Tag: lifestyle

B238 – IM READY TO BITE THE BULLET AND DO IT

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Yesterday was an exciting day, for some of you out there you know how much I love Leica cameras and how much Ive wanted one. I love the Leica Q, but Im not a fan of the fact its a £3500 camera that has a fixed lens, I love using different lenses and I don’t want to drop that much money of a fix lens camera. that puts me onto the next problem, the only other option is the Leica M, a beautiful camera and something I would love to own, but it comes with a hefty price tag of between £6000 and £8000! thats a bit to much money for me to even think about spending, especially when this camera doesn’t even have auto focus.

Well, Leica have now done something truly amazing, they have re-released the Leica CL, a 24 mega pixel, 4k video mini pocket rocket. this is exactly what Ive wanted, something for a good price that I can change lenses for and that comes with that iconic Leica picture quality.

you can buy a the Leica CL with a few different lens choices, the 18mm, 23mm, 35mm, 65mm and a 55 – 135mm lens. literally a perfect mixture. Ive decided to go on the waiting list for the 18mm lens aswell. I was thinking about getting the 23mm, but that was a bit too tight, the 18 is wide, very wide but it just works as a starter lens. then once ive managed to afford food and the odd social event I would probably go back and buy the 55-135mm and maybe the 35mm. just so Ive got a range for just about any event. Im kind of gutted that I didn’t test the 55-135mm yesterday, I just got carried away with the other lenses.

I know there are people out there that would say  “why don’t you just get the Olympus X-T20? and save yourself £2000 ” and trust me that camera is still on the table, but I wont be able to make that decision till I get the phone call from Leica telling me they have a CL in stock and with my name on it. I love the idea of owning a Olympus X-T20 and think its a beautiful camera but I cant ignore the fact Leica have brought out a camera that Ive wanted them to make for so long. Oh and the auto focus is ridiculously quick and smooth.

enough of the geeky chat about cameras, here are some photos from the store, thank you anders for coming with me and pretending to be a model, have you ever thought about a career is modelling before?

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– 23mm lens –
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– 35mm lens –
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– 23mm lens –
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– I think this was on the 18mm –
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– I didnt take this picture but this is what the camera looks like –

B235 – 5000 CALORIES IN ONE NIGHT

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Yesterday was the first time in ages that ive had “that friday feeling” and today being saturday morning I have that “horrible hangover feeling” but I cant stop and moan I have a proper ikea mission first.

Any way back to yesterday, it was a bit of a gamble to be honest, I had been stuck at my kitchen table all day working on my laptop, just getting stuff done, even though its a day not at work I try to treat everyday like a work day, other wise ill spend the time watching a Netflix series or something which is never good. my aim is to always be out of bed by 9am and always do something productive and yesterday was no exception apart from the afternoon bath, which by the way was amazing.

It got to around 4 / 5pm and I started to think about my plans for that evening, there was talk for Winter wonderland in hyde park, I was adamant that its still to early to celebrate Christmas so it was a No from me, I would just meet charlotte and stay in East London.

After a few beers and a few more phone calls, we are all on our way to Winter wonderland, who would of guessed! and what a great decision that was, I hadn’t seen a lot of the people there in ages and im not really sure what happened after the first hour or so it gets abit blurry. I do know how ever I eat way to much food, 1 hot dog, 1 Calzone Pizza and a Mcdonalds and some Pasta. What was I thinking, this morning I feel like ive put on about 2 stone and eat like 5000 calories in the space of 4 hours.

anyway here are my photos from last night.

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– I think Aaron was happy to see me –
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– just dave drinking from a bird bowl or maybe a water tap, im just not too sure –
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– this is the perfect meeting place for anyone at Winter wonderland –

B227 – UP IN THE CLOUDS

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Im staying in the Grand Hyatt hotel which is pretty cool, the hotel reception is on the 54 floor and when you take the lift up your ears pop. my room is only on the 79th floor which gives you this cool view of Shang hi, the only time i have been this high up is when I went to the Shard for some drinks and even then I think I was only on the 60th floor or something. Waking up with a view of the city is insane, even when theres loads of fog and all you can see if the clouds moving slowly past your window it creates this cool effect. 

When you come out of the tower and look up all you can see if the building disappear into the clouds. our building is trumped completely by the Shang Hi tower which is right next to us, that tower is the second tallest building in the world and stands at 635 meters tall and has 128 floors! it literally feels like two times the size of out building.

for the next week, Im going to just be using my Iphone, I cant really carry my camera around with me, which is annoying but I hope you like these photos. I got this taxi the other day and cant work out if the driver had a fake iphone or what phone is was, does anyone know? Shang hai is pretty famous for all the fake designer markets I really want to make it over to one and see what I can get hold of but not sure if I will have time.

 first impressions of Shang Hi, it’s absolutely massive and China is actually a pretty cool place, but not as futuristic as I thought it would be, I was expecting to see loads of really modern things but its actually quite traditional. 

Heres my photos from today, I hope you like them.

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– looking up from below the hotel –
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– the view from breakfast –
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– is this a fake iphone?

B216 – AFTERNOON IN PARIS

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After a bit of bumpy start yesterday when we first got to paris, basically our phones wouldnt work, which meant we had no way of booking an Uber, something todo with the new Apple OS update or something. But for those of you that have been to Gaurd De Nord before you know the first thing you see when you come out the train station is a Mcdonalds and they are known worldwide for having a good free Wifi connection, something that comes in handy when you need to book a taxi!

anyway yesterday afternoon was all about getting over to the Dior exhibition over at the Musee De Arts Decorative on Rue De Ravoli, its basically this massive museum which shows you the history behind Dior and how the company has got to where it is today, so it was pretty interesting. I know nothing about fashion or Dior really, but even for me it was just cool too see what goes into it and where the whole company originated from. In the exhibition theres a massive section on photography so that was pretty interesting to see. I definitely think if your in paris between now and the 7th January you should go and see this whole thing even if your not really in to fashion, the whole thing is just cool to see and even though its a museum full of dresses they don’t really look like dresses. they are more like pieces of art I suppose.

its now the next day and we are having a bit of a lazy morning trying to think what we should do for breakfast, we are staying at the Hotel Eiffel Blomet and they seem todo a good breakfast but nothing will ever beat €1 espresso coffee and a Jambon croissant.

Today the mission is to find some prints and stuff for the flat, Amy also NEEDS to see the shop collet! so I guess we will probably to that too.

Heres my photos from yesterday Bon Appetit.

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– this was in the last room at the Dior show, all the walls are full to the ceiling in dresses and dress making stuff –
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– the new Louis Vitton shop, they went all out –
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– my photo of the Eiffel Tower. Hello Paris –

 

B214 – IM GOING HOME!!

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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.

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– New York at 6am –
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– Ive never seen an exhaust like this, is it legal in the UK? –
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– a view from New England –

 

B205 – THEY WERE THROWING PIES IN EACH OTHERS FACES!!

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Today we were back on location working, so it was pretty hard for me to take photos, I could seem to get a good stream of photos on the go, mainly because I was just inside all day, and I didn’t wake up early enough to go a take some photos before work, my call time was 0730am this morning, its now 23:22 in the evening and I found out a few hours ago about a part over in times square, which I’ve had to be an adult about and not go. I wish my 18 year old self was here so I would just go balls to the wall and head down there, but now Ive got these things called responsibilities and they really seem to get in my way.

to still make sure I show you some good photos today, Ive decided to use some from my adventure around New York yesterday, I was going to save them for when I get back to London and don’t have anything to post but I kind of think why should you some rubbish photos I took today when I have these cool ones right next to me.

yesterday while I was walking around I saw something Ive never seen before, which is surprising because I cant think of a reason why I wouldn’t of done this when I was younger, its something that I would have thought I would of done and thats throwing pies / whipped cream in each others faces. I have no explanation why they decided that on a rainy Tuesday morning in New York they would organise a small side street pie throwing event, but it made for a good photo so I cant complain.

For some reason the more time I spend in New York the more I love this city and the people in it. I did have a little accident today though, I completely forgot what car park I parked the car in, mean that after the shoot we had to walk around a few block before we found the right one, and it turns out I parked in the car park I was meant too, I just didn’t remember. Im only telling you about this, so the Amanda and Libby don’t think i just right about all the good moments, I include my mistakes too.

Heres my photos from yesterday, i will do my best to up the anti tomorrow and will take some good photos through out the day. here they are, enjoy.

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– yesterday we snuck onto the roof of our hotel and I managed to get this shot, I really want to get an early morning photo from up here. thats the queensboro bridge looking across to Manhattan –

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– these guys, no idea why they were doing it, im just happy I walked past when I did –

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– surely thats not his umbrella, it really doesnt go with the bad boy image jacket –

B202 – 17 HOURS LATER…

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Tomorrow we leave Florida and head back to New York, its fair to say that we are now in the middle of filming and if we can get through the next 11 days of pure craziness and long hours we will be sitting on that flight home with a beer in hand. But first back to reality, before we leave florida tomorrow morning, this place has left us with one last gift a heard of blood thirsty mosquitos, which have really just aimed for my legs and attacked both my pale white bread sticks with all they have. my legs have lost the battle and the war to these mosquitos and now I can stop itching them.

My post today is about the other famous restaurant in town, it wouldnt be fair to write about one and not the other, this time im talking about the BBQ joint called Sonnys. this place is everything I hope for an more, they know what they are doing when it comes to baked beans and BBQ meat, both times Ive gone for the two meat, two sides option and it hasnt let me down. today I had some kind of sausage and pulled pork with Mac “n” Cheese and BBQ Baked beans and it was just what I needed. its totally different to Catfish country which was more of a family run place, this is a small food chain in Florida, but it packs a punch, they even make their own range of sauces, from what I can remember I had only had the Spicy sauce and that had just the right amount of spice, not too hot not too mild. no one wants a really spicey BBQ, its just not right.

if you’re ever in Bartow, please go and try both Sonnys and Catfish Country and let me know which on you think is better! for the experiacne I would say Catfish Country but if you really want to reach food coma levels go to Sonny’s.

Anyway I think ill keep todays nice a short, I cant really keep my eyes open much longer, its been a proper long day.  the next few weeks are jammed packed, so ill do my best to keep these post top notch, but sorry in advance for any rubbish days that might pop up (like this one). I haven’t done Sonny’s justice.

Also you know the rules, any spelling or grammer just ignore them, we all know it’s one of my downfalls.

Enjoy these snaps.

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– it may look simple on the outside but this place serves some proper food –
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– It just looks like a southern BBQ joint, happy days –
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– did what to show a picture of my food, but it arrived I ate it and forgot to take a picture, so heres a photo of a beer and some of their own sauce –

B198 – I FEEL LIKE A TRUE AMERICAN

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So just got to our hotel in Tampa, Florida and the journey feels like its gone on forever, first we didnt have a pilot of the plane, no idea how that happens but it did. Im not going to moan about it thought, because now we are in Tampa and the car hire company have given us the one things I’ve always wanted. a proper american SUV, this thing is a beast. they have given us a GMC Yukon SLT, this thing is like a $60k monster. No idea why they looked at me and thought it would fine, but they did and Im happy about it.

Overall it feels quite good to be back in the south, I know Flordia is quite touristy but it doesn’t feel like that where we are, it feels like a cool part of the world, even though Ive only seen it in the dark. Tomorrow we have a day off, so im looking forward to explore this place, at the moment my main goal is to see a crocodile, like a proper wild one on the side of a river bank, but not sure if that will happen. the chances are ill just chill all day and try to burn of that ridiculous amount BBQ food I just eaten.

This is now like my sixth america state in the past 5 weeks and I really feel like I’m starting to understand a bit more about this place, it almost feels like I’ve completed america if that makes sense. every time I go to a new country I always want to feel some kind of connection to that place, and get the lingo along with the way of life. Im not sure if 5 or 6 weeks is enough time to feel like that, but with america I kind of feel like I’m starting to get the hang of the crazy country.

As today was just really like a travel day not many photos were taken but I did try and get out after dinner and do like a mini photo shoot with the SUV. and to be honest I think thee photo look pretty cool.

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– Would this SUV even fit on UK roads? –
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– I would love to drive round London in this –
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– flying to Newark airport to Tampa, literally spent the whole time just looking out the window, apart from when I was sleeping-  (only good thing about sitting at the back of the plane is that you can take good pictures) –

B193 – 24/7 THIS PLACE DOESN’T STOP

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The city of New York is like nothing I have ever experienced before, its never been somewhere thats top of my list and Ive always been pretty chilled out about coming here. but oh my god, this place is like a big fun fair for people who love cities. One of my major things about a city is for those societies that will happily bend the rules sightly to get what they need done, im not talking about shooting some one or robbing a bank, im talking about those little inconveniences that some cities are just scared to break. Like J walking, in places like Sydney if you J walk your a law breaker and should be dealt with appropriately, its really frowned apon, but in New York people love it, it makes crossing the road so much easier, cars dont even beep you, they just try not to run you over.

One of the first questions everyone asks themselve’s when they get to a new country or city is “Can I live here?” and most of the time its yes, you get caught up in the moment and just think you can, Ive done it but rarley have I thought about it deeply enough to think it could actually work. Like LA for instance, I love LA and would happily go there for long periods of time, but could I actually live there? probably not, its way too big and my body is in no shape to be flexing my guns on venice beach.

Where as New york is the extreme version of London and seem to have all the same idea’s, people like to create stuff and have a good time. I feel that new York is some where I could call home and would love to explore and get to now more about it. One thing is for sure though, I would need some ear plugs because this place is 24/7 and people seem to always be making noise.

I would love to go on about my pro’s and con’s for living in a different city or country but I have a 6:30am call time tomorrow and would love to get some sleep.

Heres my photos from today. Bon appetit.

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– Its true what people say, new York traffic is like nothing anywhere else, it just seems to go on and go and on –
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– one of the photos I took on my way to get some food –
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– something is always happening on every block –

B184 – THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR – ****SORRY ITS LATE, I THOUGHT I HAD SCHEDULED IT BUT OBVIOUSLY NOT****

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So I’ve come to a conclusion, this time of year is the best not only is it my birthday this month but we literally have this really cool look in the sky and the temperature is still bearable in a jumper, I’m not sure how much longer it will last and pretty sure that it will switch any day now but for the next few days I’m going to try and enjoy it as much as possible.

Im definitely not going to look at the weather full cast for the next week or so, I just want to see where it ends up. My favourite reason for loving this weather is because the sun is starting to get lower which means you get these really cool shadows on the pavement which create these cool shapes and patterns on pretty much everything everything from the floor to your office desk. and the camera flares, oh the camera flares, they are sick. Im hoping that the skies are clear tomorrow so I can take some photos of the sun and show you what I mean.

When I was younger I remember hearing someone tell me that in the UK we are pretty lucky to get 4 seasons each year and I was like “yea alright! can I go back to picking my nose and eating mud yet?” and now I’m taking photos daily and always looking at what the light is like and where the sun is, I now appreciate it a lot more. What the weather is doing on any given day really varies what type of photo you take and we are slowly getting to the point where Im going to need a waterproof camera and maybe a new jacket, because going outside is not going to be like it is in June.

These photos below aren’t of the changing seasons, so don’t think you’ll see some nice shots of leaf’s on the ground but rather what the light was like at 10:30am and of the sky at night. Now the sky just looks colder that it does in summer. theres no more reds and oranges in the clouds, but now more blue and darker blues. which I think make for a really dramatic backdrop.

enjoy my snaps and lets see how the weather pans out  in these next few days.

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– im talking about these shadows –
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– and that sky doesnt look like summer anymore –
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– the sky still looks clear but ready quickly getting colder –