Park view

Catching the morning sun, the sight of typical London houses with their roof extensions overlooking the park.

Staircase

Taking a photo of a staircase is such a classic, and I could not resist to explore the theme. Structure, light and geography.

 

The invitation

Would you like to take a moment? Unspoken moments. I felt drawn to this bench and the shadows cast around it by the trees.

Visitor

Caught in the act, I wanted to 'freeze' the cat's skill which seemed to easily glide across the fence. I think this shot worked quite well as the cat was in the sun's spot light and looked straight at me.

Shadows on the wall

While exploring this exhibit at the Tate Modern, what stood out for me were the 'paintings' the shadow the visitors projecting to the walls. Adding a few light effects from the projector and mobile phones, the experience developed into a delightful play of shadows and light.

Morning walks

Exploring the change of season, I went back to take a photo of the same scenery. This is an ongoing project over the next months to explore how the light, colours and textures change during the year.

Spring

This seems to have been a long and dark winter and I was ever so pleased to find the little messengers of Spring extending their colourful greeting. A nice opportunity to go up close and take this focused and detailed shot.

Happy Valentines

 

Guess what ... No, I could not resist that sparkly with candle light. And that's what I made of it: another painting by camera.

Portrait?

Still working on the photos I took with the London School of Samba, my attention was drawn to this shot which to me seems a mixture between portrait and street photography. With an air of spontaneity, it puts the dancer in the unusual context of the shop and passer-bys.

Impressions

Out and about with the London School of Samba bringing the carnival spirit to London, I enjoyed studying dance photography with a difference. Combining the moment of movement and coloured stage light, I 'painted' a photography.

Reflections

From self-created abstracts through movement to taking photos of real life. After dark, I was walking by a window and saw these light reflections. And I am still amazed how well they translated into a photo.

Stormy days?

Looking at photos from indicated international journalists, I noticed that some use blurring to add a note of drama to their photos. So, of course, I could not resist trying it out myself. What do you think, does this look dramatic and stormy?

Winter

Living in London, weather, as much as change of season, is an ongoing theme. Going back to the same part of the park where I took a picture the other week, I thought that this stretch allows me to follow up on the changes we go through in this part of the world, and to catch the different mood, colours, light and shades.

Winter structures

As snowy weather has settled in, I've had time to observe the impact it makes to the visual of the environment. The white has transformed the landscape. Looking more closely, I feel drawn to the patterns the snow is sculpturing into the landscape.

White landscape

By the afternoon it stopped snowing and I went out to look at different ways of working with 'snow'. What was my fascination with snow? How did it impact on the environment? I love the white, the texture, the way snow settles itself on other surfaces.

Winter mood

The weather forecast for today was 'snow'. And before I had finished my coffee it had started. Camera in hand I went on exploring different ways of working with the theme. This picture came about while simply shooting out of my front window. I think it catches the mood of the winter day and how the snowing impacts on us while we go about our every day routines.

Winter mood

Tempting to think the photo is underexposed, but it was simply another gloomy winter morning, with a bit of a hint of white on the branches of the trees.

A bit of fish-eye

Standing a bit removed, I was exploring different ways of taking photos of the crowds below and came across the fish-eye filter. I hadn't used a fish-eye lense before but thought the filter added a bit of something to the scene.

A bit of warmth

Fire, like water, is an element I can rarely resist to take photos of. It is the ever-changing nature of this element, that fascinates me. And, as I sat by the fire, out came the camera and I tried to 'catch' a bit of that magic.

From above

From the air. The visual of a winter day. Cold, wet, frosty, with a bit of haze. Taking my camera wherever I go increasingly inspires me to experiment with pictures. Can I make my experience into a visual that will inspire others? Many of my friends who live in a tropical climate and have never experienced a bitter cold winter have asked how it feels like. Is it possible to convey winter with a photo, or is the photo a reminder of a feeling for those of us who know?

Ending light

Playing with taking a photo converted into an abstract, this photo is about taking a sharp photo which may seem abstract because of it's content. Does the photo seem empty, or is it full? For me the picture leaves space for dreaming, and considering that today is New Year's eve, I thought it's a fine way to end 2012 and start 2013.

Stormy days

Continuing in my mini-series this is one other way to portrait the subject already portrait in the two other shots. Working in this way is new to me and I noticed my excitement to stay with the same subject and shoot it different ways, making each photo a unique shot, rather than changing subjects. None of the photos in the mini-series were produced using Photoshop. They were all shot exploring the impact of exposure and sharpness.

Lighting up

Staying with the same subject I went on to explore different ways to take a picture of the same reality. Fed up with the cold and dark, this is a photo of the same subject in a different light. Does it give us the impression of a different reality? Or is the light intensity still giving us a feeling of cold and wet?

Stormy days

What to do in the dark rainy reality of a London winter? Be inspired. I'm back at exploring the many fascinating patterns that emerge in a multi-layered reality of windows sprinkled with raindrops. And, I'm getting more and more excited about it. It's like using some kind of filter that adds a new dimension to the what we see. The outcome depends on our focus, close or distant. It's like visualizing my thought process.

Scenery

Feeling playful, I'm back at exploring the amazing patterns that emerge when we look up close at what exists around us. Exploring the blurred line between abstract and close-up I am amazed how the image emerges in the moment it is seen and how this transforms how we look at it.

London sunset

Back at my per-weekly visit to Southbank, I could not believe my luck when I noticed that the winter sun was setting in glorious orange. I think there is something magic about visiting the same place in town on a regular basis, just to see how different it looks each time.

Urban moments

So urban. My attention was first caught by the huge advertisement displaying a woman posing in underwear and then, as I changed angles, the scene came together showing the many cultural contradictions lived in London's everyday life.

Structures, man made

Continuing to explore structures, I looked at man made structures (this an abstract from a David Nash sculpture) and how taking advantage of the light breaking on the surface created a completely new visual of the theme.

Structures

London, Dec 2012. Inspired by David Nash at Kew Gardens, I did a little exploring of wooden structures myself which lead me to look at form, light and colour contrasts.

Dark at four fifteen

London, Nov 2012. As the days get shorter, it becomes more of a challenge to get to places in time before darkness. But then, how about the moment when dark grey changes into dark black...