Spy vs. Spy on the dark side

 

 

So we've gone all stealthy today. This is my 50th London Street Photography Meetup and a welcome revisit to the imposing, brutalist architecture of the Barbican Estate. This time we were playing spy games. We are all disguised in black like sneaky photography ninjas, wearing hats and dark glasses, though a distinct lack of false beards, sadly.

 

 

 

 

We were set a series of challenges in various classified zones. Lots of classic looking up from below, looking down to those below, but coupled with surveillance, espionage, lurking, stalking and shooting from the shadows. Our themes today included looking for those leading lines framing little silhouetted people, negative space, and a Polly favourite - the odd random limb.

 

 

 

 

One of the joys of the Barbican is the multitude of textures. Around each corner there's rough and smooth concrete, long lines of bricks, tiles and the lighting can really emphasise those details. I'm particularly drawn to reflections off the shiny floor tiles, and the art deco style ceiling lights throwing intriguing pale pools to the lower levels.

The illumination beneath the handrails flanking the ramp leading up from the Barbican Centre makes me think of a runway or spaceship gantry, and I have to linger there for a whole hoping someone would walk up. Typically, there's no one for ages and then a little huddle of people make their way up the slope, and you sigh hopefully one would linger behind and make your image. I was fortunate that after being thwarted for ages, a passersby was happy to saunter down and up the slope. It transpired that he's an accomplished photographer as he showed me a couple of wonderful lit leading lines images taken at an airport. Obviously this wasn't very covert of me but I guess I'd been made by then!

For the second week in a row I grabbed a selfie. Good grief, what is happening to me? As I arrived at Barbican tube station I noticed the 'kids' were posing in front of the shiny panels alongside the platform with their smartphones. So figuring I was pretty anonymous in my ninja photography garb I thrust my Leica in the general direction of the big X and clicked!

 

 

We were seeking a film noir look for all our photographs today. So in post, I've emphasised the low key murky blackness especially for those shots inside the complex, where you're engulfed in all that towering concrete. I was hoping to evoke a spooky, mysterious feel, upping up the vignette and letting the inkiness creep into all the corners. Welcome to the dark side!

 

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The top of the world

More mountaineering this afternoon, but thankfully by car. We are going to 'climb' to the peak of Mont Ventoux, part of the Tour de France and much favoured by ambitious cyclists.

 

En route we're challenged to capture some sort of cycling images summing up the majority of the traffic we zoom past, though it's a bit of effort for our hired dad-car. I opt for making use of the strong shadows.

 

It really is beautiful when we reach the summit. Cyclists who've puffed their way up this beast of a climb are photographed proudly by the post marking the tipper most peak. It seems wrong to pose when we've been driven to the spot so I wait for a gap in the queue to clutch the post in triumph, to take my photo!

Curiously it seems higher up the top of the mountain, than when we were flying around in the big blue.

 

Above us are gliders seemingly flying too close to the sun. Haven't they heard of Icarus? This enormous peak is also a popular spot for skiing so the blue and red poles are there for the slalom, when of course the snow returns. The white rubble gives the impression of the cool slopes and from vantage position you can see further cyclists toiling up the winding road and the exuberant ones making the downward journey.

 

 

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Discovering our inner Hitchcock

It's a quiet social tonight and I'm in a small group in a fairly desolate area around South Bank. We've all been given the challenge of Hitchcock and everyone seems to be looking for birds. I'm pretty convinced they'll be asleep so I'm more interested in rear windows. We find some but they're not impactful enough so we scratch our head a decide what we really need is a guess appearance of Hitchcock himself at the beginning of his movies. We find a spot where we can get a crisp shadow and to finish the look, a handy rear window. I encourage my team mate to ditch his flat cap and rucksack, and stuff his jacket with my hat and scarf. It has to be monochrome to complete the mood. I'm pretty pleased with our resultant shot and scored us a big fat ten! Whooo!

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Day 358 : I can see the sea

I'm not quite as close to the sea as I was last year, there's a small road and a bird deserve in the way, but I can see it from my room. I had every intention today of walking onto the beach parallel to Titchwell Manor and exploring the coast further. But even though it’s a clear, beautiful but crisp day, the paths down to the beach have been severely disarrayed by the recent storms. Notwithstanding last night. This lovely manor house was properly shook about in the wee small hours, the noise was quite alarming, I initially thought the couple in the room above me might be engaging in vigorous activity but actually I believe it was all the work of the wind.

Every time I return to these parts I marvel at the skies. Being a city girl I’m used to looking up and seeing tall buildings and generally not much sky. Here the skies seem to go on for ever. Today I've opted to train my camera towards the sea throughout the day.

In the morning, the Titchwell Manor itself and the chimneys casts a shadow on the field opposite. The shadows get longer and then the scene is just reduced to stripes. As the sun sets the black and white birds nestling in the field earlier in day are flying up I to the air. As the light fades maybe fly higher, form v-shapes in formation fly overhead further inland. I assume to return again the following day.

 

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Day 163 : shadowy leaves

Another late night spot on the wee small hours short walk home from the bus stop. I rather like the shadows on the pavement of the abundant leaves cast by the street lamps. Swapped the unnatural orange glow from the tungsten for good old B&W though.

 

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Day 98 : a bike and a lamp

A lucky accident, the right object, favourable lighting conditions and being in the right place at the right time. The bike was chained to a post and as a car approached, a sharp shadow was formed. All I had to do was wait for another car.

 

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