Tag: photography

B239 – MY FIRST HOMEWORK CLUB

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Welcome to the fun life of Josh, today I left the flat for no more than about 15 minutes, and the highlight of the day was posting a letter to HMRC. Wow, I really have lived today like its my last, Im now sat at the table with amy while we power through “Homework club” that was we call sitting at the table pretending to do work and complaining at Capital FM’s constant replaying of Rita Oras song or some advert that gets played every 10 minutes. Please capital FM stop replaying the same music and adverts. Also can we all just appreciate the fact that amy is using a 2009 Macbook, Im surprised this thing still turns on.

Anyway Homework club is going well we only have like another 10 minutes maybe and then we can sit  down and watch a film. To day has been pretty productive which is a good thing, Ive managed to get done everything I needed too, the only problem is I haven’t taken any photos, so im going to use a few snaps from a recent trip to Spitalfeilds late at night. if your not too sure where that is, its this market in between Liverpool street and Brick lane, its this kind of quirky / cool or as my mum would say “hip” place where you can buy anything from an antique vase all the way too a vegan beef burger. well at night this market all of a sudden becomes empty apart from the odd drunk city worker trying to find the tube station or a market stall clearing up for the day. What Spitelfeilds market have done is install these massive spot lights in the roof, so every few meters you get this cool circle pattern on the floor, which when people walk past create these cool shadows and the light bounces off in different directions and make a normal pedestrian look like some rock n roll star about to walk on stage.

Anyway here are some photo I took the other day, I hope you like them.

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– my first ever home work club, nice laptop Amy   – 
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– this guy should have this photo has his profile picture –  
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– this was a shop window on Brick lane, kind of has a cool feel to it –

B237 – SPINACH AND CHICKPEA CURRY – WELL WORTH IT.

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Sunday. The plan was to have a proper chilled Sunday and do nothing, just watch TV and eat food. and thats exactly what we did, only this time I decided to test my cooking skills and see what I could make. After searching the app Yummly we came across a spinach and chick pea curry. It has turned out to be one of my favourite dishes, Ive even got left overs for today and trust me I will be eating them!

I really want to learn how to cook more dishes, its something I actually really enjoy and as some one who lives in London, cooking at home saves you a ton of money, we brought all the ingredients but now we have them if we want to make this dish again, we literally only need to buy chick peas and some potatoes, thats literally dinner for under £2 and trust me it is so worth it.

Heres a list of the ingredients I used and the instructions, trust me give this one a cook and let me know what you think.

Oh my top tip is give the potatoes a little boil before you put them in the pan.

1 tablespoon ghee (or sunflower oil)
1 onions (large, finely chopped)
3 large garlic cloves (finely chopped)
1 piece fresh ginger (peeled and finely chopped)
3 teaspoons curry powder
2 teaspoons Garam Masala
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
380 grams chickpeas (drained)
390 grams chopped tomatoes
4 potatoes (medium sized, 300g, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes)
500 milliliters vegetable stock
1/2 teaspoon salt
100 grams fresh spinach
Directions
  1. Heat the ghee/oil in a large pan. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook until softened.
  2. Add all the spices and cook for a further 1 minute.
  3. Add the chopped tomatoes, chickpeas, potatoes, salt and about half of the vegetable stock. Stir well and simmer gently for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked adding more stock as needed.
  4. Add the spinach and cook for a further couple of minutes or until the spinach has wilted.

It literally took about 30 minutes to make. easy.

I got all this information from the Yummly App, it linked me to a different website called http://www.mygoldenpair.com check out that place for even more recipes.

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– it looked a bit bland till you put the spinach in, but trust me this was worth it –
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– got to get the food shot at the end –
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– this dish has really made me want to cook more –

 

 

B234 – WE SELL LIBERATION!

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Todays post is a bit late and thats just because i’m attacking the two months worth of washing I have in my wash bin, i’m quickly running out of clothes and today is solely dedicated to getting the washing done and hunting down some clean socks. Welcome to adult life josh…

Yesterday day time was spent on the sofa getting through emails and doing all that accounts stuff, but in the evening Amy and me met up for some chicken wings and a drink, it was just nice to get out and have a bit of fun. even though after my first beer I was nearly falling asleep, Sorry about that Amy.

While I was waiting for Amy I decided to spend sometime taking photos of shop windows and the people inside them, so much effort goes into how a shop looks from the outside which basically means that each shop is kind of perfect for taking photos. the windows are kind of pieces of art that are made to draw people into them, if that makes any sense. people are employed to make a shop window stand out, thats literally a job and those people who design shop windows probably also do set design for video or fashion shoots, so they all have the same guidelines. make something individual and to that company / artist style. well that was my kind of thinking to taking photos through the windows last night and I kind of think it worked.

I really wanted to focus on the typography or lighting of each shop and use those two things to take the photo and explain the photo I took. each photo that has typography explains whats happening or what they stand for.

The tattoo photo shows a man laying topless on a bench, the neon lighting above the window show that he is getting a tattoo, otherwise it might just look like he was drunk or something.

the “we sell liberation” basically speaks for its self. theres a guy wearing make up and someone with crazy hair. what more is there to say about that photo.

the reason behind the third photo is all todo with “eat beautiful” and also the lighting, which is pretty cool and the mirrors in the background create this funky look.

I’m back in the swing of things now and cant wait for the next 131 days of the photography project, lets grab some fireworks add some crazy ideas and take some cool photos!!!!!!!

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” we sell LIBERATION “
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” tattoo”
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” eat beautiful “

 

 

B222 – DO YOU THINK I DID THE RIGHT THING?

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I need some help, basically today I gave this homeless man £20 so he could get two weeks in a hostel for the Homeless put together by the Crisis charity, Ive had a look online and trying to work out if I’ve been hustled or not? my biggest mistake was not getting his name or taking his picture, he seemed genuine but I just want to find out if he actually spent the money on a bed, im thinking was two weeks is a good amount of time to get your stuff in order, I just hope he didn’t spend it on crack or alcohol. does anyone know how I can find out if he did get shelter? Its nice to be nice right?

In other news, today amy and myself set out on a mission which involved going to this fabrics store and also picking up some paint. I’m talking about mission up cycle our dinning table, I can that is was a complete success and I will share a photo of the table once its completely finished but I have to say we are both really happy with how its turned out. at first it was a bit touch and go with the varnish but once we realised it got darker as it dried the problem was solved.  I think we have both got a bit of a bug for this kind of thing now and definitly think we should up cycle some more stuff, I, also now the proud owner of a proper staple gun and really want to see what this thing can do.

so its been a bit of a busy afternoon and its now pretty late, tomorrow I have an early start and need to be up and with my a game for a short film I’m working on tomorrow. its definitely time to get some sleep.

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– Amy having a look through the millions of fabric, im suprised that we still arent in there looking at different patterns –

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– the staple gun, me and her and going to get really close over the next few months –

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– Brick lane has it all, ive missed this place –
 

 

B221 – THIS IS BIG NEWS!

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Firstly I just want to say sorry for this post being late, Ive done what everyone needs todo every now and again, have a proper lay in. Not a Jet lag weird sleep thing but a proper lay in, may be it had something todo with the hangover im experiencing at the moment or maybe its just my body enjoying a beautiful Saturday like it deserves.

The big news of today is that Ive done something that Ive wanted todo for a long time but haven’t had the focus to and that gets some prints made of one of my favourite photos. The reason its taken so long is because I didn’t just want to get the prints made straightway, the thing is I know nothing about paper or printing but understand that printing is a massive part of photography so I needed to go and speak with someone to understand more about the paper, geeky I know but who wouldn’t want to spend their lunch hour looking at different types of paper. In the end I went for the Hahnemuhle Pearl paper, which is 285gram per sheet of pure paper magic.

Im not expecting to sell loads of prints and its mainly to keep my parents of moaning at me that I need to get some made so they can put one up in their Living room. its quite exciting though and will be good to know if people actually like my photos I suppose. Ive got three already packaged up and ready to go and another two that might take a bit more time to get out the door, but I promise if you do order one I will get it to you as quick as possible and if you live in London I will personally deliver it to you! and I will also ship anywhere world wide but postage in the UK is free. World wide I’m going to have charge you extra, sorry thats just the way it is.

Heres the link to the print!

https://joshfspear.com/about/prints/

right, any way its now time for a Nandos and kick this hangover.

Get buying people!

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– so happy with how my prints have turned out –
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– me examining paper –
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– this was a good paper, heavy which is better –

 

B219 – “THE GUY CAUGHT UP IN THE MIDDLE OF ALL THIS”

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its here, that time I never thought would come. I put it to the back of my head and tried not to think about it, im talking about the time of year when it gets dark at 4 in the afternoon. today I spent the whole day in an office, I know I said I would try and get out of my lunch hour and some cool kind of project but I wasn’t expecting 6pm to come around so quick. and then I left work and it was  pitch dark and I hadnt taken a single photo. lucky I had a quick thought and decided to run with it so here I am.

Positive thoughts josh Positive thoughts.

This time of year is pretty good for taking photos late at night, for one reason everyone looks like a character from some 1940’s black and white film. its a mixuter between the winter clothing like a long jacket, hat or dark clothing together with the lighting or really lack of light which creates these cool silhouettes as people walk or cycle along the road. I think its because all of a sudden a random office communter on their way home to sit on the sofa and eat a packed of chocolate digestives now looks like some under cover detective casing out a suspect or they look like the suspect and move around in the dark to go unnoticed. taking all this in mind when walking home my goal was to try and get a photo of what I thought the detective, the suspect and then “the guy caught up in the middle of all this” would look like.

I have no idea if this makes sense to anyone readings this but it makes sense in my head and thats kind of all that matters right. I know it helps if I get my point across but as long as you like my photos thats all that really matters.

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– the detective –
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– the suspect –
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– the guy caught up in all this –

B217 – SHES TAKEN OVER

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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!

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– Nothing beats walking around Paris in November –
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– it would be a complete trip to paris without a shot of the eiffel tower –
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– amy its golden hour! –
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– i like this guys style, he knew what he wanted –

 

 

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 –

 

B213 – THE FREEMASONS!

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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.

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– the home of the freemasons –
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– this photo, out of focus but I really like the colour in this shot, give its a 35mm feel –
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– the type of place Im in at the moment, surrounded by proper wildness –

 

B211 – HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

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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.

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– these things were just creepy –
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– why are all these props bald? –
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– just one of the million front gardens that were decorated. kids round here must love this time of year –