New York - Fisheye 4

For the last in the New York series I've included a few more favourite fish eye pictures. The time I spent in New York was so encouraging to me, not least because it was my first experience of waking up in the morning with the thought that "Today I need to go and take some pictures". That thought was a little scary at first but once the pictures started coming it was a challenge that I relished.

New York - Fisheye 3

While I was in New York I hired a fisheye lens for my camera. I got a special offer because it was Labor Day, or Yom Kippur, or both...I don't remember. Either way, I got 5 days for the price of 1, so it was a good start.

I [heart] fisheye.

Honestly, for urban photography, it's amazing! You can really concentrate on your foreground but keep the background visible. You can take a photograph that shows the view down two streets that are at right angles to each other! You can get close-ups of strangers without them realising that you're taking their picture! More than anything though, the wide, wide angle lets you fit more picture into the same space. I no longer had to choose to show people or buildings, I could show both, and do them justice! I could take much wider cityscapes (which are more interesting than general panoramic shots in my opinion). I had SO MUCH FUN with the fisheye lens!

That's probably enough words, here's a couple of shots:

New York - Black & White Street Photography 2

It's been a busy little while and blogging has, once again, fallen by the wayside. I am now returning to finish this series and follow it up with Iceland!

It took me a few shots to get this photo, trying not to alert this couple on their walk through central park that they were being followed and snapped by a random stranger! I'm happy with the result: soft focus, soft light, lots of leaves on the trees and two people just being together.

Mirrors are always great for seeing the world in a different way. This photo brings out for me the less glitzy, very ordinary side of New York life. It's not all about glass skyscrapers, there are second-hand stores with mirrors propped up outside and push bikes and there is space in the busyness, even if you can still see a taxi rushing past.

New York - Black & White Street Photography 1

I put up a bunch of my New York photos on Flickr the other day (Click the image below to go to my Flickr). While I was there I had the opportunity to try out a few different photography styles. One was street photography. I went mainly with black and white shots because my coloured shots tended to come out looking quite confusing. I think it's partly a composition thing and partly just because in a big city, there is so much going on, that it can be difficult to capture just one thing at a time. I found b&w helpful in drawing attention to the things I wanted to draw attention to.

This shot was taken just outside the Fashion Institute of Technology. SUCH a great place to go people watching in the city! I became comfortable with out-of-focus shots while I was in NYC and love the softness of this particular one. The tree is obviously young, but perspective makes it seem tall compared to the girl sat on the wall. To me, the bike, tree and girl all seem quite vulnerable but like they've found a safe place to just rest in the midst of all the activity.

As I look through my shots of New York, I see an appreciation of the scale and movement of the city, but alongside that, constant reminders that the skyscrapers are only context. It is the individuals, their stories and their struggles, which really make the city what it is.

All the virtues so necessary
Love to live well in the moment
Hope & Faith to spur me on to something more
and constantly Patience
knowing that waiting
even restlessly
is better than settling for now
simply for the sake of permanence
which my immortal self already has
and my mortal self never will.

August, September and Photography

I just had a look and it was January when I posted my last bonafide blog entry. I am now back from Spain, it was hard work but I got through it with a 77.73 average which I reckon will convert to a 2.i so happy days!

I am currently trying to sort through all the stuff I own (it seems to have multiplied while I was living overseas), storing, throwing out and finding place to put it all. I am also working on my dissertation. Currently, I'm writing my academic context chapter although I haven't got very far just yet! I will be looking into the creation of 'local' food brands, using a specific case study. I like to tell people I'm writing my dissertation on ice cream. So August is looking promising; working on my dissertation, organising all my stuff and seeing friends (not to mention a wedding or two and maybe even a camping trip in there somewhere).

As for September, I have been really, really blessed! I am travelling to New York to stay with a friend, visit galleries and take photographs (I got a gift of some unwanted travel vouchers and a grant from my university to do this). Later in the month I am heading to Iceland on a physical geography field course which I am not being assessed for, so I get to do all the field work and seeing Iceland with none of the worrying about my grades.

I am so looking forward to the photos I will take on both trips and trying to figure out just how much photography equipment I a) need b) can afford and c) can fit in my luggage (who needs more than 1 change of clothes for a week anyway?!) Both these trips should give me opportunities to take some great photos and I'm hoping to have a portfolio that allows me to really contrast these two very different landscapes.

In other photography news, I did my first photoshoot a few weeks ago. I took some engagement pictures for my roommate and her fiancé and I've put some of the best on Facebook. Hopefully I'll be doing a shoot for another friend and her fiancé sometime soon. Portrait photography is a little nerve-wracking for me, but good fun!

I [heart] cameras!

I'll see your photo of Ladybower reservoir



...and raise you two inches of snow