Innocent

Posted By Mark on Jul 21, 2013

You'd never suspect it was him just from looking. You'd probably not even believe it could be him if someone simply told you. But it is him. He's not the innocent old man you think he is. He's got that appearance of frailty that comes upon everyone in their later years but there's strength just beneath the surface too. He quite likely is someone's grandad but he's not just anyone's grandad. He moves among the crowds leaving a ripple of chaos wherever he treads and you see the perplexed looks on the faces of those he passes. No, they think, it can't be… Can it? It is. It's the Phantom Hat Gluer. Google+: View post on...

Farlington Marshes – Handheld HDR

Posted By Mark on Jul 14, 2013

I don't normally shoot HDR (although I do often create pseudo-HDR from a single exposure for monochrome work) but the urge to try it washed over me on a walk around Farlington Marshes yesterday evening as the sun was sliding down the western sky and the gentle off-shore breeze was doing its darnedest to blow away as much of the oppressive heat of the day as it could. Handheld, three exposures, Photomatix Pro, and only five minutes of standing around under the gaze of an ever-more-bored wife while I hunted through the menu options on the camera, turning dials and pressing buttons, trying to remember how to actually put the thing into HDR mode. Google+: View post on...

Chichester Canal

Posted By Mark on Jul 13, 2013

I loathe this weather. I'm not a hot weather person. I'm really, really looking forward to my trip to Norway in six weeks' time. It can't be this hot in Norway in September. It had better not be. It's not good weather for street photography when it's like this. The light is very bright and the shadows are very dark and metering on the camera is an ever-changing, bloody nightmare. But worse than that is the skimpy clothing people wear (and I can't blame them, of course, because it's hot as I might have mentioned). It's bad enough in less sweltering times swinging your camera someone's way and risking that glance or stare with that withering look of revulsion behind the eyes (if only everyone could understand it's art (ish; your opinion may differ), not perversion – the lament of the street photographer) but when you've got to fight the voice in your head that keeps saying "that's a fairly good shot with a decent story behind it… but that skirt is very short and tempers are even shorter and someone will probably punch you if you take it" then it's a thousand times worse. So castles and other buildings and canals and beaches and events with plenty of shade and playing with the new EF 24-105L IS USM lens are the order of the day for the moment. Stupid weather. Google+: View post on...

The Usual Suspects

Posted By Mark on Jul 12, 2013

The Force

Posted By Mark on Jul 7, 2013

You know it was a good beer festival when you look back at some of the photos taken and realise most people – yourself included, at the time – were far more interested in drinking delicious ales and ciders, chatting with friends, and getting burnt to a crisp under a relentless sun rather than pay attention to the local Jedi group who had turned up just to demonstrate through hovering sticks how the power of battle stations was insignificant next to the power of the Force. Google+: View post on...

Public Displays Of Affection

Posted By Mark on Jun 22, 2013

It's interesting to see the different ways in which people show affection or react to public displays of affection while on the street. Here we have a couple who are madly in lust with one another and who couldn't care less who sees them. And why should they? Good for them! And there to the right is James who feels a little differently about things. James looks absolutely mortified. But then, James is being followed closely by a small, black, wheeled robot proclaiming its love for James in a shrill, electronic voice. James has probably been tinkering with the robot's emotion circuits and is now paying the price. Oh James, you silly person! #StreetPhotography   +StreetPhotography curated by +Maria Roco  and +Tatiana Parmeeva  Google+: View post on...