Streets of London

 

I blame Harry Styles.

In 1 B.C (Before Covid), my teenage daughter came to me telling me that the Mr Styles was the best singer ever, as well as the best looking and her life would not be complete unless she could go and see him live, and by the way he was playing the NEC Birmingham, would I get tickets to go see him.

I'm a bit of a pushover when either of my daughters request something, so reluctantly I agreed, so spent time fighting with the female teenage population of Europe in a website death-match to gain 2 tickets (one for her and a friend). 

Then the inevitable happened and Covid hit, meaning the concert was postponed for first 3 months, then 6, and then indefinitely. Secretly, I was relieved. Not that I have any issue with Mr Styles music, it's perfectly pleasant, it was more the realisation that somehow I would have had to get my daughter to the NEC, and then pick her up at about 11 O'clock. Now the NEC is about an hour drive which is fine, it's what I would have done  in the intervening 5 hours stuck in the cultural desert of NEC car park that concerned me (slogan - Nothing to do, but at extortionate prices). Still, now with that bullet dodged, I could deal with the other issues such as a global pandemic.

Of course, it would not be that easy. This year, my daughter, now 2 years older, announced that the dates had been rearranged and could she go?

Two problems. Firstly, the NEC date had been nixed, leaving just London or Manchester. Secondly, the new dates were smack in the middle of her A-level dates. This latter issue made it clearly undoable, so we explained how her future came first, how there would be other opportunities, etc, which she all accepted stoicly, accepting the wisdom her parents. 

Like bugger, she did....   

After many tears, we compromised. Manchester was out because she had an exam the next day, but  Wembley was possible because the next exam was not for 4 days. So again I sat in mortal combat to re-arrange the tickets. 

This left the small problem of getting her too and more importantly safely back from the big smoke. 

Train was the obvious answer, since the entire UK rail network concentrated in London. However, while getting there was not an issue, the problem was that the last train North departed at about 10:45. It became abundantly clear that with the concert finishing about 10:30 and a 20-min tube journey, there was no way she was going to get back in time. Missing the train would mean spending 8 hours until the trains started again. There was nothing for it, I would have to drive them down and back on the day; a round trip of 5 hours at stupid O'Clock.

Sometime ago I had vowed never to drive into London, but with no choice, I had to decide a) how to do it and b) what I was going to do for the 5 hours wait as my daughter and friend disappeared off into Wembley. 

Realizing that driving, anywhere near Wembley, would be a big mistake, I came up with a cunning plan of parking at one of the outlying tube stations and let them make their own way there. This I realized gave me an opportunity. I could take my camera and head off into big town and take some cityscape shots. Win-win...

Of course my cunning plan was not as cunning as I thought, finding the car park full, it seemed pretty well everyone North of Watford had the same idea, so I had to drop them off and find some other place to park up. In doing so, it brought back to me why I moved away  from London so many years ago (apart from the insane house prices, which are even more insane now). The living constantly on top of each other means either you have to be very chilled, or constantly on the verge of territorial violence. 

Nothing says this more than car parking. Every space and road is guarded by impossible to decipher parking restrictions saying basically the if you don't live here, bugger off. Still I managed to locate a spot 15-minute walk away, but I spent the day constantly worried that I had missed a sign, or would get back to find my car set on fire by irate residents. 

London Calling

The Shard in all its glory...

Still, I was here, and I had up to 5 hours to myself to take photos. The question is what of? In most cities that is not a great issue, but London is such a treasure trove of sites that days not hours are required to cover it. 

Some time aback I received  Photographing London Vol 1 by George Johnson as a gift, but never had the opportunity to try it out (Note the entire of Scotland is covered in 1 volume of the series, but London requires more...). There was no way I could take the book with me, it was just too heavy, but it gave me the idea of walking the Thames, starting somewhere downstream and ending up at parliament. I would have preferred to go to Canary Wharf, but it felt too far out, so I decided to start at Tower Bridge. So carrying far too many camera lenses I set off on the tube to London Bridge station

Shard loads

Trying a bit of ICM

The Shard captures converging verticles fantastically

The multiverse of madness

Reflections

I always think that Londoner's take their tube system for granted. No other UK city has such a complete transport system, which teleports around the city. It is a modern marvel. Saying that as we got closer to the centre I could not help thinking that after 2 years of lockdown, going back to travelling this way each day must have been a nightmare and no wonder so many wanted to stay working from home. 

I also must admit here I made a mistake.  It has been so long since I have regularly worn a mask, that I did not carry one. But then again, nor did virtually anyone on the tube. It has if the last 2 years sacrifices has been erased from our collective memory. Whether we will come to regret this is to be seen. 

Not many mask wearers

On Arrival, the weather was not the best. Despite being in the middle of a drought and heat wave, that day was cold, slightly damp and the sky was just bland grey. It was clear that this would be a day for B&W photography

Arriving at London Bridge, the 1st challenge was finding the river. You would have thought that this would have been easy, but London hides one of its major landmarks quite effectively. 

One thing that was easy to find was the Shard. It was the closest I had been to it, and it was impressive and a great photographic target. I spent a good 20 minutes playing with some shots and I got a few interesting things out of it. In hindsight I should of concentrated on it, but that was notv the plan

London rising

Framed

Wedding Party

The ever expanding skyline

There are a lot of these bronzes explaining about Chimps.

The old and new Southwark Cathedrals

 

Finally finding the river, I headed off to Tower Bridge. In London, unlike Paris or Berlin, access to the Thames betrays its working roots, meaning access is often interrupted by old wharves and buildings, (now pubs and wine bars), which means that following its course is harder than it should be. 

Maybe it was the long journey, worries about collecting my daughter or just the weather, but I was just not feeling very creative. In hindsight, I perhaps should have just concentrated on one small area (bit like trying everything in a Chinese all-you-can-eat buffet, rather than sticking to the stick chicken). It was 6 O'clock, so I stopped in 5 guys to get a meal in the hope to get me going (slogan - like McDonalds, just slower, more expensive and less tasty), but it only made me feel more sluggish.

I should really just of sat down and took pictures of tourists enjoying London, however I just still feel very self-conscious of being out in a street with my camera. I find there are two types of people in London. Tourists, who are just there to have a good time, and therefore are quite happy to be snapped and locals who see any supposed intrusion on their privacy as something to be defended verbally, or expect something from it. 

 

I met the latter in an underpass by the national theatre. A skate park had been set up and I started taking images of various youths doing tricks. Then one of them told me I should not take pictures without permission. I considered briefly calling him over to educate him on the law on street privacy, and ask him anyway how would I get the permission of 40 strangers, and it was not that sort of photography anyway, but then I realised I would be arguing with a 20+ adult who still spent his life playing on a kid's toy, so I decided to move on. However, that is London. It's Disney World overlayiong Mordor.

My plan was to go into the Tate modern, but it was closed. Of course, no sign actually said that, I was only told when I tried to enter, by a security guard with poor English. A reminder that London is built on cheap immigration and would fall to a quivering heap without fresh blood. Instead, I tried taking some shots on the eponymous Millennium bridge. Problem is, that location has been done to death, so rather than re-create, I moved on (passing a photographer trying to capture the parliament under Westminster bridge shot. I felt like calling out to them "I know what you're doing!")  

 

The eye has it

The covid memorial...

 

I ended up opposite Parliament and I thought after dragging my tripod 5 miles, I should perhaps use it, so I tried some long exposure shots, but it was neither dark enough or enough cloud. 

It was 9 by then, and I had had enough, so I stacked up with the other drones and head back to the car, which fortunately was still there and had not been identified as some foreign particle in the body London. 

All that was left was to pick up my daughter and friend. This did not happen until 12, so I had a fine 2 hours of reading, snoozing and generally worrying about where the hell they were. 

As I waited on Stanmore tube station, the vast herd of tired Harry Styles fans disgorged from the tube and headed up the platform. Of course, my camera was in the car, but it would have made a great shot....

All that was left was a hour journey up the M1 at one in the morning. The good news however was apparently Harry Styles was great... 

And say for you that the sun don't shine?

She's no time for talking
She just keeps right on walking
Carrying her home
In two carrier bags

-- Ralph McTell

Maybe it was 2 years of lockdown, but I feel I am now more anti-social photographer than I was. This is difficult in a city because you will need to deal with people. A whole lot of them. I feel very naked in places like this, and I think a city is one place where I would feel more comfortable in a group.

 Probably the big mistake in London is attempt too much. London is unique in Europe in that it is really about 10 towns put together, each with their own character. If I did it again, I would stake out a small section, and concentrate on that. 

Although I lived just North of London for 3 years, it has always felt alien to me. I have friends who would not live anywhere else, but the whole compression of personnel space, the undercurrent of dog-eat-dog aggression feels just wrong. We are a species evolved to walk the savannah, not all live in the same tree

I don't think I will ever truly be comfortable taking pictures in a city. You either need great self-confidence or little empathy, but it would be nice to try again, although I think not involving a 4-hour drive. 

However I learned again what sort of photography interests me (Spoiler - not the common type), so we never know, if my daughter wants to see Harry Styles 2 tour, I may just volunteer my services again.  

 

 

 

 

 

4 lessons for being a wedding photographer

 
 

 

If I was going to make a list of the world's most stressful jobs, it would go something  like this

1. Surgeon
2. Secondary School Teacher
3. Wedding photographer

Number 2 and 3 may surprise some people, but they both had the same elements in that they require a high level of responsibility over events that they have little control. For example, most parents expect teachers to get little Tarquin to Oxford independently of their ability or desire to work. Wedding photographers have a similar combination of factors in that they are made responsible in creating an image perfect record of a couple's most important day, at an event that may have little control. If they make a mistake, there are no do-overs, no repeats, they are just left with the online trashing and hate of all the parties involved. No landscape photographer ever had a tree publicly scorn them because they did not capture them on their day of full bloom.

I am always been in awe of wedding photographers and the level of responsibility that they take on, especially since relatively you don't really make much money out of it. It used to be a wedding photographer could eke out a reasonable living, but with digital, covid and the fact everyone has a smartphone it must make it a tough gig. I mean, at least a surgeon makes a bit of cash for their skills, while a wedding photographer is looked down on generally as an unwanted expense.

Even saying that, I have always wanted to have a go at wedding photography. I guess it is because it is in my mind the pinnacle of the event genre, and I wanted to see if I could rise to the challenge. So when my niece announced she was getting married, I hoped that I might be asked to take the photos.

However, no call came in, and I must admit this hurt a bit (it was almost as painful as when the church bought a photo from someone else for the Christmas card image). I mean wasn't I the person renowned for hanging around family do's recording them for posterity? Wasn't  I that person who hounded her through her teenage phase trying to get an image of her despite her best attempts not to be caught? 

There was however no malice in the snub. The wedding had been organized on what could be called the anarchic principle, or the so-called field of dreams concept as in if you set a date something would happen. Basically, it was assumed that people would bring cameras and something good would come out of it.

The second issue was I was not actually invited to the wedding ceremony. Again I hasten to add this was not because I had fallen out with the family or had committed some unforgivable family faux pax. It was more that they had decided on a civil partnership in Oxford registry office and decided that there was only room, for parents and direct siblings, so we would be only attending the later reception (It should be noted at this point that my niece, due to an accident of her schooling, could have chosen to of got married at Peterborough Cathedral. This, with no insult intended to Oxford registry office, would have been a far better location photographically speaking). However, due to a paperwork mistake the partnership was upgraded to a full wedding, and suddenly we were on the list again (although we were not informed of this until a week before the event), so my again my realisation of being wedding photographer for the day was on again.

Generally at weddings I am that annoying bloke which professional photographers at best barely tolerate, but some secretly loathe. The guy with the gear who is always sneaking in to get that shot setup by the pro, and has to be put up with because they are on the guest list. This time however I would have more flexibility on taking shots and this raised a big issue. I am terrible taking photos of people. 

In these events, you need to be the sort of person who can connect and link with your subjects. I struggle to do this. Generally, I hate asking people to do things that I would hate doing myself, and being prodded by a photographer is one thing I would hate. What is more annoying is that my brother-in-law would be there (he has to, he is the father of the bride). Despite owning a 10-year-old Sony A-series camera and the inability to tell the Exposure triangle from his elbow, he almost always gets better shots than me at these types of events. Basically he is the kind of person that dropped into an event with 100 strangers, at the end he would be on first name terms with all of them and best friends with at least half, while I would struggle to remember the Christian name of the host. I always thought we would make the dream team. He could set up the shot, and I would take it. As it was, I would have and do my best.
This left the big question to be answered.... Which lenses to take. 

Since we were also taking enough party food to feed the Ukrainian front and a top layer of wedding cake that had to be protected at all costs, space in the car was limited. A zoom however seemed essential, but I also wanted to take some primes for portrait shots. 

I have 3 primes that I use, 23mm and 35mm f2.0 and a 85mm f1.8. However the 23mm and 35mm are not that fast and as the light dimmed in the evening  I felt I would need something a bit faster. So justifying to myself that new lenses were needed, I went looking at what was out there. Unfortunately the Fuji fast primes, as good as they are, are a bit pricey. Fortunately, Sigma had decided to enter the Fuji lens space and brought out 3 fast primes, a 16mm, a 30mm and a 56mm f1.8. These were tempting because, while not perhaps quite as sharp as their Fuji equivalents, they were half the price. However, I felt all 3 would be a bit much, so I decided to get two. But which ones? 

In the end I went with the 30mm and 56mm, hoping my 14mm Fuji prime would be good enough for wide shots and taking my 23mm 2.0 to fill in the gap. This left the zoom. In truth, apart from the 400mm, I have never liked Fuji zooms. For example, there is no good constant aperture 28-70mm in the Fuji line up which is pretty well the standard kit in an event shooter bag, but I put in my 18-135 as my zoom of choice. Adding to my bag was a flash. I don't generally like flashes, but with the event barn dance scheduled in the evening I thought it may come in useful.

However, this was not my only new kit. I had decided many months before that as a present to the bride and groom I would create a book of images taken on the night of guests who could write their own messages. To do this I had purchased an Instax Mini Evo camera (Review here )which allowed photos and printing. My plan was to go to each couple at reception, get an image, give them a card to write a missive and present it at the end. The plan seemed so good in my head, however things did not turn out as hoped. Firstly the couple had their own Instax camera which was passed around, and secondly the marquee which held the food was so cramped it was impossible to move. So instead I just took images when I could, got my daughter to stick them in the album and presented that. The couple seemed appreciative, but it was not the kind of thing I had planned.

The wedding

The bus we missed...

 

 

So how did it go. The plan was to arrive at the in-law's house at 8:45 where once we had dropped off our dog at some friends of the couple, we and the wedding party would be taken on a vintage bus, the 30 minutes to Oxford. We arrived at 8:40, only  to see the bus being waved off, with us not on it. Fortunately, some friends of the grooms parents took pity on us, and one took the dog off us while the other rang the bus and asked it to stop while they gave us a lift to catch up.

Once on the bus, I positioned myself on the top deck to try and take photos. Not sure if anyone else has ever tried taking photos on top of 1960's double-decker going along country roads, but let us say the ICM effect was more CM than I. Still, we got there and after a few shots outside next to the bus, we went into the registry office itself. This is where I learnt lesson 1.

1. Always have your camera on

Weddings are a set of orchestrated moments, with random events in between. You need to capture both. While the organised bits were fine, sometimes I would turn off my camera to save battery. This was why I missed the 1st married kiss. Of course, there was no reason to turn the camera off. I had enough spare batteries to power a tesla, it is just something I always do. It was often at those moments were essential events happened. The 1st kiss, a look, a hug. This is why the pros have the big battery packs. That 5 second period as your camera comes out of standby is an eternity in these situations.

Just missed that kiss....

After we congregated outside the registry office which is in a busy part of Oxford, where we tried to take the obligatory group shot. I thought I had done pretty well in that I made sure that all the camera settings were correct, and took a number of shots to ensure that at least one was correct. It was only when I got back I found that every single image has someone looking away or blinking. Fortunately there was enough material to construct one good image from all of them, but here is lesson 2

2. Exist outside the moment

The before and after after some tweaking

What makes a great astronaut, pilot, etc is that when all things are going wrong they can raise themselves above the chaos and do what is needed. Wedding photographers must have the same ability. They must be able to rise above the chaos of the location, and people, and concentrate on the fundamentals in getting the image. I thought I had done well to make sure the camera was set up, but in doing so, I had forgotten to organise my subjects, given clear instructions, making sure everyone was looking in the same way, etc. In these situations, a partner to do these sort of things is useful to take some of the pressure off.

3. Plan your photos

The groom and father. One I did get...

 

I thought however I had done a pretty good job in getting some images, but it was only when I got back that I realised I had made a fatal mistake. While I had plenty of photos of the bride and groom, there were many people I did not get images of with the happy couple. Such as

• The Grooms Parents
• The Brides Parents
• The Brides grandparents
• My Family
• Me

In hindsight, the problem was is that I was used to weddings where I was on the periphery and someone else  was orchestrating it. I did not realise that someone needed to fill that hole, and that person should of been me. Now I realised I should of taken control and organised everyone, but of course that was not my job, but it just highlights the essential role a proffesional wedding photographer fills. It is not just the photos, it is the organisation of the day to get all the required images. This is why coordination and communication with the photographer and wedding party is essential in these situations

 

Finally we made it back to the reception and again unfortunately I reverted to my shell. One of irritating things for me was that there was a photographer at the event who took some great images of the reception and he was a 10 years old lad who borrowed his dad's camera and just went around asking people for images. This was the task I had set out to do, but I failed at thsi point. To be fair he did have a few advantages. Firstly when a 10 year asks to take a picture its cute, when a 50+ year old bloke does it, it can be a bit creepy. Secondly it was interesting that the lower portrait angle acheived was a attractive, but I am not sure my knees are up to it, and finally he did not suffer (I hope) the effect of too much alchol. 

So Lesson 4, Grasshopper - Embrace your 10 years old child

To be honest I am still pretty mad about myself for not getting all the images and then not doing more at the reception and have been beating myself up all week. However on the plus points, there are some images I really like and I have been having fun with some of the photoediting, one talent I can rely on.

As for the lenses, the zoom got the most use, followed by the 14mm. To be honest the 56mm and 85mm did not really get a look and in, and I need to work out what the 56mm can be used for, falling into unfamiliar territory for me.

The conclusion

In conclusion, I am still in awe of wedding photographers (even more so) and i'm glad my living does not depend on it, because I would not hire me. 

 

Saying that I learned a lot, not least that a professional wedding photographer still has an essential role to play in this world of smart phones, if you want to capture those irreplacable moments.

Would I do it if called again? Hopefully I could put some of my lessons into play, but I'm not sure I could take the responsibility...