Playing in photoshop

Miss Dark meets Mr. Night

This was a fashion shoot at a cemetery here in London. I joined a London Photo and Graphics group who meet on the weekend for different shoots. I have gone twice now and it is a great place to meet new people who share my love of photography! This shoot was about being creative and trying to make it feel as if  Miss “Loves hanging in the cemetery” meets Mr “Lost among the graveyards.” Imagine an encounter between them, him trying to escape, her trying to keep him there forever!

It was a great day working with amazing models who came well prepared in amazing outfits. However, our day was cut short when the police showed up and made us leave the cemetery. Every day is a new adventure in London! Here are a few of my shots, enjoy! I was so excited about today and couldn’t wait to post a few of these images; I will post more after I photoshop a few. Oh yeah, I had two of the models pose with the police car after we were asked to leave!

I could live in a castle

On Friday, I was off to see the spectacular white chalk cliffs of Dover overlooking the English Channel – a proud English symbol for those arriving and departing its shores. After the Battle of Hastings (1066) William the Conqueror strengthened this key fortification. The secret underground tunnels here date back to the middle ages and played an important role in defending England during World War 2.

Yeah, my first castle visit and it was amazing! There were so many nooks and crannies inside the castle, it was a blast exploring. I think this place would be the ultimate hide and seek building. If I was a young child who grew up in this era, I could understand how people could be hidden away. Lastly, you could see France across the English Channel, well I wasn’t sure if I actually saw it….the day was rainy and overcast. Can you see it in my photos?

Also, the war tunnels were unbelievable. The tunnels were shown just as they were in WW II with truly unique sound effects. It was as if we were in the war hearing sirens and voices filling the air. It gave me a new insight about the war and about what it might have been like to say goodbye to a loved one. This was a time of the unknown when someone could leave their house in the morning to find it bombed upon return home. The tunnels had chalk walls and pieces of flint which were 300 million years old. There were hand written messages on the walls filled with lovers names or just markings in an area to say they had been there. The boys who were stationed here were young and not well educated. This was expressed on the walls with  not so legible writing to pristine grammar and writing. Sorry, we weren’t allowed to take photos in the tunnels, but I hope you enjoy the castle.

Another tick off the list

Finally, I booked tickets to visit the London Eye and it turned out to be a rainy day. Oh well, I guess at least its another check off the tourist list of things to do here in London. The London Eye was built for the new millennium and was only supposed to be up for a year. It is 135 meters (443 ft) and is the largest Ferris wheel in Europe.  Plus, it is pretty expensive for a 30 minute ride around a Ferris wheel, but with a pretty amazing view. It’s a shame it wasn’t a better day for photographs.

Bury Farm

Okay, for this class assignment we all picked end of the tube lines and we had to go out and find a story. My end of the tube stop was Edgware.  The first time going out to explore my area I didn’t see anything other than little local shops and a mall. Then I met up with a group from the Rotary Club the following week and a man drove me to this farm. As soon as I saw the breathing taking view, I almost instantly jumped out of the car! I didn’t even know exactly were I was or how I would find my way back to the tube.  I quickly thanked the man who drove me to this location and then found the owner of the farm. She agreed that I could come back during the middle of the week to start my story. I visited the farm three times in total and these are my photos from Bury Farm.  Btw, the farm was about a mile away from the tube stop and this meant I could take a bus only part of the way and the rest had to be walked.  Of course the part that needed to be walked was up hill and wasn’t fun carrying all my gear. It really made me miss my car but it also gave me a new appreciation for life in London.

Wild animals and this was no Zoo!

Welcome to Woburn Abbey, a 3000 acre deer park and home to The Dukes of Bedford. First stop was touring the house of the Duch and Duchess, it only recently opened to the public in the 50’s. The estate  was astonishing  where wild herds of animals roamed throughout the land. Plus, they had a safari located on part of their estate. I was under the assumption that we would be going in jeeps to see the wild animals. But no, we stayed on our big tour bus which made it a little difficult to see all the animals (depending on which side you were on and where the animals were).  Here are a few photos from my visit to the Safari and let’s just say it was like watching the Discovery Channel!

Love London Weekend

The weekend of Sept. 17-20 was called “Love London” aka tourist marathon with Syracuse University. We started off seeing Billy Elliot on Thursday night. What a way to start off my time in  London by seeing a British broadway show! Billy was extraordinary and this is a must see if you are ever in the area!

The rest of the weekend consisted of: Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Notting Hill/Portabella Market, Wimbledon Dog Races, Buckingham Palace and then 50’s style bowling. Now can see you why I have been neglecting to post? I have  been trying to recover from this amazingly busy weekend! All the days seem to blur together, however, I realized London is filled with rich history and there is so much to see!  Plus, I got a letter back from the Queen allowing me to see the changing of the keys ceremony in December (something I had requested)! Awesome!

Tower of London, its fit for a King

I was thinking about switching careers but standing still all day isn’t my thing. I am going to do a photo story about the British Calvary for publication back in the States.

Westminster Abbey, amazing! Sorry, no photography was allowed inside the building, bummer!

Oceanside in Great Britain

Last weekend, I visited The Royal Pavilion in Brighton (the photo above is a combination of about 30 images). It was an amazing day! I had no idea what this area was like or what we would see on the trip. This palace was one of the most extraordinary buildings I have ever seen! It belonged to King George IV and was built around the 1700’s (finished 1820s). It was unique inside due to the oriental decor! The banquet room took my  breath away: the amount of details was extraordinary and the center chandelier held by a dragon was amazing! The chandelier weighs 1 ton ! Bright was located 2 hours away from London, near the North Atlantic Ocean. The promenade along the beach has shops, cafes, art shops and tons of excellent seafood. I would love to re-visit this area and explore more of the ocean aspect. Also, there were tons of shops and places to eat throughout the town.

Oh yeah, I had a lunch time serenade from these gentlemen. The story is that they are local street performers who come together to play on a side street where there is outside seating for local restaurants.

No lions or tigers but Markets..oh my!

This past Sunday, I went on another group trip with the school to explore four local markets (another day of being a marathon tourist). Finally, we were in our neighborhood and it was great to learn more about my area. First stop was the Columbia Road’s flower market where all the flowers were so inexpensive! I couldn’t believe how amazing the flowers were: hydrangeas were 2 for £5 and orchards were only £5, plus there were fig and olive trees and tons more. Wow, with great deals like this it might be worth me taking the slow boat home!  Also, I found an old-fashioned candy shop, there were old styles of candy and little brown tags hung off with the prices. It is only opened on Saturday and Sunday. I asked the owner if it would be possible to bring a model back sometime during the week to have a fashion shoot and he said yes! I need to search for a model and an outfit for her!  Yeah!!

Brick Lane

Next stop, Brick Lane. This was  a unique place that had some arts and crafts with a World Food Market. Any type of  food in the world you could imagine, you could find here;you really need to come hungry! Plus, the outside road was hip and trendy with a younger crowd. I took one photo of two young adults for my photo class to represent the word intimacy (we had five words we had to take photos for this week: intimacy, progress, reality, enough and hope).

Spitalfields Market

Down the road, we found the third martket, Spitalfields. Hello Markets! This was the place to shop, lots of local artists and vendors. The only problem with being a marathon tourist is that we only had 40 minutes to shop! There were two rooms filled with vendors selling clothes, jewelry, artwork, crafts and lots of other trinkets. I bought a handmade leather wallet, handmade sterling silver earrings and an old school camera to add to my collection (not bad given the time limit).

Petticoat Market

The last stop was Petticoat Market, which is right around the corner from my flat. This is a market for dirt cheap clothes and souvenirs. Lastly, on our way to all these markets there were interesting graffiti/artwork. Take a look at a few of the images seen along the journey.

Oh yeah, after going to all the markets there was still time to see a fire garden and fireworks!

Thames River Festival

London Bridge

Allison and I were headed to the Borough Market to find the most incredible grilled cheese sandwich ever (according to my brother Stephen and Samantha Brown the Travel Channel lady) and happened to stumble upon this festival. We don’t live too far away from the London Bridge and took our first walk across to the other side. We decided the sandwich could wait and we explored the area. We found a dance floor where people were swing dancing. It was both exciting and inspiring to see these people dance! I guess there is a group of people who do this every Wednesday night at a local bar/club. I will have to check that place out sometime. I saw lots of great people who would be perfect for my 50’s inspired portraits. I will just have to track them down on Wednesdays!