B265 – WHAT A YEAR

Merry Christmas everyone and a happy new year! its literally the perfect day, as well as it being christmas its also my last 100 days of posting. I’ve made it to the final stretch. as its also the end of the year and also my last 100 days I thought I would show you some photos that Ive taken these past 265 days.

Its probably been one of the best years Ive had, not only have I been working pretty much non stop but Ive also been to some places that I never thought I would go to, I’ve spent 2 months in America and now have a working visa of the states, which i’ve wanted for ages, Ive also been to Canada, china and a few places in Europe. so its been pretty exciting. Amy also asked me out at the beginning of the year, and next year she should be moving into my flat, well thats the plan anyway. who would have thought I would been living with a girlfriend. its crazy and I suppose when you do that your kind of becoming an adult and having responsibilities, which in away is quite cool.

this blog has to be one of the best things Ive done, its literally taught me how to write and in given me confidence to try new things and just work harder to get what I want, and also when I write emails now theres a lot less spelling mistakes, its never good when you write emails and its grammatically incorrect or just doesn’t make any sense but because of the sheer amount of writing I do now I learnt a lot of new words and can spell so much better, I think anyway.

I think this blog has been good because a lot of the time its easy to think up ideas and then even easier to think up excuses why you cant do them and this has really made me just forget the excuses and just go with my gut and try to get the job done. thats why next year ive got a few plans lined up for this blog and also things that I want to try and do work wise. im planning on getting a second job i think just to help pay for all the things I need todo and the adventures / holidays im going on. Its time to up my game and smash 2018 out of the park!

Thank you 2017 its been a pleasure!

oh and sorry my blog didn’t have any photos on it yesterday, i literally have no idea how that happened. WordPress was just having a bad day I think.

 

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– amy and me exploring the town of Ratio on the Amalfi coast –
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– I also went to my first american high school football game right, this was like 10 minutes away from Harvard University –
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– Flying out of Newark Airport in New York. That is definitly a place Ill be going back to soon! I love New York –
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– a picture of Soho in London, I quite like this photo. Might have to get it made into a print –
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– the shot from the Barbican last week, im just happy with this photo and really like the way the man is –
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– this guy was definitely a highlight –

B261 – THERES NO PLACE LIKE THIS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD

last night I decided thats its been too long since I last spent some time playing with a slow shutter speed at night and theres also one place which I really need to explore and spend some time at, obviously im talking about the Barbican Centre next to Liverpool street, this place is called “Brutalist” or something because of the crazy amounts of concert and sharpe edges it has, its literally like a hipsters oasis in the middle of the  financial district.

built in 1982 and designed by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon architects it was designed to be a brutalist styles and with lines on the floor to help people work there way around the housing estate and also the creative arts centre fully equipped with a theatre, music collage and also some weird rainforest room with loads of cool plants and stuff oh and in the water are Koi Carpe, that surprising haven’t been stollen yet and are still there to this day. its literally the coolest places to live, what used to be a housing estate where the upper classes wouldn’t even think to live has changed and become a place to be.

My plan for today was to try and get better at symmetrical photography one thing that I just cant seem to figure out, my eyes seem to lye to me and when I get home to edit the photos I notice that my photos just aren’t symmetrical. I was trying to measure the sides and even use the rule of thirds but its still not proving easy to get that perfect photo. Im not giving up just yet though,  I will the perfect symmetrical shot. On the other hand though I did take one of my favourite photos today, its one I’m really proud of and its of a side on shot of the staircase in the Barbican with the guy walking out of the light almost likes its ET and we are all inside some new Steven Spielberg remake of ET.

One thing I would like you guys to know just so you can see how much its changed in 20 years. Frank Harris a local estate agent is currently selling an apartment in Blake Tower which is one of the iconic Barbican towers for £3.7m. I just hope that one of the original owners that probably brought it off the council 20 years ago managed to get a fair portion of its current value. but hey if I had that kind of cash I would probably splash out on that apartment, its located in the best looking ugly building that you can find in London and its actually a pretty sick apartment.

Heres my photos from last night, I hope you like them as much as I do.

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– this is my favourite photo from tonight, the guy in the background makes this shot so much better –

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– my trying to be symmetrical –

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– this shot feels like something out of a movie –
 

B254 – THE ROOT OF MUSIC

With (fun)employment being so real right now I’m trying to get a good balance of Netflix and being productive. Its important I enjoy the quite time but also keep my brain ticking over. That’s why today I decided to venture out in to the world of my Photography project on London’s music scene.

I travelled over to Denmark Street, its basically where if you like guitars you buy your guitar, every one from your local guitar teacher to the legends of The Beetles and the Rolling Stones. No Toms Vintage and other guitar shops along Denmark street or as its otherwise known Tin Pan Alley isn’t just a place to pick up a guitar, its on of the birth places for London, Britain’s music, it’s the place that the likes of Jimmy Hendrix and Jonny Rotten would run around jamming to music and creating the stories that everyone in the todays pop culture wants to hear more of. British music carries its self differently to other music, its got more depth to it, when you watch back The Beetles movies and archives, they are literally paving the way of a life style that people like Oasis took to levels that pushed the boundaries of what is and isn’t expectable, But because they make such good music its allowed. Not like if a footballer gets caught driving drunk but more like they get kicked out of Holland for being to drunk and diverting a ferry. That’s kind of the levels which they hit.

But at the end of it all, they were only as good as the albums and songs they produced and that’s what really mattered, the jams, the hours and hours of perfecting a song or solo. That’s what really mattered here. And when the touring stopped or they need supplies most of the time they would head to Denmark street and speak with the people who know those instruments the best.

Walking around Tin Pan Alley you really start to admire a guitar and the beauty that goes into it, you start to acknowledge the culture and the style it has created. It’s the epicentre for what British music was and is. Back in the days it used to be not only shops but also recording studios which have since disappeared and either turned into extra shop space or places to learn the Guitar.

My idea of this photography project was to uncover the underground music scene and the people that really push it, those passionate music lovers who travel on a crappy Wednesday night to listen to good raw music and I feel that Denmark street is probably the best place to start, its at the root of the London music scene. This definitely wont be my last time to Denmark street I will be coming back for one of their events and capturing those “one time moments” with my camera.

As for now, its back to Netflix for the rest of the day and to enjoy my funempolyment. But tomorrow is a new day and I’m planning on being active the whole day. I’m not sure how yet but ill figure it out.

Heres my photos I hope you like them.

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– a shop where people can just go into a jam on a guitar has got to be one of the coolest things out there –
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– if these walls could take, this is a place where the sex pistols used to live –
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– the people who work there couldn’t be more welcoming, thanks for letting me come down and take some photo’s –
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– they even have a comfy couch –

B251 – LONDON BOUND

Sunday night and now heading back to London, my plan is to get this post done on the train so tomorrow morning when I wake up everything is done and ready to go. Its been a really good weekend and enjoyed the little break but now I’m ready to get back to London and prep for next week.

Today started off with a breakfast at this place called Back to the Garden which is this café place in Holt, Norfolk where they basically serve up proper food that’s all locally sourced, with in the Café they have like a mini super market that’s got all the goods and the place to get hold of the legendary Stokes Ketchup. Trust me once you get hold of Stokes you’ll never see Heinz the same again. Its literally a different class of condiment.

For some reason I feel pretty ill, I’m not sure if that’s the Hangover talking or if its got something to do with how bad my diet has been recently but next week I’m going to up my game and start to eat healthy again, no more Pringles and cheese bagels for breakfast, its going to be all about the porridge and fruit. I really haven’t felt good this afternoon and to be honest I don’t have time to be ill. So I think ill keep this one short and sweet, I need to try and sort myself out.

But my plan for the week ahead also includes getting my Christmas presents sorted, its starting to scare me how much shopping everyone else seems to have done and Im no closer to having it sorted. If I can just get 80% of the presents sorted this week ill be a happy man. I really don’t want it to be a last minute amazon prime thing!

Here’s my photos from today.

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– the face of someone who just wants to go back to bed –
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– a proper norfolk country shop and Cafe –
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– I think we all can tell who comes first in this relationship –

B236 – PANIC ATTACKS AND COLOUR CLASHES

A few months ago amy brought some tickets to see the Kooks play in Brighton, they are a band Ive wanted to see for ages and something which I’ve been excited for since she told me we were going. but before we can go to an amazing gig we had to do something that turns girls like amy into monsters / dictators, I’m talking about is IKEA.  Yesterday we had to venture over to the warehouse of nightmares and shop till my credit card pops.

I saw a side to amy which scared me and it happened in the cushion department, we were trying to work out what colours go with what pattern and what fabric would work with the sofa. I never new that cushion shopping was a thing, I just thought they came with a sofa and that was it. who wrong I was. cushion shopping involves panic attacks and a lot of tongue bitting. Apparently my opinions will be taken into consideration but in the end they will be ignored, she even let me pick a cushion that she chose.

After cushion gate has finished it was time to hit the road and head down to Brighton and meet some good old chums and put the whole ikea experience behind us. the kooks smash it they were literally amazing the lead singer is a guy called Luke Pritchard and he knows a thing or two about performing and somehow have managed to hold down a top spot in British indie music since their album Inside in inside out was released in 2006. what was amazing about the show for me was when the blue curtain came down and he performed an acoustic set, for some reason when you bring the curtain down mid set it really makes the gig feel intimate. if you have the chance to see the Kooks definitely get down to a gig, tonight they are playing in Cardiff and if I could get down there I would.

As I spent the day running round doing a million and one things, all my photos were taken on my phone.

P.s Amy thanks for taking me around Ikea, you’ve given me the interior design bug and also for getting the Kooks tickets!!!!!

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– this part of the set made it worth it –
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– the literally havent aged as a band since 2006 –
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– amy mid panic attack because yellow doesn’t go with the orange of the wall… or does it?! –

B189 – ITS FINALLY HAPPENED A TRUE GAME CHANGER

The Condo has hit a new level, If you’ve ever been to the flat you would know that theres been one big thing missing from it and that is Curtains, for some reason We’ve never got round to putting up curtains or blinds. Its not that we are lazy its that we haven’t really needed them and I’ve just kind of adapted to natural light in the morning. today though that has changed and my DIY skills have gone up a new level. Most people know that my DIY and manual labour skills are pretty much below average, well not any more, my first day of being 24 and Ive just used my first drill, and made multiple even level holes and put up blinds. this is well and truly a big step.

the DIY bug has hit me hard and now things are going to change round here. before it was all about the painting, now thats pretty much out the way, Ive now got to start building things, taking things away and updating things, its a never ending job that I’m now getting excited about. I just need to keep Amy away from Pinterest and I might have a chance of getting this done.

Now im pretty much a site man and a grafter, it was only right that after my success at putting the blinds up, i sat down and had a proper cup of tea, Bilbo ( bilbo Baggins – leave the bag in) with a lot of milk, the only difference being to take the photo I needed a a second pair of hands and a few pints of milk.

At last though, im now sitting on the sofa watching Tattoo fixers and dont have anything todo apart from right this post, tomorrow I pack for a trip to America so be prepared for some cool shots of the states, Ive got a busy 6 weeks of travel and Im looking forward to showing you guys what I get up too!

Im having a really weird moment where Ive confused myself because this post is written the night before its posted. is that confusing, would you rather I wrote in past tense or current tense. I dont mind just want to know what reads better.

Any way let me know and enjoy the snaps.

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– a proper cup of tea –
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– the bed room with the blinds, its finally coming a long, the white wall by the blinds is dirty because I was leaning on it. just ignore that –
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– this is amy sitting on the floor asking if we can stop running about doing things now –