London Strangers

Thought you might like a peek at some of the "100 Strangers" I have been photographing recently....

First up, Polly and Dave from Australia and New Zealand, respectively. I photographed them in Hyde Park near the Pond...they were sitting, quite peacefully, enjoying the sunset until I blithely blundered onto the scene with my camera ;-)

Polly and Dave were travelling the UK (Polly is still here but Dave has returned home) when they met and a romance developed (we love that!!) We had a chat about the state of Cadbury chocolate in the UK (I am not a huge fan of the English variety but apparently the Irish bars are smashing), Flight of the Conchords (as you do!), and coffee in London. They were a lovely, lovely couple and I hope they give me an update when they meet up again back home in Aussieland.

Next up is Issy who I met last week with her friend Heinrich in Soho. I think (and I hope I haven't mixed the story up!) that Issy is the daughter of Gina X, the late 70's, early 80's electro-pop singer. She and Heinrich were filming a clip for an art college project about the song that Gina X wrote about writer/actor Quentin Crisp called "No GDM" (which stands for No Great Dark Man). I couldn't resist a photo of Issy in her 80's-inspired outfit.

Next is Winifred, who I photographed last year at TomTom coffee shop (above). This was just one of those moments which "just happens" and can't be planned! I love the way she is peeking around the counter at me :)

Lastly, is Mr El-Kadhi who has exceptional taste in coffee and is a regular at TomTom coffee house in Belgravia.

Thank you to all my strangers for bravely offering themselves as subjects for my "100 Strangers project"!

The Week That London Froze

The Thaw after the Big Freeze (Thursday) (above and below)

Fountain in Trafalgar Square (Tuesday) (below)

Battersea Park , Frozen (Tuesday) (below)

A Week of Troughs and Lows

The cold front that moved through London this past week (leaving us shivering in sub-zero temperatures) seems to have brought with it some troughs and lows to The Messy Life (rather like the 70's tv series "The Good Life" but a whole lot messier ;-)) and very few highs.

To cheer me up, a lovely friend sent me her favourite quote from the Sound of Music (by Maria) which I just love:

"Reverend Mother always says when the Lord closes a door, somewhere He opens a window"

D'Ya like Dags?

From the movie "Snatch" written and directed by Guy Ritchie:

Mickey (the gypsy played by Brad Pitt): D'ya like dags?

Tommy: Dags?

Mickey: What?

Mrs O'Neil: Yeah, dags.

Tommy: Oh, dogs. Sure, I like dags. I like caravans more....

Dags, Dogs- I love 'em. Here are a few random dogs belonging to strangers that I have photographed recently.

From top: Dexter, Battersea Park

Charlie (above), Columbia Road Flower Market

Not sure what the poodle's name was but he had just been to the Poodle Palour for some pampering when I took his photo in Hyde Park:



Didn't catch the name of this little chap either at Columbia Road (below):

Alfie, below, Battersea Park:

A very vocal doggie, Richmond Park!!

Frozen

The lake in Battersea Park, London, early this morning.

Frozen

As is your Blogger :)

These Boots Are Made For....Walkin'

You keep saying you got something for me

Something you call love but confess

You've been a'messin' where you shouldn't 've been a'messin'

And now someone else is getting all your best

Well, these boots are made for walking, and that's just what they'll do

One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you

Yee Haw!

These boots belong to one of my "100 Strangers". I wrote down his name and promptly lost it :(

However, I do know that he is an actor living in London and his lust-worthy boots are fabulously vintage (is anything not vintage these days?!!)

I photographed my second stranger (above and below) in Covent Garden. He reminds me of Cuba somehow (one of my dreams is to visit Cuba and to photograph the people, the places, the food) and I could imagine him starring in the Alesha Dixon "The Boy Does Nothing" video. That song, the dancing is SMOKIN'! So sexy and well, somehow a bit Cuban.



I love the different moods he gave me in the two photos-I think that's why I love photographing people so much: capturing moments "on film" (well, you know I don't shoot film but you know what I mean) that can never be repeated.

Sun Envy

Okay, okay, so I know in my last post I was banging on about staycations BUT the weather has been so terribly grey (not slate, not gunmetal... just plain ole grey) and cold in London over the last week or so (and just as I am typing the sun is peeping out!) that I have been forced to trawl photos from our trip to Tuscany last year for some much needed sun lovin'.

And dang, was it HOT when we were there at the end of June! At the risk of sounding like I am never satisfied ;-), I would say that it was a teensy bit too hot even for a born and bred Queenslander. However it was nothing that couldn't be soothed with some icy cold gelato, tall glasses of limoncello and plates of buffalo mozzarella, ripe tomatoes and torn basil leaves. And a pool and a fan, and some thongs.....

Ms Ewah's tanned arm, G&T and reading material:

A wonderful stranger in Panzano in Chianti (still one of my favourite strangers even though we could only communicate with each other through smiles and hand signals):

A cat driving a kitty-cat mobeel in Panzano in Chianti:

This little doggie's name was Cookie! His mum and dad were obviously doing alright (check out the symbol on the wheel and those oh-so-practical white leather seats!):

View of the setting sun from our villa:

Jamie's Italian-Bath

Given the current economic climate and the rising popularlity of "staycations"*, Mr Messy and I have made a pinky pact for 2009 to explore more of the UK and Greater London rather than automatically looking at overseas destinations. So, on a bitterly cold London morning, rugged up like little eskimoes with coats, jumpers, gloves and beanies and weighed down by camera gear (me!) we ventured to Bath which is about 1 1/2 hours on the train from Paddington Station.

Apart from the glorious Bath Abbey, steaming Roman Baths (which looked wonderfully inviting to my frostbitten tushy), beautiful River Avon and Pulteney Bridge, one of the main attractions of Bath was the chance to try out Jamie's Italian which opened in Bath in October. The Bath branch of Jamie Oliver's new "simple, rustic Italian" venture was the second to open (the first was in Oxford, and there is a third in Kingston) and is tucked down a small alleyway in a redeveloped Georgian building in the heart of the City. There is, however, absolutely no chance of missing it as the crowds waiting for a table in peak periods (which was, oh, just about all day the day we went!) snakes out onto the main road alerting punters to the Jamie's Italian phenomenon.

Having attempted a lunchtime visit and having failed miserably (there is a no-bookings policy for groups less than 8 people and we didn't relish an hour+ wait outside in the freezing conditions), we headed back at 4:40pm hoping to have enough time for a relaxed meal before catching the 6:43pm train back to London. Obviously the cold weather and early fall of darkness encourages the appetite and early dining as we were informed that there would be an hour wait for a table in the dining area! With my eyes spying a classic bellini on the bar menu and the promise of a warm, comfy seat out of the Icelandic cold (yeah, I know I am banging on about it but it was -4 degrees!) we were happy to wait.

Ensconced in the bar area, which is entirely separate from the restaurant (the restaurant remains a mysterious Narnia-type destination until you get the call-up from your waiter to enter its realms), we were able to watch the action at one of the work/prepping stations. The mood is young, fun and family oriented with warm lighting (hell on the camera's auto white balance-sorry folks!), lots of lovely blonde-ish wood, a stunning red leather banquette, turquoise feature wall, Italian deli items placed oh so casually, twinkling tea light candles, legs of parma ham and salami hanging from the bar and ridiculously good-looking waitstaff (just the thing one needs to feel good about oneself after stuffing oneself with all the Christmas trimmings!). This is one of those fit outs that looks effortless but has obviously involved meticulous planning.

With one bellini under my belt (peachy, proscecco-y goodness) and a bottle of wine to share, we settled in to wait for a table- which we did for just a shade under an hour. Bar snacks (olives, spicy roasted almonds, bruschetta) are available if you are feeling peckish but we decided to save ourselves for the main event.

Once we were summoned (much to the envy of newly arrived patrons) and seated at our table in the cosy restaurant, the service and food were mostly flawless- our waiter was friendly without being overly so, enthusiastic, knew that we only had limited time for our meal and made sure the kitchen was aware of that. He was also very easy on the eye;-) After sharing a basket of basket of breads (a selection of "top Italian breads" from Jamie's bakery) with some grassy olive oil and well-balanced balsamic, I had the truffle tagliatelle. It was heaven - fresh strands of tagliatelle slippery with olive oil and butter, parmesan, nutmeg and a generous shaving of black truffles (admittedly my arteries felt just a teensy bit more congested following the meal!). Mr Messy had one of the specials- seared pork loin cutlet with breaded eggplant and a small pile of roasted potatoes- which he declared nice but not as good as my pasta (I menaced him with my fork each time he tried to snag some of my tagliatelle).

To finish, a chocolate banana brownie with vanilla bean ice-cream to share. It was everything a winter pudding should be- warm, gooey and comforting. A perfect way to end the meal.

With full tummies and ruddy faces (I suspect a combo of the heating, alcohol and our poor, overworked metabolisms) we stumbled out of the warmth of Jamie's Italian and raced to the station for the train home to London. Hmmmm I could definitely get used to this staycation caper...and Jamie's Italian. Happy Days indeed :)

Bar area (below):

Have to say that I still haven't had a bellini quite as good as my first ever (a few years ago at Locanda Locatelli restaurant in London) or at my favourite drinks spot in Sydney, Bambini Trust Bar (feel homesick now :(( LOVE that place!!).

*according to Wikipedia, a staycation is "a period of time in which an individual or family stays at home and relaxes at home or takes day trips from their home to area attractions".

Break in Messy Transmission

Just a quickie to say that my phone has had a tissy fit and decided that it no longer wants to work. So if you have been trying to text/call me and I haven't responded it is not because I am being rude...just a(nother) little technological hiccup :)

That is all.

HAPPY NEW YEAR Most Excellent Blog Fans!!!

I hope everyone had an absolutely smashing NYE rugged up warm (London) or hot and deliciously sweaty (Australia) with good music, good food, good wine and most importantly, good friends :)

To start the new blogging year, I thought that over the next few weeks I'd go "around the grounds" and give y'all a peek of the travel I was lucky enough to do in 2008. Given London's rather bleak and cold weather at the moment, going over old photos and thinking about all the experiences (getting zapped by an electric fence twice in the Dordogne, France; successfully completely "Operation Fiddler"* in Zakopane, Poland spring to mind!) I had taking photos in 2008 cheers me no end and spurs me on to do more of the same in 09.

To kick off, I'll start with Warsaw, Poland, April 2008.

*more on this in a later post

In mid April, we went with our good friends Mark and Eva to Poland and Austria (Vienna and Salzburg). Eva is of Polish heritage (she has Polish parents but grew up in the West Indies, UK and Australia) and has visited Poland many times. Visiting Warsaw, Zakopane and Krakow with Eva and Mark was marvellous as it was like having our own personal tour guides...but for free and a lot more fun (and without the ubiquitous umbrella-led tour group!)

I took the photo of this young hipster (below) and his beautiful friend (above) in the New Town Square, Warsaw, when we were sitting having afternoon drinks

Rooftops of Warsaw's Old Town (below) which was effectively razed to the ground by the Germans in 1944. It has been meticulously reconstructed and is now on the UNESCO World Heritage List:

Church of Saint Casimir in the New Town, Warsaw (below)

The next three photos were taken in Lazienki Park, Warsaw- the home of Chopin's monument, the stunning Palace on the Water and the cutest little red squirrels:

I sneaked a photo of this gentleman while he wasn't looking (naughty!)

p.s. forgot to say that I took these photos the day after I got my Nikon D200. I was a bit nervous of THE BEAST (after using my teeny Fuji F410 ), used "auto everything" and shot exclusively JPEG (RAW was waaaaaaay too scary back then!)

An interview with Messy

A couple of weeks ago, I promised an article on my camera gear....and then I promptly forgot about it! Well.... better late than never I guess:

Famous Interviewer (FI): So, Messy, what type of Camera do you shoot with?

Messy: Up until April this year, I was using what my Dad would call a "point, shoot and pray", a 3.1 megapixel Fuji point and shoot. After much begging, pleading, cajoling and bargaining, I got my secondhand Nikon D200 DSLR which I now use exclusively.

FI: Are you a Mac or a PC girl?

Messy: I am (most unfashionably) a PC gal! However, on all the shoots I have assisted on where the photographer is shooting tethered, the Mac definitely reigns supreme. Maybe when my PC finally blows up (it constantly feels like it is about to erupt) I will change to an AppleMac....

FI:What lenses are in your kit bag?

Messy:When I first got my camera, and after ridiculous amounts of research, I knew that I didn't want to go down the "zoom kit lens" route. Instead, I went with a 50mm 1.8 lens which (coincidentally!) happened to be the cheapest prime lens (the focal length is fixed) available. This lens is often referred to as the "nifty fifty" and is a fabulous lens for the money. It is fairly sharp, great in low light and weighs very little- which I have discovered is kind of important when you are travelling and schlepping around a camera for 12 hours a day. The 50mm definitely created a Prime Lens Obsession (PLO) such that I am constantly scheming and daydreaming about adding to my Prime family :)

And so to my current favourite lens- the Nikon 85mm 1.4. This lens cost more than my camera body and is worth every penny (err make that hundreds of pounds!). It is just beautiful and produces consistently sharp images and amazing, buttery bokeh when shooting wide open. It is also exceptional in low light and FAST which is great for photographing children, particularly toddlers who can move incredibly quickly. The only downside to this lens is that it is kind of BIG and attracts a lot of attention so it isn't the best lens to use if you want to remain inconspicuous and blend in with the crowd. Other than that I LOVE this lens!

FI:What else is in your kit bag?

Messy: A number of Lexar Professional CompactFlash cards (you need a lot of these little blighters when you shoot RAW), lens cleaning fluid and tissues, air blower and a collapsible reversible reflector. I need to add a few filters to my kit in the New Year. I keep all this in my Kata 3N1 Sling/BackPack.

FI:What about Post-Processing?

Messy: I use Lightroom and CS3 to process all my photos. Lightroom first (to catalog, organise, tweak exposure etc) and then CS3 to "finish". I back up my photos on a Western Digital 2TB MyBook Mirror Edition external hard drive (which my hairdresser- who knows about all things techie and well as all things hair- said was large enough to run a medium sized office!) as well as a couple of other portable Western Digital hard drives. My computer screen is colour calibrated with a Eye-One system to ensure what I am seeing "on screen" is the same as what will be printed.

FI:Anything you wish was currently in your shopping basket?

Messy: Most definitely the Nikon D3, or the D3X (pending its release, further reviews and a cool £5, 500 sitting in my bank account!) Both these cameras are FX (full frame sensor) cameras with the D3X sporting an impressive 24.5 megapixels (which would be marvellous for shooting stock and would presumably relieve me from having to upsize images...). One of the photographers I assisted this year uses a D3 for all her work (magazine editorial and advertising) and it is outstanding camera which delivers a lot for a reasonable (compared to the D3X!) amount of money.

Other than a new body, some more Prime lenses would be great! Oh, and I would love some continuous lighting (I love the look continuous lighting gives even though they get so damn hot)...a Manfrotto carbon fibre tripod with a Really Right Stuff Head and quick release clamp, jobo portable image storage device....not much really ;-)

FI: Wow, thanks Messy for your time. I am sure that someone, somewhere, will really enjoying reading your insights!

p.s. took these photos yesterday on an outing to Primrose Hill, London. Shot on 50mm 1.8.