Postcards from London

In News & Stuff, Postcards From..., Travel by David23 Comments

Some things are over far too quickly. 3 nights in London has gone by like a shot. But the days were packed with long walks and sights I haven’t seen since I was 15 years old, juxtaposed by things that weren’t even here 30 years ago. The city remains terminally cool – in fact it just seems to get cooler. We spent evening on the Strand and in Covent Gardens, going from martini bar to mexican tapas bars and back again. In fact in both Dublin and London we’ve eaten some of the best mexican food of our lives. And in between that there were prosecco brunches with new friends and a day with family, and a long slow bottle of cabernet franc called Cabaret Frank.

Photographically it was interesting, but more because I left my so-called real camera back in the AirBnB flat (we’re doing two months in Europe, almost entirely on AirBnB) in favour of my iPhone. The images, as you can see, had more to do with glimpses of London under gathering cloud than about red buses, phone booths, or Union Jacks, but cool as those things are they don’t fascinate me that way the architecture did. Not remotely the kind of images I expected to come home with, but delightful to me all the same, as was the discovery that the three smaller people in the image below all roughly mirror each other in their gesture, iPhones to their ears. Some things you wish you could take credit for, but I didn’t see it at the time.

Next stop Paris. I’ve left the landscapes behind and am trading in my muck boots and tripod for suede wing tips and my Leica, and endless wandering now through Paris for three nights, then Italy for a month. Thank you in advance for your sympathy.

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Comments

  1. Ah man, two months abroad. That must be awesome! I think my favorite photo of the group is the one on the bottom. Really sweet architectural elements.

  2. Your iPhone photos of London epitomize your “Gear is good, vision is better” mantra.

  3. Hey David,

    make sure to pack a fast lense and wander Paris in the night hours in wonder. No real need for a tripod as the city is so well illuminated! It really is where my heart is photographically. Browse my 2013 tumblr archive if you like.

    Cheers,
    Chris

  4. Pingback: Leo and Valerie’s Airbnb! | The Multi-ti-Purpose Room

  5. I sit here feeling very sad for you, as I sip my premier cru red from south Burgundy in the Jura area of Eastern France in prime autumn colours :P. Have a great trip in Paris and Italy, safe travels.

  6. “Wow, you must really have a nice camera…” wink wink. Once again we are reminded the importance of the vision and not the camera. Beautiful images, very old school, and certainly the things we see when we’re in the moment. Lovely.

  7. Sense of humor alive and well, then! You want sympathy – I have to LIVE near Rome. Seriously, David, welcome back to Italy when you do get here. The leaf colors are as wonderful as usual. Come, enjoy. Benvenuto in Italian.

  8. Beautiful pictures. When I see them, I’m inspired to go shooting. Some interesting buildings here in Syracuse and I’m on a mission to capture them. Thanks foe sharing.

  9. These are great images. Can you share your camera settings and lens type? That would be a big help to an amateur.

    Thanks

    Dan

    1. Author

      Thanks Dan. Tell that amateur that I use a vintage iPhone 6s with a, hmmm, well, the lens thingy that it comes with. 🙂 Sorry, I wish I could be more helpful but in this case, the magic is in the composition and a little tweaking in post with an iPhone app called Enlight. I usually just use VSCO app but this time I was trying something new.

  10. Great images, love the cloudy skies, but am especially taken by the two images with the reflections.

    Oh, and yes, you have my greatest sympathy for the ordeal you are presently going through! 😉

  11. So great to see you in London, to share a drop or two of prosecco and to introduce you to the wonderful More London. Have a wonderful time in Paris and Italy. As requested, you have my sympathies…!

    1. Author

      Thanks, Tom. I was really truly a treat to finally meet you, and the amazing Valda Bailey. Thank you so much!

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