The North Face

GXR A12-M, f2.8, 1/164, ISO 200, RAW, 42mm (Ricoh GR f2.8 28mm L)

Snow in April and the winter never ends, after one day of sunshine where I could sit outside for lunch, it got cold and started snowing again today. The last months have seen the worst weather since I have been living in the UK and even now there is no real end of the winter in sight.

At least it makes for some interesting pictures at times but it could do with getting warmer and the sun shining for more than a day.

If you want to see a picture taken at the same time from a slightly warmer place check out Tom's blog here.

Snow in Greenwich

While we had some snow in the past days, it only started coming down properly today. Since it is a Sunday people were all out in the park and every slope was full of people with sledges and every flat area had people building snowmen.

I like it when it snows and could not resist walking around taking some pictures, the first one is taken and processed with the Nexus 4 and the rest are all with the GXR A12-M and the GR lens. I decided on the GR lens for two reasons, it is slightly wider than the Nokton I have been using most recently but most important, the lens element is quite far back so not exposed and will not get wet or covered in snow that easy.

Royal Greenwich

The snow came overnight and after all the fuss at airports and the weather warnings around the country it was disappointing to see only 2-3 cm of snow which had mostly melted away by the afternoon. The British always like to make a big fuss about any weather changes and Heathrow showed again why it rightly is the world's worst airport and run by incompetent fools. Good thing I did not need to travel in this 'severe' weather ;).

Despite the snow, Greenwich held it's celebrations for becoming a Royal borough. I had hoped for more things and events but there was only a parade, some music and fireworks. It was ok but not too spectacular.

I went out and took my GXR A12-M and the Voigtlander Nokton f1.2 35mm lens with me to capture some scenes. I initially planned to have only pictures in square format but some did not work well in square so it ended up being a mix.

Purple Snow

GRD III, f4.5, 1/32, ISO 200, RAW

Just some fun with flash and custom WB in the snow, I like the result.

First Snow in London

GRD III, f4.0, 1/42, ISO 64, JPG

Train

GXR, f5, 1/143, ISO 200, JPG, 50mm

I have been taking a few pictures from this spot but the reason I took this today is the folling post from almost one year ago: No Trains.

While I was walking over the railway bridge I heard the train coming so I decided to take a picture which could act as a follow up picture to my previous one.

Snow Rose

LC1, f2.8, 1/800, ISO 100, RAW, 90mm

Tomorrow, I will have the chance to meet Wouter and Björn, two excellent photographers from Holand.
I will also get a GXR sample with the 50mm A12 module to try for a few days.
For today's picture I have used the still excellent Panasonic LC1 and wanted to show the snow which did not feature enough in yesterday's picture.

Snowdial

GRD, f2.4, 1/39, ISO 400, JPG b&w

We had the first snowfall in London today. After posting the 6th part of my GRD III review I decided to go out and take some pictures and chose to take the GRD I. The reason was easy, I wanted some b&w pictures with nice contrast and did not want to edit RAW files.

No Trains

GX200, f4.1, 1/200, ISO 64, RAW, 28mm

Took the picture this morning while on my way to work. If you've ever wondered how snow gets cleared from railtracks in Britain, this is a old well kept secret...you just leave the snow on the tracks untill it melts by itself ;). A least this gave me the opportunity to take some pictures on my journey to work.
Unfortunately the snow melted so now we have slush or ice on the roads.

Snowed Under

GX200, f4.4, 1/250, ISO 64, RAW, 72mm

The great thing about living in one of the most unorganized and inefficient countries in the world is that you might get unexpected a day off to play in the snow. This happened to most Londoners today. It began snowing quite heavily yesterday evening and since no one ever bothers here to clean up the snow it was clear that busses and trains will have problems in the morning. It came as expected so my thanks to the "idiot" who decided that puttng the powerlines for trains on the ground is a good idea. He is in a big part responsible for giving everyone a day off :). The other part goes to whoever should be clearing the roads so that cars and busses can drive.
When it snows it's the perfect chance for adults to behave like children and go out playing in the snow, building snowmen, having snowball fights and sliding down a hill on whatever they can find. These were the scenes in and around Blackheath and Greenwich park today and probably most of London.
Took this picture on the heath today. The title for the picture would be "Tree of Love" but "Snowed Under" fits better to the theme for today. Took all pictures with the GX200 and while it has some problems with fringing and the focus gets confused by too much white snow it performed great and had no problems with the wet and cold conditions.