Helicopter

GF1, f8.0, 1/4000, ISO 100, RAW, 290mm (Jupiter-11 f4.0 145mm L)

It's been a nice and sunny day but a few clouds moved past in the sky, I took this out of my window with the GF1 and the Jupiter-11. I wanted it more dramatic and used Snapseed to process it.

Foggy

GXR A16, f7.1, 1/330, ISO 200, JPG, 85mm

Flat Tire

GXR A12-M, f2.0, 1/133, ISO 200, RAW, 53mm (Voigtlander Nokton f1.2 35mm)

By the Pond

GXR A12, f2.8, 1/111, ISO 200, RAW, 28mm

Just Lying Around

Piggyback

GRD, f2.4, 1/100, ISO 400, JPG sepia

Don't know why but I really like this picture. Maybe it's the reflection of the kids face in the window or maybe I just looked too long at the grainy pictures in the two photo books I received today.

The books I got were The Americans by Robert Frank and Dream Street by W. Eugene Smith. Both are excellent and I can only recommend them.
Not that my picture is as good as the ones in the book but both books show that just because a picture is blurry, grainy, out of focus or all of these, it can still work great and be an excellent picture. Look at some of the most highly regarded street and journalistic photographers and you see that some of their best pictures are far from being technically perfect, or at least what most people today consider perfect.

Lonely

GRD, f2.4, 1/50, ISO 400, JPG sepia

Snow in NYC

GXR, f5, 1/540, ISO 1600, RAW, 50mm

Abwood VIII

GRD, f6.3, 1/640, ISO 400, JPG sepia

After taking lots of pictures in Cuba, I did not take that many here. Somehow I don't know what to take pictures of, it feels like I've taken pictures of everything already.

Nobody Cares Anymore

GRD III, f3.5, 1/400, ISO 64, RAW

This was the very first cinema I ever went to so it is very sad to see that it's been abandoned and left to rot for the last 10 years.
Like a lot of things in Romania, people stopped carying about them and now they are abandoned and fall apart. With a bit of care this old cinema could get back to the glory it deserves but people are too preoccupied with themselves and how to make easy money in order to care.

I have also updated my gallery if you want to see more pictures from Romania click here.

Hastings Outing

The LPMG had organized a trip to Hastings today. The weather was great although the light was pretty harsh for taking pictures. This was not a big problem for me because I like my high contrast images and even chose to overexpose some pictures.
The best place in Hatings to take pictures was not the (disapointing) caste remains but the shipyard with old ships, rusty tractors and other interesting and old things.
I have decided to post a series today but have some more pictures in my Dropbox gallery here.

Environmental Portrait

I chose to post a series for two reasons today. First I have been at an 'Environmental Portrait' workshop and took these pictures for the assignment there although I did not submitt any of these for critique afterwards but chose a different one. The second reason is because it is a series from the London Bridge festival.
All pictures have been taken with the Panasonic LC1 and have only been converted to b&w or sepia.

Wings of a Butterfly

GRD, f4.5, 1/320, ISO 400, JPG sepia

Took this picture on my way home today. I like walking through parks on my way home, it is always relaxing and you get sometimes unexpected pictures. For this kind of picture a camera like the CX1 or GX200 would be better but the butterfly way still long enough for me to get close with the GRD.

Plain Lazy

LC1, f5.6, 1/320, ISO 100, JPG, 61mm

Took a short trip to the seaside and went to Whitstable today. It is a very strange place, a bit messy as if the people could not decide if they like or don't like the sea. Most houses look onto the main road instead of the sea. The harbour is also quite small and most of it is taken over by a big cement factory. It makes for a nice day out but I am not sure if I would really come back here.
This picture was not my favorite for the day but in the end I quite like the funny old chap with his hat in front of the boarded up beach hut.

Going to Nam

GRD, f2.4, 1/60, ISO 400, JPG b&w

Did not have much time for taking pictures today. I took a few while walking around Canary Wharf but did not have many I liked. This is the one I like most but it did not come out as intended. I wanted to get some motion blur but it does not work very well thinking about it.

Helicopter Flying

CX1, f9.4, 1/1600, ISO 400, JPG, 200mm

The weather was great today, one of the best days this year. I spent is mostly in the sun relaxing and taking some pictures in between. This is the one I like most, it was taken using the continuous mode of the CX1.

As a reminder the 2nd Ricohforum meetup will be on next Saturday the 6th at 10pm. We will have two Ricoh representatives joining us this time and have prepared a walk to take pictures and more.

The Fence

CX1, f6.5, 1/203, ISO 80, JPG b&w, 58mm

I like walking along the Thames in North Greenwich on my way home. The industrial areas are really cool and I like taking pictures there.
This picture was taken in b&w and I then applied the Auto WB in ACR, this made it look sepia. I went on and sharpened it, added vignetting, noise and a lot of contrast to it. This is how I saw the scene, with the only difference being I saw it in b&w. Unfortunatelly there are no user settings for the b&w mode on the CX1 to get more contrast in-camera, this is something I really miss having.

Heroes Remembered

GRD, f4, 1/320, ISO 400, JPG sepia

Took this picture while walking through Postman's Park today. I always wanted to take a picture here since I have seen the movie Closer and have taken one before, with the GX, but never of the tiles. While walking past I saw this guy looking at the inscriptions and I thought that it would make a good picture in sepia, I am indeed happy with how it came out.

Tree Shadow

GRD, f6.3, 1/500, ISO 100, JPG sepia, 21mm

Today's picture is inspired by some of Wouter's shadow pictures. I took it in Regent's Park with the 21mm lens and modified the blacks and contrast to get the deep shadows.

We had the 2nd unofficial Ricoh meetup today. It is always great to meet people with similar interests, everyone bought their Ricoh cameras for the very same reasons. The main reason is the size and feel/handling of the camera. Having the chance to talk about cameras but also the pictures taken with it was very nice.
We had a chat and some coffee before heading off to do what we do best with the Ricoh cameras, take pictures. The weather was great so we decided to walk to Regent's Park and take some pictures along the way and in the park. After our walk we went for coffee to view the pictures we took and also each nominate a 'Picture of the Day' and we had a small competition to determine the winning picture. Can't wait for the next official Ricoh meet-up.

Have a Rest

GRD, f5.6, 1/1250, ISO 64, JPG b&w

This is one of my 'lunchtime pictures', I liked how he seemed pretty much fast asleep and enjoying the sun in front of St. Paul's. This is a favorite spot for people to have a nap since the sun almost always shines in this spot all through the year when the weather is nice.
Took it with the GRD I and added the sepia toning and vignetting in post processing.