Grab an Umbrella

GRD, f3.5, 1/200, ISO 400, JPG b&w

Off Road

GRD, f3.2, 1/200, ISO 400, JPG b&w

Lang Co

GRD, f8.0, 1/800, ISO 400, JPG b&w

Nothing quite compares with the Ricoh GRD black and white JPGs, haven't used it in a long time but figured it needed another outing.

Boats Under the Bridge

GRD I, f2.4, 1/5, ISO 1600, JPG b&w

Around DongBa Market

Markets are a great place to take photos, no matter where in the world you are.

I've become a bit lazy and too busy so I didn't go out taking photos as often as I wanted.

This is why I decided to take my GRD I with me and head for a walk to DongBa market and take some photos around there.

The market itself is very colorful so having the GRD I set to b&w mode means you don't really see the colors but instead can focus more on the expressions and shapes around the market.

No other camera produces images like the GRD I and while it technically doesn't even come close to my phone these days, it always impresses with it's unique rendering an character.

Caligraphy

GRD, f2.4, 1/50, ISO 1600, JPG b&w

After a long absence, I dusted off my GRD I again and took it with me for an outing in the evening. It's still a great camera although the GR is a lot more advanced. Still, there is something familiar about the GRD I and I like it's simplicity.

Sunday in B&W

After a rainy start to the day the sun came out and it ended up being quite nice. I went for a walk around Bankside, Borough and the Tate Modern before going to check out a exhibition at the Bargehouse.

There were a lot of people out and about enjoying the sunshine and a drink by the Thames.

The Bargehouse is always worth a visit even if the exhibition itself is not that great but the exhibition this time was actually very good.

It was a student exhibition from a music and drama university in Wales so quite interesting and especially the miniatures they've done were really cool.

Enough of This?

GRD, f5.0, 1/400, ISO 400, JPG b&w

The title of this post is a bit of what I'm thinking right now regarding this blog. I can see some people still follow it but it's not as many as it used to be and I'm not sure if it's still the right thing for me to do.
It takes a lot of work to keep it updated and while I like to take photos every day, I'm just not sure blogging is the right platform for my photos overall.

The main reason I hesitate about stopping this blog is that I met some fantastic people all around the world through it.

I will have a think about what to do next as I am not sure about the interest, from both myself and of people reading this blog, is in continuing it.

Before I stop posting completely though there will be some posts I want to finish first. My Photokina 2014 report, which is still outstanding, and the full Ricoh GR review which I never finished and might come too late for most people by now.
Depending on time and what I decide the Photokina report will definitely be posted but the Ricoh GR review might have to stay unfinished although I want to post at least the RAW files for comparison.

Feel free to post your thoughts in the comments.

Over There

GRD, f5.6, 1/500, ISO 400, JPG b&w

Being back in London and at work, I realized that I do miss travelling. It's just different to experience  and explore a new place, meet new people and just not know what you will end up doing for the rest of the day and certainly not tomorrow.
Being in an office can be difficult even if you have a nice job, nothing comes close to travelling and the feeling of being free to do what you want when you want it.

At least the weather was nice when I went for a quick walk around lunchtime to take some photos and get some air.

Clouds

GRD, f9.0, 1/1600, ISO 400, JPG b&w

I liked the clouds this morning when getting to London Bridge so the Shard made for a nice enough backdrop although I usually ignore it.

Wall of Graffiti

GRD, f5.6, 1/400, ISO 400, JPG

Unusual for me but a color photo from the GRD I, taken in the most densely graffiti covered area in London around Shoreditch and Brick Lane. While the GRD I is best for black and white photography, the color images are also quite unique and different.

Passing By

GRD, f7.1, 1/800, ISO 400, JPG b&w

Overall not a great day for photography, took only a handful of photos and I ended up deleting most of them. Just didn't see enough of interest today.

Street Reflection

GRD, f5.6, 1/500, ISO 400, JPG b&w

I like reflections, always great for photography especially when the sun is out causing even more reflections.All the glass buildings reflect the sun and surrounding buildings off of each other so it's very nice.

Sign

GRD, f9.0, 1/1250, ISO 400, JPG b&w

Another nice and sunny day so great for a walk during my lunch. It's nice to be next to Brick Lane and Shoreditch as it alolows to escape the City and go to a different area in just a few minutes.

Viewpoints

GRD I, f2.4, 1/50, ISO 400, JPG b&w

Met some friends for a walk and a mini pub crawl along the Southbank today. I decided to take the GRD I with me although it was not to do much photography. We decided to get some culture in and went for a stroll along the Tate Modern.
The building is certainly way more impressive than the art, which for most part shows that you can get away with presenting anything as art as long as you convince someone hat it is or here is a deeper meaning to it.

Brookwood Walk

A nice day and a very good reason to get out of London. There was a meetup walk in Brookwod so I took the GRD I with the 21mm lens along for the walk.

This was not really a photography meetup so the walk was quite brisk, too brisk at times but I still had time to take some photos along the way and enjoy the scenery.

The walk started at Brookwood cemetery, which as I found out had it's own train line from London Waterloo.

It lead across fields, through some woodlands and farms back to Brookwood.

The group was quite large and it was a nice walk but the pace was a bit too fast to really enjoy the scenery properly.

Are You in the Market?

GRD, f7.1, 1/640, ISO 1600, JPG b&w

It's been a cold and grey day so I didn't really do much photography but did take some photos on my way to the shops.

Cat Friend

GRD I, f5.0, 1/320, ISO 1600, JPG b&w

It's been a grey and cloudy day today. I went around Waterloo and Covent Garden to take photos, I decided to take the GRD with 40mm adapter along. It's always nice to use it and the b&w photos are great.

Homeless Chat

GRD, f2.8, 1/160, ISO 400, JOG b&w

The day didn't quite go as planned, the original plan had a lot more photography in it. Still, I did get some other stuff done and bought some new shoes which will be beneficial when walking around taking photos in the future.

I see a lot of homeless having set up camp in London and they surely don't travel light. I do wonder though how they got to this point and what they actually expect by camping in central London. If they don't want to spend their time sleeping on the streets they would need to do more than sleeping or sitting on their ass all day.
I find it quite annoying and think the city would do well to get rid of them or at least get them out of the city and put them somewhere in one of the many abandoned buildings on the outskirts, at least they would have a roof over their heads.
I don't have anything against homeless people but I don't like lazy bums sitting on their ass all day or sleeping in the centre with half their household around them and blocking the way. Plus it's easy enough to get some form of benefits so nobody should really need to sleep on the street.

Skybound

GRD I, f2.4, 1/80, ISO 400, JPG b&w

Another grey day without much photography done. It's not easy to keep being inspired every day when you are always in the same area but it's important to keep the blog up.