Kodak 400 x2

London & Zurich – August 2011

I shot 2 rolls of Kodak 400 over the last few weeks.

(Nikon F3 – 50mm f1.8 – Kodak 400)

South London

Walking to the station in the morning – the usual signs of randomness.

Canary Wharf

I’m not used to shooting blindly; estimating distance isn’t my greatest strength.  This image could have been nice had I not got the focus on his shoe instead of his face : )

Limehouse is a lovely area.  Whenever I pass through it I don’t feel like I’m in London until the buildings in the distance remind me.

40 floors up

Hackney

Correct focusing (judging distance) + good composure + perfect timing = successfully shooting from the hip

The below has incorrect focusing and bad composure.  This method of shooting definitely isn’t my best.

Again, incorrectly focusing from the hip:

How much practice do I need?! At least you can see the fine detail in TFL’s Tube upholstery.

Kingsbury

Dhokla – a Gujarati speciality:

En route to Zurich

This is why I always insist on having a window seat:

I think I was the only female on the plane.  Only businessmen in suits take 7am flights, apparently.

Zurich

Finishing off the first roll with a self-portrait:

Haven’t done one of those in a while.

The Apple store:

I haven’t seen one of those phones in a while.  I can’t imagine using anything other than a smartphone now.

I’m surprised some of these shots came out so dark considering it was still fairly light and I was shooting at f1.8 with ISO 400.. hmm.

It was 30C every day while I was in Zurich and I spent most of the days indoors (in the office), so in the evenings I made the most of the weather and walked around the lake, which is stunning.

Teuscher – one of the best chocolate shops:

There is no excuse for getting the focus wrong here as I was looking through the view-finder:

They were playing chess. They noticed me as soon as I clicked, and they found it amusing that they had just been photographed.  Too bad I ruined the frame!

One to full-view:

I had to get a shot from the front.

He winked as soon as I took it, and then followed me slowly on his bike until I took the stairs down to the banks of the lake.  I saw him with his gf I assume maybe an hour later as I sat on a bench, and he slowed down and stared at me, but of course didn’t say anything in the presence of his gf.  It was a funny moment.

Awesome band playing by the lake – Asep Stone Experience:

That was the last frame.  By now it was around 8pm and too dark for Kodak 400, and I was gutted I’d left a roll of Neopan 1600 in the hotel.  It would have been dark by the time I would have fetched it, so I had no choice but to switch to my trusty digital.

Sausage and rosti at Zeughauskeller, a traditional Swiss restaurant:

Definitely recommend that!

1050 CHF for a Cartier lighter..

Only 15,900 CHF for this watch:

It’s a good job Switzerland doesn’t have looting – none of these shops had shutters.

Not sure why but I think these gave me bad dreams:

The shuttle train at the airport:

It had Swiss-related sounds playing like cows mooing, cow-bells and yodeling.

I need to get me some 1600 colour film.  I have never tried it, nor seen it sold anywhere.

London Burns

August 9th, 2011 – London Riots

Croydon, South London

Since Sunday, rioters and looters have been loose on the streets of London and other parts of the UK.  Seeing my town on fire on the news last night really hit home, and no one I know has ever experienced this kind of widespread criminal damage and arson across the city simultaneously, and definitely not in suburban areas.

I don’t have any pictures of the thugs in action – I wouldn’t venture out on the streets of South London on my own with my camera at 11pm on a normal day.  I also know of photographers and people in general with SLRs who were set upon by thugs.

If you’ve taken good shots, don’t post them on Flickr.  Sell them and make the most you can out of them because you damn well deserve it.

Most of the main roads in my local area have been cordoned off by police.  I took a quick tour and captured some of the damage and precautions being taken today.

Pretty much every shop was shut early in anticipation of violence.  I bumped into an old man who was waiting for the bus.  He was trying to find an open newsagents so he could do the lottery tonight.  We got on the same bus which didn’t stop at the next bus stop, where he was hoping to find an open shop.  The bus driver said he had been told to carry on driving and not stop until he was right at the end of the road.  The driver then began swearing at us all when people told him he should have warned them of this.  He then suddenly stopped the bus and demanded we all get out.   You know, I have never experienced consistently rude bus drivers anywhere outside of London.

There was literally nothing the old man could do but walk back.. not easy for an 80 year old man.  I told him that I really hoped the rioters hadn’t stopped him fron hitting the jackpot tonight.

I was taking a picture of this boarded building when I got stopped by this guy who seemed keen to be photographed.  He said my photo would look much better with him in it.  He’s not a trouble maker – he apparently works in a local shop.

His friend joined him

A looted Tesco

It’s even more sad when independent shops are targeted

They asked for me to take their picture and when I pointed my camera at them they looked away. All talk!

People began boarding up their shop fronts but with the amount of police on the streets now, I assume it won’t be as bad tonight.  Still, no one is taking chances.

Waiting for a bus that would probably not arrive as they had all been suspended.

I never expected to see multiple police vans driving down residential roads in these suburbs. There’s real anxiety in the air with pretty much everyone outside talking about this in disbelief.

Relatives and people I know have lost their livelihoods which ran through generations – gone in a split second.  These mindless thugs are not protesting against anything – they are simply enjoying themselves. Sad times.

For some more graphic images:

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/08/london_riots.html