Category: nature

B340 – Happy Friday 

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Yesterday after work it was all abit go go, I had to get from the studio back to my flat and pack ready for a weekend in Norfolk. I did manage to sit on my sofa if a bit while I’ll took my shoes off but was then back up and out the door heading for Liverpool Street station. 
But now we have made it here and really enjoying our Saturday sat surrounded by baby twins and a girlfriend who can’t leave them alone.  

My idea of the photos today was to just have some fun with my iPhone and camera on the way up to Norfolk, however the photos you see below are only from my iPhone as I want to show you my other camera photos later on this week. And I know I’ve said it before but I love the iPhone camera, it is so handy for just capturing moments on the fly. And yes the Samsung camera is amazing but for me the iPhone just does the job perfectly, I suppose in a way it’s like comparing a canon to a Nikon camera. 

In other news, I think the plan for today is just to relax and chill out before heading out later to Cromer and going to my favourite pub, the Welly. I’m even taking a day off from using my Laptop normally I would set up in a corner of the room somewhere and edit / write these posts on my laptop but today I’m just doing this from my phone and not thinking about life too much. My plan each day is always to write at least 300 words and I’m not even sure if this is 300 words but to be honest I’m not even going to check. I think it’s best if you just enjoy my photos and briefly read this. 

Anyway, hope everyone is having a good weekend. And enjoy these photos. 

– arriving in Norwich last night, happy Friday –
– the train on the way up, you know it’s been a busy week when your enjoying a 2 hour train journey –

– I wonder where he got his ballon from? –

B339 – PEOPLE DEEP IN CONVERSATION

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Firstly I just need to say that I have no idea how I’m going to get through the last 25 days of this photo blog challenge, about 100 days ago I was trying to think of a cool way to finish this, one idea I had was flying to somewhere like Mexico for the day or doing a big finale, but not my goal is just to complete 365 days. Days like today make that challenge harder than thats been for the past 339 days. I dont mean to go on about it but today has been especially hard because the whole day has been spent somewhere I cant photograph and then by the time I get home its 9:30pm. but I suppose thats there winners win right?

the past couple of days Ive been thinking of a new game plan, and ways that I can keep the photos creative and at a high standard, one idea Ive got is to make sure I take loads of photos on the weekend and then ration them out throughout the week. I know, thats not techincally three photos each day, but it still counts right? I think thats going to be my only way of getting through this without having to post terrible Iphone photos that lets be honest no one really wants to see.

If Ive learnt anything so far, it would have to be that I absolutely love photographing people and capturing moments between people mid conversation or if I can, while they day dream. So I think what ill do for todays photos is show you some other shots from Speakers corner, a place where people are deep in conversation with strangers about literally any topic.

I think this whole thing has become a group effort, if you keep reading the post and enjoying my photos. then maybe, just maybe we will come out the other side of this blog. right now Im scared that one day Ill just sleep for 60 hours non stop and miss few days. but until that day heres some cool photos of people deep in conversation.

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– I would love to know if this conversation was based around a Macdonalds coffee cup –
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– I dont think this man agrees with the statement made –
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– this guy was just happy with life –

B338 – HEATHROW 4 STARS – PREMIER INN

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Tonight Im sleeping in the new premier inn at Heathrow Terminal 4, im not going to any amazing country or evening flying abroad, this was just the closest hotel to where I need to be at 6:45am tomorrow morning. I’ve definitely shared with you guys before my love for a Premier inn, they do excatly what they say on the advert and to be honest they are pretty clean which is always a bonus when your on location. Some times you end up in those hotels where its best to sleep fully dressed and wearing some kind of face protection, but honestly Ive never had a stay like that in a Premier inn.

Back to this new hotel at Heathrow, I would have to give this one a 7/10, its got everything need in a short 12 hour hotel stay, we have a bar, a nice sized bed and a room that can fit all my stuff in. The bed sheets are clean and they have that nice tumble dryer smell. If you ever end up planning a trip which involves staying at this Premier Inn, do be neverous or even apprehensive just got with it and your guaranteed a good nights sleep.

The one thing that does catch me out each time at these places is the shower gel that they give you attached to the wall, Im not sure if anyone has used this stuff more than once, I say once because Im pretty sure everyone tries it once but quickly realised that its probably doing more damage than good when it comes to skin care. I would love to say that premier inn use a good quality wall attached shower gel but unfortunately that would be a lie, why don’t they just give out small bottles of shower gel instead? that would solve their biggest problem. sorry if this sounds like a moan but I quite regularly forget my shower gel and its never good being met but wall soap.

anyway, this is a solid 7/10 and I give it a 4 star quick trip rating another strong reason for staying here would be todo with the 24 hour costa coffee shop at reception. Perfect if you’ve got an early start or late arrival. this is my hotel review, I hope you like it.

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– This would have been a good photo if I used the right lens, but unfortunatly Im in bed now and have to be up in like 5 hours, so think this will just have todo –
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– I did how ever really like the embroiled sleepy moon picture on the side of my pillow –
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– this soap on the wall, I really dont like this stuff. does anyone use it and like?

 

 

 

B333 – THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A VERY DIFFERENT BLOG POST

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Well I suppose its fair to say that I definitely all kicked off again yesterday right? that snow came out of no where and really started playing with peoples mentions, even Waterloo a train station that has around 250,000 people use it each day, decided that the prospect of snow on a Friday was too much and had no choice but to shut up shop. fair play though, I would probably do that if I knew i could. after all its Friday and I don’t use Waterloo station so I cant really rant about if, but if I did have to use Waterloo last night then it this would probably be a very different blog.

For a friday though it was pretty hectic in a non hectic kind of way, after working in east London and having quite a good finishing time, I then headed into town for a different gig and I have to admit I hadn’t done much research on but turnt out to be a pretty good laugh. Im not really sure if I can say what it was yet, so I might just leave that one for a few weeks and when its out in the open, Ill let you guys know and we can talk about it then. Sorry but thats just the way of the world.

I have got a killer plan today, today im basically doing a really Life admin day, including haircut, gym signing up, clothes shopping and some finances. Im then going to finish up by cooking a meal Ive never cooked before and sitting down to enjoy a good movie, I know that doesnt sound too fun, but I really want to start saving some money for a Leica and maybe going out drinking isnt the best thing for that. I really want to take some cool photos today so I might travel out when its dark and have some fun with the nifty 50mm lens. who knows.

Heres my photos from yesterday.

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– I love seeing bikes with snow on just one side, it looks really cool and abandoned –
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– before the gig, I stopped off for coffee at this really cool cafe in Soho, it was literally full of people speak Chinese and all they served where Marcha cakes –
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– see here are the Match cakes! if you ever walk around Soho and want a coffee / tea / matcha cake, you should stop here. Im not sure what the place is called, but you should try and find it! –

 

B330 – DAY TWO AND STILL IN BED

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Day two of virus: I think its fair to say that the virus I have caught must be something never discovered before because im pretty much knocked out, Ive slept for 25 hours of the past 30 hours with only the fair few emergency bathroom breaks. Im supposed to be going in to work today but with the snow, minus 10 temperature I dont think im  going to make it. my plan is to see how I feel in a few hours and then make a call about it.

its definitely days like today where keeping up with this blogging life style is nearly impossible, but with just over a month togo I cant cave in now. for those of you that are new to this website Ill explain a little bit about what im doing here, my plan from April last year was to post three photos a day for a whole year and to go along with that I have to write 300 words, the idea behind this is to improve my photography skills and to also hopefully to improve my writing skills (Which I kind of think Ive managed todo).

when I first started I didn’t realise how much is was going to become part of my daily life and to be honest the idea of skipping a day or just giving up and quitting has been pretty strong but I’m refusing to give in and like to think that i can make it and then in a few years time Ill be able to look back and know exactly what I did on possibly one of the busiest years of my life so far.

So again I think I need to apologies for the lack of photo content these past few days, I know its snowing in london and that can make for some great photos and I wish I could get out there but I need to kick this illness first!

Heres some shots from my flat windows!

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– A view from the spare bedroom, I cant wait till this room has been finished so we can spend more time in here –
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– yep we still have our christmas tree, the plan is to hold onto it till next year, thats what takes up this foreground shot – –
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– I went out last night to get fresh air and some bread, this shot is from inside the apartment complex –

 

B319 – APPLE STOP BEING ANNOYING

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The plan for todays post is to kind of do a recap of the week through photos that Ive taken on my iphone, post like these are actually pretty good todo because I seem to take loads of photos each day on my phone that I just completely forget about until I look back through the phone.

My normal workflow for posts is to dump all the photos on to my hard drive and then edit them in Lightroom before I even think about what Im going to write. From there I open up WordPress and start to think of a way of starting the post. Well today Ive ended up doing things a bit different, all because my phone needs to be updated, so now Im writing this without even decided what photos Ill use. Normally I would wait for my phone to update and then just go through the rhythm  of posting but as today Im spending my day off getting up early and running about to get a bunch of done, like get my hair cut and also put a fence up. Thats something I also only found out about last night and something Ive never done before, so that should be interesting.

This week has really been about early starts, I think Ive been up out and out the house before 6am more times this week than any other week of my life. people will probably call me lazy but I like to think of that as a lucky statistic and something that will probably change from now on, I got a feeling that I have a lot more early starts coming my way.

Something that is also really annoying me that the moment is Apples Airdrop, its like a spoilt child and only wants to work when it choices. Like todo for instant, Im not about to send photos via airdrop to my laptop, and now its making me late. Why does Apple make products that only they can fix, they should just make Airdrop so you can search of your  physical device. Not just wait for airdrop to find your device, Come on Tim Cook, what are you doing with you time at apple! stop making iphones every 6 months and start making your software better. give up on Apple Pages, no one like it, give up with Home pod, its just an overpriced speaker that you can only use with apples products. Apple you have really boiled my blood this morning and now made me late! Stop holding us all by the balls and creating amazing products, then just add some features which dont make it as good as it could be and then slowing us all done. Telsa just sent a car to in to space and you cant even create a piece of software that will allow my iphone to talk to my mac properly.

Sorry for the rant but Apple are in my bad books today. Here are some of my photos from the early mornings this week.

 

 

 

 

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– Walking across London bridge in the rain was actually quite fun –
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– this places makes me realise how old London actually is
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– coming out of Charring cross before everyone else is even up 

 

B312 – SHOREDITCH HOUSE

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Firstly I think its important for me to say how good last night was and also apologies for the lack of quality in the photos taken, I did my best with an iPhone but the low light and quantity of beer consumed meant that the photos weren’t my main focus. the night was more about good conversation and just enjoying good company. the all started with a plan to go out and get some food last night with amy but after a call from Anders he was quickly coming along and the next mission was to find somewhere to eat. then it happened, we ended up at a restaurant Ive wanted to go back to for ages. Andina, this place in Shoreditch which serves Peruvian ceviche.

Its that kind of place where you go in and just order random things that you have no idea about, all the dishes are pretty small but pack a punch when it comes to flavour, I think we had some sort of beetroot salad with cous cous (maybe) and also some sort of boiled ham in a broth, but by far the winning dish was aubergine and bbq spicy beef with feta cheese thing. theres something fun about sitting down with friends and sharing loads of dishes and not just having your own plate, it makes eating out so much more fun and you find that you eat so many new favours. I really think sharing food is the way forward, especially on nights out.

After the food we went on to Shoreditch House for some ping pong and to carry on with the night, it was my first time at this place and as Anders has now become a member I think I will be attending a lot more. its basically this place for “creative” people to network which in London basically drink alcohol.  we just went along for a kind of chilled night out and to be honest I definitely think its somewhere I can see us spending a lot more time and probably a lot more money.

Its now Saturday and sorry this post is late but we are up early having a power day, its time to move all of Micheles (My super aunties) stuff out of the flat and get it back to her. Something that is long over due,  and now means we can go out and get a wardrobe for the millions of clothes at Amy owns!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend! I LOVE SATURDAYS!

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– This was not our bottle of champagne, I just turned up to the table and thought it would make a cool photo –
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– the view for Shoreditch house is pretty cool as well –
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– I forgot to take a photo of the food in Andina so I made everyone stop half way through their food so I could take this shot –

 

B311 – SUCH A GOOD PLACE TO PHOTOGRAPH.

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As I said in yesterdays blog my plan for today was to get out on my lunch break and take a walk along the canal near to where I’m working and I actually managed to drag myself away from the  unlimited supply of chocolate bars and family sized packet of crisps to walk along this really cool stretch of water.

What I love about places like this, is just the way that they kind of create their own personality, everyone seems to be such a harsh environment for both people and animals, it all has that really brutalist feel to it and there is definitely something really photogenic about that. Its kind of crazy to think that these places actually have quite a lot of wide life if you think about it, if I was one of them I would definitely use my wings and fly to somewhere like hyde park or some other country park in a 20 mile radius of these victorian styled water ways.

Today I have also decided to write this post in the afternoon because this evening Amy has just booked up into a spinning class which basically means that tonight I will probably just want to come home and pass out. Its going to be our first ever spin class so I’m not really sure what I should expect but I do know is that things like spin class give your body a proper work out and thats something my body hasn’t really had since last year. As long as I can stay on the bike then I’m going to be happy, Ive heard these things can really work you out.

check out my photos from today, Im really happy with how they’ve turned out and to be honest I definitely want to take another trip around the canals of London and see what else I can photograph. these places are really kind of cool and interesting.

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– if I was those birds I would probably want to head up to somewhere like the Lake district and swim in those lakes –

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I really like photographing things made of this type of concrete they look so cool –

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– low tide of the canal –

B310 – THROWBACK THURSDAY !

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So at it is Thursday its probably only right that I do kind of a mini throwback of the past week (that is kind of my excuse for not really taking any photo yesterday), when I first started this blog, I said that the challenge was going to be getting up and taking photos on a really cool winters day and well last night I kind of did fail the challenge. but luckily I had a few cool pictures that Ive taken recently so why not just post them?

Near to where I work theres this canal and as I’ve nearly been there two weeks I think its time that I took a little lunch time walk along it to see if theres anything I can photograph, so I think that is my plan today. especially at Lunch time when the sun is at its highest but because it winter you get really cool shadows, so who knows it could really work out and maybe ill get some cool photos. I think it just comes down to the fact I need to man up and brave the cold, because otherwise I don’t think my photos will be nearly as good as they can be.

Im determined to put more time into my music project and really get that off the ground again, I need to get out to gigs and fully surround myself with music I think, show what can be done in the extra time before and after work. Im quickly running out of days and now its time to step up a bit, I know I keep saying that but its true I really need todo more. Ill spent some time today putting together a plan for gigs and photography ideas and then see about putting them into play. Sorry to all those readers that probably think I’m faffing about at the moment, but trying to juggle life doesn’t seem to be as straight forward as I originally thought.

Heres some photos from the past 7 days. enjoy.

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– Ive seen before photos with water in the bottom of the shot to add some thing extra, I gave it a go and maybe I need to give it another go and try and bit harder –
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– a photo from box park the other day –
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– I dont think theres a better place to take street photos at night, east london is by far my favourite place –

B309 – CLEAR SKYS AND COLD WEATHER – PERFECT

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Last night was one of those nights, while on my walk to Old street, my photos just seemed to happen. I think half of that was down to the light, I had hit the perfect time, just as the sun was setting and theres this cool kind of blue light in the sky. I know it might sound a bit weird as well but I think it definitely helped that it was ridiculously cold. A lot of the time I walk around and really struggle to take some photos decent photos that I actually like, that definitely wasn’t the case last night.

One of the things I have learnt about myself over the past 309 days is that I really love street photography and take pictures of people and capturing those random moments that we all see happen and that give us those little chuckle to ourselves. thats definitely my favourite thing to photograph, but Ill also take a clear cold night where you are given loads of strong, bright, contrasty colours from shop windows and the odd coffee shop.

At the moment I really don’t have a lot of time to make it down to gigs and music venues to work on that photography project, which is really annoying. The only way I could make it is if I probably stop eating dinner and cut my sleep down but as I think that would probably do more damage than good, for now Im just going to put it on hold and get through the next couple of weeks / months and then pick it up from there. So sorry to anyone that Ive been speaking to about gigs for events, I haven’t forgotten about you.

my plan for the future is to write these posts that night instead of the morning before work, I just dont leave myself enough time and now spent my morning rushing around. theres nothing better waking up in the morning before work, knowing that the post is ready to go. C’mon josh up your game!!!

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– Bethnal Green Road towards Shoreditch –
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– I cant remember if I have taken a photo of this before, but I like this shot so Ill post it anyway –
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– its like the hand it pushing him back –