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B217 – SHES TAKEN OVER

November 7, 2017November 7, 2017 joshfspearLeave a comment

THIS IS AMY CHAPPELL WRITING THIS. IM TRYING TO GET HER TO START WRITING A BLOG. SO SHE IS GOING TO WRITE THIS ONE AND CAN EVERYONE READ IT AND TELL HER HOW GOOD SHE IS AT WRITING THESE. BY THE WAY THE PHOTOS ARE MINE.

Day two in Paris began with a very easy going start after a heavy evening that ended with death by Baileys coffee; I reckon Josh must have poured half the bottle into them! Instead of dealing with an overpriced and fairly overrated breakfast at our hotel we headed out and found a small café that did the best ham and cheese toasties ever!

Our first venture of the day was this really cool shop called Colette on Rue-Saint-Honore which I have always wanted to visit, its like a really niche concept store that just so happened to have an exclusive Chanel takeover this weekend much to my pleasure! I think even Josh may have even enjoyed it as they even stocked a hassleblad X1D camera (I promise I have no idea what that is, he literally just told me what it was as I was writing!) If you ever end up in Paris I would recommend giving the shop a visit.

The rest of day we went on a serious hunt for moulet et frites. Can you believe it took us over an hour to find somewhere that did mussels and chips! Even though it took a while, I quickly realised this is one of the best cities to just walk around, you see something different on every street and so many interesting characters along the way. We ended up in a little restaurant on the Champs – Elysee and of course we had to order some traditional French cuisine of slimy escargot which I am sorry everyone tastes bloody great! I know what your thinking this blog post features me mainly talking about food but what’s a weekend away without stuffing your face full of local cuisine!

We couldn’t end our trip without seeing the Eiffel tower so we headed up there at exactly the right moment, when golden hour was emerging. Its amazing how one hour of the day can make a beautiful city look even more beautiful especially in the autumn with the golden brown colour palette. Check out a few snaps Josh took of our adventure today and ooh before I forget Josh thank you so much for a wonderful birthday present away, you’re alright you know!

B217-1 — – Nothing beats walking around Paris in November –

B217-1-6 — – it would be a complete trip to paris without a shot of the eiffel tower –

B217-1-2 — – i like this guys style, he knew what he wanted –

B214 – IM GOING HOME!!

November 4, 2017November 3, 2017 joshfspearLeave a comment

Right now its 14:44 on Friday, Im sat a Bradley international airport in Massachusetts about to board a plane to Boston, Ive got an hour till we take off and from Boston I have a flight that will take me to London Heathrow. its now the complete end of my time in America and after two months on the road going from Hotel to Hotel its time to head home and finally do some washing and get on my DIY skills on, I’ve got a hall way to paint and some more blinds to put up! so get ready for some DIY posts, they will be coming thick and fast.

right now though Im scrolling through the photos Ive taken on my phone and think its only right to post some photos that I have taken on my phone before they disappear into the hard drive of my computer forever.

If I had to choose one city that has left a mark on me it has to be New York, that place is probably one of my favourite cities Ive visited in a long time, it just doesn’t sleep and every corner has something happening and thats what I like. Nothing stops in New York, its just on the move constantly. I will 100 percent be coming back to New York in the near future.

On the other hand, the state that surprised me the most and rank up there of cool places is New England. thats the area Im in now, apparently its were the english first landed when they discovered America, thats where it gets its name from. If I could get hold of a mountain bike and had a few days off I would loved to of just cycle round the forests and explored this area, it just looks like a cool place to have an adventure. that sounds like a pretty cool idea now Ive just said that. Amy? Can you cycle?

Ive really enjoyed this trip and feel like Ive managed to see a fair bit of america is a short period of time. but now I just need to come back and really get to know it when Im working. Heres list of the places Ive been in the last few months. New York, New Jersey, Massachussets, Flordia, Illinois, North Carolina, St.louis, Toronto and Vancover. Looking at that im really suprised that I haven’t missed a day of this blog yet and not really sure where Ive found the hour or so it takes to write these each day.

Tomorrow I land back in the UK and have to rush home for a hair cut, pack a bag and get ready for a few days get away in Paris. Amy and Me are going there because theres some fashion show that she wants to check out and I owe her a birthday present. so get ready for me to put my best Zoolander outfit on and explore the city of Paris!

Heres some of the photos from my phone of these past few months.

B214 (1 of 1)-2 — – Ive never seen an exhaust like this, is it legal in the UK? –

B214 (1 of 1)-3 — – a view from New England –

B213 – THE FREEMASONS!

November 3, 2017November 2, 2017 joshfspearLeave a comment

Dad you’ll like this fact, so where I am in Massachusetts is home to the oldest fraternity in the world. The Freemasons, they literally are from where I am right now, they even have a load of Freemason lodges in the area where if you are part of them you can go a stay. thats pretty cool.

Im not sure if they are the same as we have in the UK but from there website it sounds like they are. Here, its a brotherhood for men to make connections work or life related and be part of “something bigger”.For the people who dont know what the Freemasons are the best way I can describe it, the organisation is a bit like an Adult scout’s group meets Social club. its full of traditions and teaches important life skills, but also it’s there for men to look out for one another. Im not saying I completely agree with this idea, but it is a part of our history and something that is still relative to us today i suppose, so we should really at least try to understand it.

Heres their website, have a look and see what you think. I mean if anyone can join and they just have a good time, eat good food, socialise, while having the odd secrete handshake, I don’t see a problem with it.

http://massfreemasonry.org/what-is-freemasonry/#!/brotherhood/

Im just kind of happy Ive managed to see another part of the world I probably would never have seen if it wasn’t for this job. Im now 213 days down on the blog and really feel like my photos are getting better. today on my drive through Palma, Massachusetts, I saw this motor bike parked outside some 1960’s america cafe and as I went to take the photo I completely got the focus wrong, and as I pressed the shutter a red mustang drove past, 6 months ago I would probably have written the photo off as a fail, but today I looked at it and really liked how it turned out. a lot of photography, is purely about being in the right place at the right time and doing the right thing. that was difficult thing I had to understand when I first started this photo challenge thing, going out for 10 minutes once a week to take photos is pointless. but now I feel confident in my photos and seem to always be carrying my camera around with me, I think I’m slowly starting to get some cool photos from places I’ve been.

Here are my photos from today, its my last full day in america before I head back to London from all of 15 hours before I leave for my next trip and it should be a good one, I’ve been excited about this one for a while and cant wait to share the photos with you.

B213 (1 of 1) — – the home of the freemasons –

B213 (1 of 1)-2 — – this photo, out of focus but I really like the colour in this shot, give its a 35mm feel –

B213 (1 of 1)-3 — – the type of place Im in at the moment, surrounded by proper wildness –

B212 – MARTIE THE MOOSE

November 2, 2017November 1, 2017 joshfspearLeave a comment

Now that we are on our last leg of this little tour of america, we are in New England, it really reminds me of the British country side but just with a touch of america, it seems to have the British winter weather and is just cold. a bit different to last weeks 30 degrees Florida.

As we are filming today this is going to be me talking about a local restaurant, and I have to say this is a proper good one. this place is called Burgundy Brooks Cafe and it serves all the good stuff. I had the Burgundy Burger and some Beef soup. the soup was just to get my body temperature back to normal and the burger just because I wanted a burger. out here it kind of feels like america’s version of the country side, there’s trees and green fields for miles and miles and even though I live in a city I still miss the country side and the fresh air, so coming here is kind of refreshing and reminds me of home.

Back to Burgundy Brooks Cafe, its kind of got that family feel and a place to get some good food at a good price, I think all my food came to like $13 dollars, which is pretty decent. What was nice about this place was how friendly they were, one guy that worked there was keith, he came over to me and handed me an on the house espresso, which after a pack morning was just what I needed before lunch. he basically then just talked me through the local area and all the things I should do while Im here, which is always perfect when you get to a places you’ve never been to before. and the one place that got my attention was the Tree house brewery its been voted on of the best Breweries in the States and also the world!! what more reason do I need to go give it a visit.

what you always need when you come to new places, is a local to give you some good advise and make sure you do all the right things. and if your ever in Ludlow, Springfeild, Palma or just near that area in New England make sure you take the trip to Burgundy Brook Cafe, find Keith, get some good food and all the advise you need about this area. he can also point you in the direction of some world class beer.

Heres a link to their website, and also check out my photos below.

http://www.burgundybrook.com/

B212 (1 of 1)-3 — – Burgundy Brook Cafe, New England –

B212 (1 of 1)-2 — – this is Marti, you cant see it but on the other side of his head is a phone, hes just calling a mate –

B212 (1 of 1) — – this is just out the front of the cafe, looks kinda cool –

B211 – HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

November 1, 2017November 1, 2017 joshfspearLeave a comment

Since I can remember everyones always said that in america they do Halloween 10 x better than us brits to do in the UK. well today is officially my first american Halloween and from being over here for the past month I can back that up, its treated like we treat christmas, its like 50 percent of all houses on every street dresses their houses up to look like some kind of Haunted House.

Today we kind of had a spontaneous prep day which means we didn’t have to go a film, well we did go a film some GV’s (general views) but apart from that I could get some rest in and not have to think about too much, which was kind of perfect, I literally laid in bed till 10am before even thinking about going out for a coffee and now I feel ready to go wake up early and get back to work.

for the past like 4 years Halloween in the UK seems to have taken off and I love it, im not really any good at dressing up, I always seem to get my make up wrong or don’t really have a proper outfit, but I love the treats and the parties, which kind what makes it. but as I currently living life out of a hotel in this part of the world called Ludlow, Massachusetts, Ill just have to live halloween through the millions of photos on instagram and through my whistle stop tour of Springfield earlier onto, were I managed to get the photos you see below. to be honest it was quite good because we had a few lenses with us, so I got to play around with a few different ones while taking these photos. there was literally fake zombies hanging from trees a long the streets that would start to shake and scream as you walked past. I hope they were fake because if they weren’t I would be terrible in a zombie apocalypse.

Heres my photos from today. enjoy.

and sorry for my spelling mistakes yesterday. I do know how to spell avocado but sometime I just get it wrong.

B211 (1 of 1)-3 — – these things were just creepy –

B211 (1 of 1) — – why are all these props bald? –

B211 (1 of 1)-2 — – just one of the million front gardens that were decorated. kids round here must love this time of year –

B210 – THE FINISH LINE IS IN SIGHT!

October 31, 2017October 31, 2017 joshfspearLeave a comment

Today I feel slightly better. I still haven’t really eaten which is becoming a bit of an issue. but im not going to carry on moaning, I’m just going to get on with it, ill eat something for dinner tonight and then ill be back to my normal ways. I’m just going to stop eating American junk food; my problem is I love chips (fries) and those little treats. From now on only organic and fresh stuff.

One thing that I want to talk about is the light this time of year; it’s probably the best time of year for light. Clear sky’s and a low sun and you get these cool shadows during golden hour in the afternoon for in Boston golden two hours. I’ve literally just grabbed the 85mm lens and took a walk around a car park, seeing what shots I could get. The sun was in the perfect place, that and the fact the leaves have started to die fall off the trees, which makes for some really photogenic views.

I like about the 85mm prime, it’s a 1.2 f-stop, which means that its really good in low light and also captures loads of colours. A great lens for portrait photography but I would love to see what its like for street photography, my favourite kind of photography. I know when shooting street photography people like to use like a 20mm or just a wider lens than an 85mm, but I would love to see what its like shooting tighter around the streets. Maybe when I get back to London Ill give it ago. My problem is I have a long list of camera gear I need, but I just can’t make my mind up what I need to buy next. Im saving up for my next big purchase but I cant stick to something and just aim for that, I suppose I just need to save some more money and then walk into a camera shop and just pick something there and then, that’s probably the best thing I can do.

Here are my photos from today, we are currently in the middle of the storm when it comes to shooting and finding those few minutes to grab some photos is getting harder and harder so sorry if the next few days aren’t that great. If anyone knows how I can get just one extra hour of sunlight each day please let me know and I promise I will use the whole 60 minutes! I NEED MORE TIME!

B210 (1 of 1)-2 — – this was just me in a car park –

B210 (1 of 1)-3 — – taking some snaps and playing with one of my new favourite lenses –

B210 (1 of 1) — – that house down there was in full halloween mood –

B204 – THE DAY MY CAMERA NEARLY DIED!

October 25, 2017October 25, 2017 joshfspear4 Comments

Back in New York and the main thing im going to take away from today is that New York rain seems to be something you cant find anywhere else. its non stop and literally everything just gets soaked through. I went out today not expecting to get that wet, it was just like a little bit of drizzle when I left, well that turned into some thing completely different, but a few years ago I watched that documentary of the New York photographer Bill Cunningham and in that documentary Bill talks about being out in all weathers in New York because thats when you get the best shots, and the guy is completely right, New York seems to go into this completely different mode when it starts raining. My highlight of New York in the rain today was seeing a women walk round with a metal Bin on her head to project her afro, she literally didn’t get a damm what she looked like as long as her hair stayed dry.

if you read yesterdays post you would know my plan for today was to stay around Hunter’s point and take it easy. Well after a quick chat with my parents my dad said I had to have a chill dog from a street vendor, so that became my mission, track down a street vendor and have a chilli dog on the “side walk”. and as soon as I got off the subway at 7th and 59th street, there he was a street vendor with all the goodies apart from Chilli dogs, sorry dad but I just went for a hot dog, I hope that counts. I did plan on not giving up till I got a chilli dog but I was hungry, so that will have todo.

My other plan for today became getting a good shot of the smoke or stream that comes up from the ground around NYC and after hunting for ages to try and find somewhere, I finally bumped into the perfect location just by 42nd and Grand Central Street. ( im trying to remember the names of the streets, just so I feel like a local). Once I found this spot I only had to wait a few minutes before this guy walked past, it was a pure case of right place right time, but thats how street photography works really, the more hours you spend on the streets, the more places you end up in at the right time. This is one of my favourite photos Ive taken in a long time, this whole photo feels quite peaceful at a time when everything is starting to get a bit crazy. Im not sure if that makes sense to you, but it does to me.

Here are my photos from today, Ive tried to take it easy today and just get some good rest, now I’m looking forward to laying in bed watching some movies and getting some proper sleep!

I hope you like my photos. oh and if your wondering about my title today, my camera nearly broke because the rain just didn’t stop and I really wasn’t prepared for that. Apart from that I would say its been a pretty successful day.

B204 (1 of 1)-6 — – this is one of my favourite photos Ive taken recently –

B204 (1 of 1)-4 — – the rain today was proper rain, the stuff that no matter watch jacket you had on your T shirt was getting wet –

B204 (1 of 1)-2 — – here you go dad, this is where I got my hot dog from –

B201 – CATFISH, SOUTHERN STYLE

October 22, 2017October 22, 2017 joshfspearLeave a comment

If anyone has driven from Tampa to Bartow, or even been to this little town somewhere in florida called Bartow, you will hear the local talk about Catfish Country as a place you need to go an eat it. you will hear them talk about how great the cat fish is and how its such a famous place to go and eat at. Ive never had Catfish before and today was really my first time, ( I had a cat fish Sandwhich the other day but I spilt most of it down my top and covered the whole thing in ketchup. So Im counting this as my first time, this is kind of my review of cat fish and the restaurant Cat fish country.

One thing I wont talk about is the service, America waiters and waitress are the best in the world, where ever you go you’ll get a good service and thats because they work for tips. so its unfair for me to talk about their service. As someone whos a huge fan of the traditional cod and chips, this is a biased opinion. but when cod and chips isnt on the menu, would I go for Cat fish, probably not. but if I was in florida again, would I go for Cat fish and chips, probably. its got an OK taste and is a bit like cod in the texture, but no where near the same amount of favour.

but what you get at this place Catfish Country is the whole experience, if feels like a food restaurant in the south should feel, and has all the right things, a massive TV showing the sports highlights, unlimited ice tea and the perfect atmosphere, these places always feel like they’ve spent 50 years collecting things from passers by, including their number plates and other weird items and this place is no exception, its full of just about everything you can image from over the size bud light neon signs, to taxidermy, to things that look like they belong to on a boat. but all done in a real aesthetically pleasing way. its just all looks like it genuinely belongs there.

If you are ever driving down highway 98 towards Bartow definitely stop off and give this place a try, you cant miss it theres a massive sign that says “Catfish Country”.

Heres my photos from the meal, I’m sorry to the locals but nothing you cook will be able to beat fish and chips from Brighton Pier.

B201 (1 of 1) — – this place definatly looks 10 x better than any fish and chip shop in the UK –

B201 (1 of 1)-2 — – I wasnt even aware there was a catfish festival –

B201 (1 of 1)-3 — – It looks almost the same to standard fish and chips but they do give you this little corn do ball thing –

B201 (1 of 1)-4 — – I really like the fact every table had a paper hand towel roll, that always means you going to be in for some good food –

B197 – AFTER TWO MONTHS ITS FINALLY HAPPENED!

October 18, 2017October 18, 2017 joshfspearLeave a comment

Today is a bit of a special day, today was the day that i actually had a home cooked meal, not just something from a restaurant but some home cooked vegetables, home made pasta and some other ingredients that I’m not too sure what they were called. Its a massive difference from the normal late night Italian or Chinese that I’m used too and I genuinely cant complain. I did end up have this really large cookie for desert but to be honest it was home made so doesn’t really matter. When im firmly back at home thats one thing im going todo more, I want to cook good proper food without the added salt or other things.

other than my rant about food, today I was back in this sleepy part of New Jersey, and to be honest its one of my favourite places Ive been. growing up in some sleepy part of London in a town called Biggin Hill, I know people think its this tough place just outside bromley but its really not. sorry, but its just not. anyway I think that part of me loves the idea of living in some quite town somewhere just enjoying life and moving at a slower pace. its weird because at the moment I love living in the city, sounded by constant noise and always something todo, but I can definitely see myself moving to the countryside when Im older in a place a bit like Bedmister, New Jersey and just having fun. Places like this would make me get up early and go take photos or ride my bike constantly.

Its just one of those things, if you love the country side then I think you will alway want to call that home. anyway heres my photos from today, I really wanted to show the sleepy side to living in the “sticks” but I couldn’t resist showing off what I had for dinner.

enjoy.

B197 (1 of 1) — – this lady is just sat enjoying her tuesday –

B197 (1 of 1)-4 — – nothing beats a home cooked dinner –

B196 – I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD END UP HERE!

October 17, 2017October 17, 2017 joshfspearLeave a comment

Firstly I have something I need to admit, for the past month or so my camera has only really been on auto everything, auto focus, auto exposure, auto shutter. this started off as a way for me not to miss a shot, always guarantee I get the photo I want. but its kind of doing the opposite, its nice knowing that everything will also be ok but I don’t think about the lighting or movement anymore I just snap away. When I first started this project my camera was always manual so it would always mean I would constantly be adjusting everything quickly to get the photo. Ive just got lazy I suppose, well from today onward every photo I take with my Canon 5d will be manual. Im not going to use auto for the rest of this challenge unless Ive been drinking, then I cant make any promises, it will probably be auto.

Anyway yesterday I was talking about how big the houses were and today I actually managed to take a snap of one, this is my no means the biggest house around here but for some reason its probably my favourite. Big houses just mean longer walks to the fridge for the sofa and thats not what I want in a house. I feel like this one has space but at the same time could fit me just right. I quite like this whole area to be honest, today on the drive to the local supermarket for some lunch and even that was a pretty cool experience. In the UK going to pick up food normally means finding the closest Sainsburys or Tescos, where as here you go to this massive farmers supermarket and get a whole bunch of cool treats. it even has an old clock on the top.

One thing that has surprised me about this part of the world is how much they love Halloween, everyone goes mad for it and buys all these cool skeletons for the houses and loads of pumkins, every wall seems to have some sort of pumpkin on it. I didnt take any photos of houses with pumpkins on them but I did get some shots from out side the front of the Supermarket with pumpkins. thats my goal for tomorrow, find a house with Pumpkins out the front. Ill see what over the top Halloween houses I can find.

Heres my photos from today below. and remember from now on NO auto settings, I promise!