TiVo. I quite liked the film anyway - good singing allround really, and some good songs in there. Decent story too. Anyhoo, rarely for me, I had some cereal - Kellogg's Special K with red berries.

3) 9:22am - My flat, Stratford, London

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And paused on Johnny Depp. This was around the 47 minute mark I think, and maybe around the song "My Friends"?

4) 9:31am- My flat, Stratford, London

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Checking on the progress of a load of washing I'd set going.

5) 10:35am - My flat, Stratford, London

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The washing's finished and so I set it on the rack to dry. One grey jumper and one blue towel seen here.

6) 1:42pm - My flat, Stratford, London

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I was watching Fight Club by this point, having an accidental Helena Bonham-Carter double bill. I'd known she was in Sweeney Todd at the time it came out, but had since forgotten anyone's name in it other than Johnny Depp. Anyhoo, when that finished, I had 4 other Sky+ed films to choose from. I opted for Fight Club to get it watched and cleared off, not knowing that Helena was in that as well.

The funny thing was, I'd got a Daniel Craig double bill planned for the night time, with my friend Christin (we both watch the DVD, me in London and her in Dresden, and we chat online as we do). It looked like being a double double bill.

Pre-shower, this is my hair brush. I shed a lot of hair and it helps to brush it and get most of the loose hairs out before I shower, rather than them clog the shower plug. It took a while to get this one right, as I always ended up with the brush just off-centre (I was slightly balanced on tiptoes to get it at the right angle). It's a purple brush and I was torn between the colour photo and the black and white, but chose the black and white version of it (I shot it as this, no Photoshop conversion).

7) 3:38pm - My flat, Stratford, London

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Back from the shops, and watching The Golden Compass, another Sky+ed film, which I'd started after Fight Club. My flatmates had come in to cook and it's harder to hear the TV with them talking, cooking and the extractor fan on. Then the phone rang so D. was talking while cooking. In the end I took a break so they could watch TV while they cooked and ate, and I went to have a shower before going on (what proved to be a futile) run to the supermarket. I say futile trip, because everything was shut - I don't remember places closing on Easter Sunday! Messed me about, as I needed wine and chocolates for someone's birthday, and loo rolls!

Anyway, when I got back from the shops, I continued the film. This was one of (by then) 3 films I'd Sky+ed, but I found it interesting that I chose this rather than the other two (No Country For Old Men, and Schindler's List). I think most of it was because The Golden Compass is lighter than the other two, and I needed that after the yawnfest that was Fight Club. The other part of the choice was because I realised that as Daniel Craig was in it, this gave me the chance for a Daniel Craig triple bill, with the two Bond films to come later! Me = big geek, in case you'd missed that memo.

Long story short, I had some grapes while watching. Then some Cadbury's Caramel. They say to have a balanced diet, right? Well it's a balance of healthy and unhealthy :P

8) 4:40pm - My flat, Stratford, London

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While film watching, I thought I'd pluck my eyebrows. Fascinating day, I told you.

9) 5:36pm - My flat, Stratford, London

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I've been keeping a culture book this year - I got the idea from Beth, who'd been keeping a list of books read, films watched and shows seen (plus mini reviews) on her Blog. I thought I'd keep them in a book instead, and chose colours for the different media types. Blue is plays/concerts, orange is film reviews, and red is book reviews. While continuing my film watching, I updated the book with today's films (and one I forgot from a few weeks ago).

10) 6:03pm - My flat, Stratford, London

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Cooking tea - I'm trying to use up as much food as I can before I move. My plan was for Quorn pieces with chopped tomatoes, BBQ flavour powder, sweetcorn, red onion and bell pepper, with pasta. Only the supermarket was shut, so no red onion or bell pepper. Instead of the BBQ flavouring, I ended up using soy sauce. I seasoned it twice with the sauce, but by the time I'd run to get my camera after the second dashing, it had mostly soaked into the sauce. So in the name of photography, I seasoned it a third time lol - a nice circle of dark sauce into the tomatoes. Actually it worked really well and was super yummy! I had double helpings in the end :D

11) 6:08pm - My flat, Stratford, London

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I'd got some rosé wine to drink with my meal (bought the bottle a week or so ago), and got some funky shots of the wine glass in the kitchen before I poured the wine. I was torn between this and two other shots, so you can see them here and here. I really liked this one though!

12) 6:43pm - My flat, Stratford, London

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Starting the James Bond double bill. I'd not seen Quantum of Solace before, though I have read the collected James Bond short stories. It's the same in name only - the book version of Quantum of Solace is only about 25 pages long, and not much resembling the film at all (other than I suppose a man falling in love, being betrayed by a woman and then seeking revenge - but not connected to Casino Royale at all, and in the Quantum of Solace short story, the case is actually told as a story after a dinner party).

I realised as we watched Casino Royale, that this was another double bill - an Eva Green one, as she stars in The Golden Compass and Casino Royale.

So that's my 5 film day, with 2 double bills (Helena Bonham-Carter - Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Fight Club, Eva Green - The Golden Compass and Casino Royale), and a triple bill of Daniel Craig (The Golden Compass, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace).

Phew! Hope you all had a lovely Easter!

Sunday Six - everyone

Seems some people have a Six for this week anyway lol - and who am I to stop people having photo fun? :P

I've not got one for this week as I've done 12 of 12, but I've got Sixes for the last 2 weeks which I need to put up.

Leave a link to your post in a comment!

Kerri's Six
Allison's Six
Caryn's Six

Christin's Six
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Wednesday, 8 April 2009

Funny how you get a sign...

I made the "Hiatus" post a draft one in the end, which keeps the comments but saves it in my drafts, rather than publicly posted. Maybe I'll respond to the comments later - though three words spring to mind on one point *coughpotkettleblackcough*.

Anyway, I was all set to keep the hiatus going, because things hadn't changed in my mind, when I read an article at work today on the Reuters photgraphers' Blog - you can read it here. And the funny thing is something the writer mentions towards the end, almost as if she knew I'd be reading it:

"Some days you, as photographers, don’t feel appreciated enough. Well, remember you are documenting history every day through every frame."

Yes, posting things with no response is frustrating. As for having to explicitly state you want feedback - that's just plain old crazy talk. You think sports fans or concert goers have to be told to cheer and celebrate? Or HOW they should celebrate? Everyone posts photos to get feedback. And everyone wants the same things from that feedback - do you like/love it? Was there something specific you liked? Was there something you felt could be improved? Have you been to the place or wanted to go?

So I'm going to take Ayperi's words to heart, and continue to document the world around me. I'm just going to stop commenting on the Blogs of those who can't be bothered to comment on mine. I hate one way traffic. And I think that it's fair to ditch those who can't make any effort towards you.

On that determined note, here's a no-nonsense photo celebrating the first day it was sunny enough to break out the Oakleys...

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Sunday, 5 April 2009

Sunday Six - everyone (late)

Because of the hiatus, I never posted an everyone post for last weekend, so here it is - a little late, but if anyone has one they put up (or want to put up late), leave a comment here :-)

No Sunday Six this weekend (12th April), as it's 12 of 12 day. Y'all should do 12 of 12 and leave a comment on Chad's Blog (see the link in my top left sidepanel) - it's lots of fun!

Kerri's Six
Nan's Six
Allison's Six
Caryn's Six

.

Sunday, 29 March 2009

Sunday Six - everyone

Post your comments here with a link to your post (the Permalink please!!), and I'll add them in!
Looking forward to seeing everyone's efforts!

PLEASE can you post the comment with your link to the right post? If you have an old entry, it's much easier for me if you post the link to the old week. If I've not yet put up the "Everyone" post for this week, be patient, I will put it up! Otherwise comments end up all on the wrong posts. Thanks!

Kerri's Six
Christin's Six
Caryn's Six
Eldon's Six
Allison's Six

MevetS's Six
Nan's Six
.

Sunday, 22 March 2009

Sunday Six (recap) - 12

This one actually features me out and about, rather than in the flat :P Best friends Gem and Jon were visiting from the north, with their son Will and a baby bump (called Creme Egg). Gem's due on Easter Sunday, so I think it's the closest I've seen her to birth, as I think with Will, I visited when she was maybe 7 months pregnant. They were going to visit last weekend but had to wait as Gem had Braxton Hicks. Anyway, they came down to see Jon's sister and me, before Creme Egg hatches.

For any non-Brits reading who don't know what Creme Eggs are - they are small chocolate eggs, filled with sweet soft fondant icing inside (white, with a yellow centre, like an egg yolk). They used to be sold around Easter, but although they are sold in higher quantities around Easter now, you can usually get them somewhere all year long. Because baby 2 is due on Easter Sunday, Gem and Jon nicknamed baby Creme Egg.

Anyway - first up, was Hyde Park. As Gem, Jon, Will and Bump had driven to Jon's sister, they all made their way to the Park and I came from a different direction.

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This was me sitting by the Hyde Park Corner Tube station end of Hyde Park, just inside the arched gates. I sat on a kerb stone and waited to hear from them. Spring day in London, people out walking and running.

After a phone call from Gem, we realised we were at different corners, so we set off walking to meet each other. I saw lots of daffodils, and stopped to grab a few photos of London in the springtime sunshine:

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After the picnic, and enjoying how chatty and adorable Will is (he knows a lot more words now), we headed off to the Natural History Museum. This was one of the buildings we walked by en route, complete with reflection. Will likes riding on Daddy's shoulders. Although his covering one eye or ear impeded Jon's senses a little ;-)

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Inside the Natural History Museum, and in the Earth section (red). Jon and Will looking at a wave meter thingy I think. You rocked it and the liquid inside made waves. Jon made wavy handmotions, and Will copied him, cute!

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We went to the Dinosaur exhibit too, and Will liked seeing all the "snap snaps" (because that's what their jaws do - snap, snap!). We stopped in the gift shop to see what he'd like, and although he showed interest in this pupper, he ended up with a dinosaur whose name I forget (U-something), which had a leopard print furry body, a stripy tail, and a bright read furry mohawk and back plume. We tried coming up with names, and I thought of Mike. Mike the dinosaur. He was so outlandishly cool, it just suited him. Judging by the way Gem, Jon and Vicky cracked up, it must have suited him a lot! This was the hand puppet Will tried:

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And that was my Saturday! Happy Mothers' Day to everyone today!

Sunday Six - everyone

Post your comments here with a link to your post (the Permalink please!!), and I'll add them in!
Looking forward to seeing everyone's efforts!

Allison's Six
Christin's Six
Kerri's Six
Nan's Six
MevetS's Six
Caryn's Six

Eldon's Six

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Saturday, 21 March 2009

Sunday Six (new) - 11

A little late, as I finished the photos late on the Sunday, and then had a busy week, with one of my overseas managers visiting, a workshop that had me in the office early and home late, and then today out in London with friends.

Anyhoo, here they are!

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The sky off my balcony. Better get some of these photos in, as I'll be moving soon...

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Tidying my room.

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There are two BIG charity events in the UK each year. Comic Relief (or Red Nose Day) is in March, and Children in Need is in November. They're accompanied by a TV programme several hours long (the equivalent of the PBS telethons, from what I can tell), with celebrities doing silly things, people pledging money to the charities, doing sponsored things, cake sales, etc. A lady on my floor at work organised people to bring in cakes and cupcakes, and we sold them for Comic Relief - but we chose Monday, rather than the Friday (which is Comic Relief day). Mainly because lots of people work from home on a Friday, and we wanted to get lots of people to buy the cakes. This was my offering - a cake mix from a packet I admit, and I'd not got much to do icing with. We raised £310.11, which is a LOT considering slices of cake were £1 and cupcakes/buns were 50p! I reckon people would have bought say £4's worth and then just said keep the change for the charity.

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A comic strip I kept from the LA Times when I visited my friend Cassy in CA, last October. I liked the Dudes!

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I went flat hunting on Saturday, and near the one I ended up going for, is a High Street with lots of little shops and there were 3 charity shops. I got these 4 books.

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Back home, and thinking I'd take the first flat I saw. I then looked on the Gumtree site I'd used to find the flat, to see if there was a "man with a van" advert, to help me move in a month's time. This is part of my Gmail inbox.

Sunday, 15 March 2009

Sunday Six - everyone

Post your comments here with a link to your post (the Permalink please!!), and I'll add them in!
Looking forward to seeing everyone's efforts!

Christin's Six
Kerri's Six
Steve's Six
Eldon's Six
Caryn's Six
Nan's Six

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Sunday, 8 March 2009

Sunday Six (new/recap) - 10

A mix this week of new today and old from the week. I took a decent number earlier this week, but all were fairly similar, so I've selected 2 from that, and 4 from today.

Earlier in the week, I came home frustrated (a mix of work and flat have been annoying me this week), and went on the balcony for a slight crying jag. It was cold and no crying happened, but I noticed the lights of the buildings over by Waterloo. I grabbed my camera and played around with the Manual setting and the manual focus to get some good bokeh.


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Bright lights, London city.

Then I had fun dropping the settings to give a long shutter speed or whatever it is. I noticed that if I panned across, I got the streaky lines. I then got the idea to try panning up and down - and get even more fun results:

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And now onto today's photos. Look at this beautiful blue sky. Clear as a bell, right? They said there might be rain or even snow later. I didn't believe it, because LOOK at that blue!

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I went to view a flat in London Fields/Hackney area, and as I got to the Tube station it started raining, just as I realised I'd not looked at the Overground times and missed one by minutes. The next one was 25 minutes, so I waited - and it started raining. I got on the train and it was raining hard, then absolutely pouring when I got off at Hackney. I got soaked through, and icy cold. Got to the flat building, but no reply, despite me having texted the woman while waiting for the train, texting her when I got to the building, and ringing her. I waited 5 minutes, and left. Got back to Stratford and the rain had stopped. Got some groceries and saw this sky as I walked back past the Tube station:

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By the time I got home, it had cleared up a bit, but still with clouds looming:

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And look at the dark grey clouds over the cranes, with some sunlight:

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That's your lot for this week - slight weather bias ;-)

Sunday Six - everyone

Post your comments here with a link to your post (the Permalink please!!), and I'll add them in!
Looking forward to seeing everyone's efforts!

Kerri's Six

Caryn's Six
Eldon's Six
Allison's Six
Nan's Six
Amy's Six
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Friday, 6 March 2009

Archives - Leaves in Atlanta

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Just outside my friend Kerri's apartment, is a little creek with lots of tall trees. One day - my first day there I think, I caught some great sunlight on the leaves.

Sunday, 1 March 2009

Sunday Six - everyone

Post your comments here with a link to your post (the Permalink please!!), and I'll add them in!
Looking forward to seeing everyone's efforts!

Allison's Six
Kerri's Six
Christin's Six
Eldon's Six

Amy's Six
Nan's Six
Caryn's Six
MevetS's Six

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Saturday, 28 February 2009

Archives - London architecture

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Taken at the Greenwich Royal Naval College, 17 February 2008, on a weekend in London. The sun through the columns gave great silhouettes and the architecture's lovely there!

Sunday, 22 February 2009

Sunday Six (recap) - 8

Another week, another 6! This time, a recap one. I was feeling pretty uninspired on Saturday - not inclined to go out (partly to save money and partly because Saturday is the first day of the week where I don't have to go out, be anywhere or be up at 7:30am...), and not feeling motivated with photography either. Part of that (though not entirely all), is that I know my readership here has gotten quieter/disappeared recently - and I know that's probably because I've done such a sucky job in keeping up with other people's photoBlogs. Though in some cases, it's been surprising HOW quickly some people stopped - given when I was reading and commenting, I used to do a pretty good job, even when I was commenting more than I was receiving.

Then again, I still comment on some 12 of 12 Blogs despite never having received a reply comment from some of them in almost 3 years, which I think either makes me a fool or a masochist. I'm not sure I like either option ;-)

Anyhoo, I ended up going to the gym Saturday, there was good weather and then a sunset, so I got some photos after all. Which I'm sure thrills everyone :P


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View off my balcony, over the Olympic site. See the blue sky? On the radio, people were texting in about picnics in the park and BBQs.

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After the gym, I sat on my balcony for almost an hour and read (it was around 4:15 to just after 5, so starting to get a bit cool then). This is from my chair, looking up. The wall on the left is the main back wall of the building, and the wall with my bedroom on. The wall in the top of the photo is the one behind me - where my flatmates' bedroom juts out slightly.

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One still-trainered foot, resting on the balcony railing. I experimented with some photos, light settings and the Manual setting.

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View up the railway/DLR tracks, of the start of the sunset.

And then, sunset photos (all looking up towards Waterloo, as mentioned in this Sunday Six):

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And because it's my (1)3000th photo (13,000th overall on this camera, but 3000th since the counter reset), count this one as a bonus!

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Sunday Six - everyone

Post your comments here with a link to your post (the Permalink please!!), and I'll add them in!
Looking forward to seeing everyone's efforts!

Kerri's Six
Christin's Six
Caryn's Six
Nan's Six
Allison's Six
Eldon's Six
MevetS's Six

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