Posts By eyesdown
Street art
Wondering around somewhere different led to me taking pictures of something different, to me any way.
So basking in some unusually hot and sunny weather for the UK I noticed some street art or murals, whichever you prefer. Now this is not the kind of subject that I normally notice but the three examples below caught my eye.
I particularly like the first one, perhaps because it depicts a Polaroid image. A medium used to document some of my childhood – there that gives my age away 🙂
All credit to the artists who did the above, unfortunately I can only see a credit to Joes Murals on the telephone box.
I think I will have to keep my eyes open for more of this in the future.
Whatever you medium have fun.
York In July
When visiting York in July you might expect it to be busy and hope for good weather. During our visit this week it was relatively quiet, probably due to the fact the temperature was in the high 20’s bordering on 30°C.
York Minster was as cool as a cucumber although you noticed the heat walking out from it’s peaceful interior into the blazing sun. I’m not complaining I’m just trying to get across the unusually warm conditions for the UK. My weather app reckons its +13 above the average daily high for this time of year.
Anyway enough about the weather here are some street scenes from said visit:
Couldn’t tell in the shadow if this guy was going in or out.
In or out
We were definitely inside looking out for the next shot.
Shambles Market from the shade
The butchers on the corner.
Shambles Butcher
The Famous Bettys Tea Rooms. There’s generally a good queue for this place.
Bettys Tea Room
I called this Side Street simply because it was off to the side (and I didn’t get the name).
Side Street
I liked the light and shadow in this image.
Shadow and light
On this visit to York we used the park and ride. If you go to York consider the Park and Ride options available, we found it handy and good value.
Black and white In Mablethorpe
Some black and white images from Mablethorpe. Where? Mablethorpe, a small seaside town in Lincolnshire on the East coast of England.
The beach, while pleasant looks like any other beach. So instead of some sand and sea pictures I used the relative quietness of it being early in the season (and not very good weather wise) for some black and white images.
Railings and shadows
I quite liked the patterns caused by the shadow of the fencing reflecting in the water. Fortunately we missed the rain.
Squares and rectangles
Practising my geometric shape photography. Not quite sure it worked.
Another reflective shot.
A shot down the Quebec Road parallel to the Promenade. The beach is behind the railings on the right.
Lines
The repeating lines had a certain appeal.
And finally a shot down the High Street.
The clouds give some idea of the conditions. Showery, some blue sky, a lot of grey and windy.
Or in other words a typical summer day 🙂
Villefranche-Sur-Mer France
Our April Western Mediterranean cruise took us to this lovely little town, just around the corner from Nice. Villefranche is what as known in the cruising world as a tender port. Even the relatively small cruise ships will have to use tenders to get people ashore.
One of the tenders can be seen under the sign in the middle of the image.
On this occasion we decided not to do the usual ship excursions to Nice or Monte Carlo and instead took a nice easy stroll along the seafront, a road that google maps labels as the M225. Don't let the name fool you if your British, you might think motorway which I can assure you, it is not.
Up a ladder
I just happened to glance to my left and thought this would different to the usual tourist shots you see.
Along the front
The picture above shows the sea front. Carrying on round to the right you come to a tree lined area just behind the beach. They thoughtfully put some benches under the trees providing some shade where you can just sit down relax and take it all in.
There is plenty more to this charming coastal town that we didn't really explore to it's full potential. What we did see would suggest checking out where you might want to go if you have impaired mobility. There appeared to be steep streets and steps in certain directions. Visiting in April we found it relatively quiet with temperatures around 18℃ depending on the sea breeze. June to September is regarded as peak season for visitors with daytime temperatures around 25℃.
We go on a cruise to have a get away and see different places. I have to remember that taking some photos is a bonus as it is not a photography holiday.
Sometimes it's just nice to look around and enjoy these places without pressuring yourself to take a photo every 10 seconds.
Spain added
Sagrada Familia with a crane.
I've added another album here featuring some images from Spain, namely Valencia and Barcelona with a couple from Palma. These were taken on a recent cruise around the Western Mediterranean. The nice thing about cruising is visiting different ports or indeed different countries in one trip. A drawback is if you like somewhere you may only get a few hours to explore.
I try to take pictures that are more unusual views of a subject, although in the case of the Sagrada Familia that can be a bit difficult. if you ever go to Barcelona and want to visit the Sagrada I would advise pre booking some timed tickets. It gets very busy both inside and out. The day we visited it was overcast. If your up for a real challenge try getting a image of it without a crane 🙂
Valencia has some interesting architecture, unfortunately we couldn't spend more time there. We plan to return in the future.
Welcome to eyesdown photography
Welcome. This is my second welcome post as my fledging website suffered a catastrophic failure before I even managed to populate it! Probably user error – every days a school day.
This blog will highlight some of my travels around the UK and beyond with occasional musings on photography and life in general.
Everything is a compromise
If you believe the internet all camera manufacturers have some compromises in their ranges somewhere.
For example, Fujifilm has AF issues (apparently), Nikon continue to neglect their DX lens range even after moving to Z mount. Canon appear to be reluctant to allow third party lenses. Some don’t like Sony colours (other brands are available).
Panasonic have just discontinued some of their lenses reigniting the ‘M43 is dead’ mantra, speaking of which OM System don’t appear to enamour support with their lack of R and D. Neither Panasonic or OM System want to release what their respective owners (and others) have been crying out for – a Pen F or GX8/9 rangefinder style replacement.
To be fair it wouldn’t be the first time I bought into a ‘dead’ system. I absolutely loved the Nikon 1 series. I loved my V1 and the small lenses, but especially the fact they used a big battery similar to their DSLRs. You could honestly go out with one battery all day and not worry about carrying a spare.
The V1 would shoot at 60fps and easily fit in your pocket with the small standard zoom or one of the primes attached. You could even get one of the larger zooms in a trouser or jacket pocket without listing to one side and leave enough room for snacks.
My Nikon 1 V1 pictured above with the 10mm Nikon 1 prime lens.
I truly hope Panasonic don’t do ‘a Nikon’ and let the system slowly die a death keeping everyone waiting for a number of years before officially announcing the system is discontinued. Nikon made a lot of users unhappy doing that.
I remember not expanding my Nikon 1 gear collection because of the uncertainty.
Unfortunately we have a bit of deja vu with Panasonic now. Do these companies who appear to neglect a system or product really expect customers to continue buying said products?
Whilst I am currently using a system based on Panasonic m43 cameras and lenses I have to admit that any further ‘investment’ in the system seems hard to justify.
The issue now is where do I go from here? The nearest replacement for my current gear would probably get me looking at Fujifilm. But their products lack a value proposition for me, not helped by some apparent price increases on the horizon
So my compromises might be: bite the bullet and go Fujifilm or look at Canon, Sony or Nikon full frame that I don’t really need, in terms of bulk, expense or quality for what I currently do.
For the time being I will enjoy what I have and hopefully kick the can down the road before considering my next round of compromises.