Greetings from London!

I'm at the (huge) (new) Apple Store on Regent Street in London right now, using their free wireless internet connection as I wait my turn for the Genius Bar to diagnose if my reed switch is, indeed, going out.

I've been extremely disappointed with my pictures here. London is incredible, but it's not very photogenic. Not like Paris, where you just point your camera in any direction and end up with something compelling. No, London needs to be experienced, it can't easily be depicted.

Here's a shot I took a few nights ago in Covent Garden. I think it's a kinda neat capture, considering it's handheld.

Thoughts? Comments?

Great shopping at Covent Garden!! Hope you are having a good time!

Good shot. Nice depiction of motion with the one girl in relative focus and the rest a nice blur.

Tuna

Hey
I know what you are saying about London, it is a wonderful city but does not have any specific things to photograph.
Try shooting the people and their interaction with the city.

First off I like the photo - as already said the way two of the riders are sharp and the third blurred excellent. I can see the little girl on the horse punching the head of the chap in the gap shirt - terrific and the other little girl is running away from the violence. I wonder how much of a black eye he'll have in the morning.

Now are we talking about the same London? London UK I could spend years photographing the city. The secret is to avoid the tourist traps and go down the back streets and try some of the parks - loads to shoot.

Dear kelly,

Glad to hear that you made it there in one piece :D ! The shot is a great night/action photo. I think the interest lies in the lighting and the motion. Very nice!

readingr is right. If you stay away from the touristy spots, and go to some of the parks (Greenwich, etc.) you will get some great shots. You can also get some great urban shots. The rail stations, the Tower bridge, the Thames, the older, abandoned sections of London (the East End). Though, I hear that they are rebuilding most of the abandoned warehouses in the East End, and converting them into townhouses. Try and get there while they are still rundown and abandoned. The West End actually has some nice architecture, very swank. Just a few ideas for you to think about.

Dzerzhinski

Hyde Park, Trafalgar Square, St Pauls Cathedral, The Palace, Tower of London, Parliament House, Picadilly Circus, just to name a few, and I haven't even been there.

Have fun on your trip.

Hi Kelly!

Glad to hear you made it fine to London... So you're in a bit of a dry spell, huh? Well, street photo is not that easy. I guess the key of success is your own mood. There are opportunities everywhere, it all depends if your current state of mind will allow you to see them!

I have been in Paris for two weeks and went to shoot only twice. Too many things to do, and I was pissed half of the time! Not too great to go out and relax. I have also been to Brugges in Belgium and Sarajevo in Bosnia. I haven't yet developped the film, but I do not expect anything great out of it. I just couldn't find the inspiration.

So here I am (back in Cleveland), blaming myself for loosing all these opportunities to play with my camera!

So be zen ... breathe in and breathe out ... and just relax. It will all come to you!

Wishing you all the photographic inspiration for this New Year 2005!

Steph.

BTW: very cool pic that you have here. Congrats!

Kelly, nice pic as others have already stated. Surprised to hear you hard luck and finding subjects in London. Every pic, snapshot or top photo, has made me love the city. Built for compelling b&w photography. Have fun, and just point and shoot.

The motion here is right to left and the subjects are framed to the left slightly. This gives them no place to move towards reducing the feeling of movement. Crop the right side....nothing of interest there. The really bright area in the upper left center is distracting from the subjects.