Feline supervision

My stroll through London on Thursday took me past Southwark Cathedral and it would have been rude of me not to pop and say hello to Hodge, the Cathedral cat. Named after Samuel Johnson’s cat, Hodge has now been in residence for over two years and he’s thoroughly settled in.

Last time we met he was lounging around in the nave, but today Hodge was supervising in the Cathedral shop, although quite how anyone was supposed to use the computer was a mystery as he was sitting on the keyboard!

After a quick stroll around the Cathedral I discovered Hodge sitting outside the vestry door, hoping to be let in. We had a brief chat (you can see him meowing in this photo!) and I knocked on the door to see if anyone was home. Sadly there was no reply, but the steward at the Cathedral entrance assured me it wouldn’t be long before he was let in!

Photos taken 12 January 2023

In search of Saul Leiter

Street photography used to be something I did regularly, capturing the life and gestures of those around me in the city. Of course the streets became much quieter during the Covid pandemic so I focused on other genres of photography. I wanted to get back onto the streets with my camera so when I saw a workshop devoted to Saul' Leiter’s style of street photography I jumped at the chance.

Rather than going in cold I decided to use my day off yesterday to get some practice in and see if I could begin to see the world like Saul Leiter. His photos often use colour and texture so I spent the day in London looking for these things. He often shot through things, such as windows, to create depth so I tried my hand at this too, using the architecture of Borough Market to frame this image.

Leiter’s photos don’t always include people so I didn’t shy away from photographing other subjects when they caught my eye.

More windows on London life…

After a walk along the river I ended up at Tate Modern, which I find is always a rich hunting ground for people watching. This very dapper chap caught my eye and, even though he’s engrossed in his phone, I couldn’t resist taking a quick photo.

I love the way the light catches this chap as he’s engrossed in one of the art installations.

Reflected colour

Just as I was about to leave the gallery the heavens opened and this scene was visible above one of the stairwells. Such scenes appear in several of Leiter’s photos and he once said he found a photo of a rainy window more interesting than a portrait of a famous person.

Eventually the rain eased off and I braved the gusty winds across the Millennium Bridge.

As I walked near St Paul’s Cathedral I tried capturing the colour and movement around me with slower shutter speeds.

Movement and reflections around these eye catching bollards.

A passing bus. I’m probably stretching things a little too far here, but you don’t know unless you try!

Using intentional camera movement on one of London’s most iconic designs.

The stroll along Cheapside brought me more opportunities to play with colour and reflections.

And finally, this is one of my favourites from today. I saw the George Clooney advert and wondered if it might create an interesting element in a photo, then this gentleman came along and looked up quizzically at the perfect moment!

It’s debatable whether I’ve captured any of Saul Leiter’s style here, but I had a fun day playing and it helped me get my nerve back for taking photos around strangers on the street. No doubt I’ll learn a lot more at Monday’s workshop and I’ll be sure to share the results here.

Photos taken 12th January 2023

The rainy streets of Bishop's Stortford

It was workshop night at the camera club again last night and one of the practical activities on offer was a short photowalk around the town. A small group of us braved the rain (which quickly changed from a light drizzle to a downpour!) to go and forage for photos.

Most of my photos were pretty underwhelming, but I found a couple which appealed to me. I’m attending a workshop next week focused around the style of street photographer Saul Leiter, so I decided to ty and get into the zone ahead of time, using things I found around me to shoot through, creating a sense of depth. The bicycle shot makes me think of a scene from a gritty old movie - although I’m not sure whether to expect a hero or a villain to appear from the shadows!

Photos taken 10 January 2023.

Photos as slow as nature

Following on from the digital photos from my Christmas Eve visit to Kingley Vale I can now share the pinhole images I took that day. Pinhole photography is a slow process at the best of times, but in the low dark spaces beneath the ancient yew trees some of my photos seemed to take almost as long as the trees did to grow!

I had a feeling the creeping forms of these trees might be a great subject for the otherworldly look of pinhole photography and I think my gut instinct was right. I’d be interested to see the same trees with some low, raking winter sun, but the overcast conditions were almost certainly easier to manage from a photographic point of view.

Click on any image to see it enlarged.

The ground was pretty bare beneath the trees but this fern caught my eye as an ideal subject for some close up photography.

My favourite tree is definitely this one, whose branches stretch endlessly outwards.Even my super-wide angle pinhole camera couldn’t encompass its full reach!

Photos taken 24 December 2022

Meet the neighbours

Over the summer we looked after Sookie and Cwtch, the two cats who live next door to us, for a few days and I finally made a break through in making friends with Sookie. Previously she’d been very wary, but she soon warmed to me when she realised I was her only source of food for the week! Over the last few days we’ve been feeding them again and naturally I took a few photos!

Initially Sookie was undecided as to whether she still liked me, but once she remembered what good cheek rubs I give she was my best friend again! That didn’t stop her hiding beneath the bed on occasions, but at least we weren’t back to square one…

In complete contrast, Cwtch was always happy to come and say hello and she patiently posed for me after she’d had some grub.

Photos taken 1 January 2023

Coventry Cathedral

When we visited Coventry Cathedral at the end of September I just didn’t feel inspired. The Cathedral is wonderful but maybe it was the dreary, grey weather, but something just didn’t click for me. I downloaded my photos, took a brief look through them, and left them there. Something inspired me to return to them this week and I was surprised to find a handful which felt worthy of a second look.

The leaden skies over the old Cathedral ruins didn’t offer any inspiration at all, so the photos I took there aren’t great, but it gives me an excuse to go back again on a better day. I’m sure on a sunnier day the stained glass would really sing and these two are just a hint at what might have been.

Photos taken 30 September 2022

Walking through history

The Kingley Vale nature reserve is a place I’ve wanted to revisit for many years and Christmas Eve finally brought me an opportunity - about a quarter of a century since my last walk here. The yew trees here are simply astonishing - many of them over 500 years old and contorted in the most amazing shapes.

My intention was to take pinhole photos of these wonderful trees, but I snapped some digital images along the way too. I’m not very good at multitasking with two different cameras simultaneously as the process of pinhole photography is so immersive. Although I had a digital camera in my backpack I ended up taking some snaps on my iPhone as it was easier to wrangle, alongside my tripod, and I’m pleasantly surprised how well these came out in such gloomy conditions. I’ll share the pinhole images here in a day or two.

Click on any image to see it enlarged.

A behind the scenes image as I photographed a beautiful fern

An iPhone panorama - the only way I could get close to photographing the whole of this astonishing yew tree! Click to see it larger.

Photos taken 24 December 2022

It pays to be persistent

Back in June I attempted to visit St David’s Church at Llangview, not far from Usk. SAdly my satnav led me astray, trying to take me there via a field from a slip road from the A449. I’m sure this might be possible in the right type of vehicle, but my Mini isn’t cut out for off-roading! In October I had another try, and at the third attempt I finally succeeded in finding this adorable church in the middle of a field!

It was definitely worth being persistent. The autumnal sun was throwing beautiful shadows across the box pews inside, while the flowers left to decorate the church added a lovely touch.

Click on any of the images to see them enlarged.

Today St David’s is cared for by the Friends of the Friendless Churches, a small charity who help rescue endangered churches. I’ve enjoyed visiting several of their churches and have become a member to support them. Hopefully I’ll be able to visit some of their buildings nearer to home soon.

Sunlight catching the pulpit and even illuminating some of the cobwebs.

This narrow doorway caught my eye. We’ve been encouraged to have more ventilation indoors since Covid, but I think perhaps the gaps either side of the door may be taking this to extremes!

The view towards the altar between the box pews.

Photos taken 18 October 2022

The angels of Blythburgh

When we popped into the church at Walberswick the lady who was decorating the church with holly asked if we’d been to Blythburgh church, just a few miles up the road. She recommended we add it to our plans on account of the beautiful angels in the ceiling so we followed her advice.

Sure enough, the angels were wonderful and we were very pleased to have made the small detour here!

Photos taken 22 December 2022