Leap Day: 29th February 2012

Here we are, an extra day to correct time!!!I wished I took today off from work, as if  you are salaried like me, you don’t get any extra pay for working today. I read somewhere that there are people calling for this day to become a national holiday.

I remember an episode of Fraiser, where he said everyone should use this day to “make a leap”, try something different. On the TV show, it all ended in disaster, but I can’t help thinking that the sentiment is right. However, in saying that, all I’m going to be doing today, is working.

I hope you made the most of your extra day.

A Day in the Life of a 50mm Lens

I have had my nifty fifty f1.8 lens for quite some time now. I’ve always had it in my mind, the only time to use it, is when light is a problem. However, I have suddenly discovered the benefits of using this lens more often. So I decided to complete an experiment, and just take pictures for a day using this lens:

I came to the conclusion that this makes a very good “every day”lens. In fact I have since realised that many years ago, a 50mm was sold as a kit lens with many cameras. It certainly has more creative possibilities. With a high f-stop of 1.8, it allows you to play more with depth of field. It also makes you think more creatively. Being a fixed length lens, it also made me think more about the picture I was taking. There were times, where I couldn’t fit everything that I thought at first would be relevant into the frame. However, I soon learnt to be even more creative, and as you can see from the examples above, sometimes, a part of something, is enough to give the viewer a feeling of the whole.

I certainly will be using this lens more often – in fact it is still attached to my camera!!

The Big Egg Hunt

I’ve decided to join in “The Big Egg Hunt“,which for 40 days and 40 nights (from the 1st day of Lent to Easter), London will be home to 208 decorated eggs. The idea is to raise money for two charities:  Action for Children  and The Elephant Family. The event is fittingly sponsored by Faberge, and they are offering a prize of a £100,00o diamond Faberge egg. They are raising money by encouraging people to text in a code that each egg has, and in doing so, money is given to the charities, and you are entered in to a draw to win the top prize.

Don’t worry, I won’t be posing pictures of all the Eggs here, they will slowly be appearing on my flickr stream. However, I have already captured a couple of favourites:

Being very patriotic, off course this would be one my favourites:

I just love the reflection on this egg:

If you go on to the Big Egg Hunt website, you can put in a bid to buy any of the eggs currently on show.

Olympic Park – February 2012

Its been a few months since I last visited the Olympic Park. My last few visits has seen little change, but today, with only just over 5 months to go, you can actually see the start of the clearing up process, and the start of the park landscaping.  This scene below will look so different in the coming months:

This weekend, one of the many test events was taking place. This time in the Velodrome, which you can see in this following picture – it is the building to the far left of this photograph:

Velodrome – Basketball Arena – Water Polo Stadium – Orbit

It is hoped Team GB will leave the Velodrome with a huge haul of Gold – and if the results from the test event, which was a Cycling World Cup event, are anything to go by, there is going to be a very happy home crowd.

It’s all coming together, I am so excited.

Bus Stop Technology

Recently the following signs have appeared on bus stops across London:

Each bus stop has its own number, and if you do as the instructions on the sign say, you will recieve a SMS text letting you know when the next bus is due. This is taking advantage of somethinig called the Countdown System.

Transport for London, who organise the public transport in London have also introduced a web-based information system, which you can also access from your smart phone. This is a fantastic use of the technology available, and something I access every day on my way home from work.

The information this gives me, lets me know whether it is worth waiting for a bus, or to walk home. This is such a useful service, and really comes in to its own at off peak times, when buses are less frequent.

Speakers’ Corner

I think I was about 8 when I last visited Speakers’ Corner. Obviously back then I had no real concept of what was going on. The idea of a “Speakers’ Corner” arose after riots broke out in Hyde Park in 1855 after protests to the Sunday Trading Laws, which forbade the buying and selling on a Sunday. This was followed by more demonstrations in the park in 1866 and 1867 demanding reforms to the electoral laws to allow the right of working-class men to vote.

In 1872 the Parks Regulation Act allowed the “right to speak” in Hyde Park and delegated an area in the park for this to happen. There is a misconception that you are allowed to stand up and say what ever you like, but this is not true, and there is no immunity from the law.

The day I chose to visit was a very cold winter’s day. The temperature was at freezing point, but there were still two people speaking:

The first one I saw was a French man:

I was a little confused as to what this chap was gaining. His speech was in French. It is a shame that I had no idea what he was saying, as he looked very passionate about what he was talking about.

The second speaker I saw, I think from other pictures I have seen, is a regular at Speakers’ Corner.

This chap was trying to convince his audience that we need a “World Parliament”, creating a World Federation. The idea being, each country would elect delegates to make up the parliament. He believes that this parliament would be more likely to succeed in dealing with the many problems we face in the World, better than the United Nations. I do like the idea, but I think that it could only work in a perfect World.

His ideas were quite interesting, but he was getting heckled quite a bit. A couple of people tried to talk over him all the time, which was a shame. It was fun when it was good natured, but in the end, one person in particular, took it upon himself to rant at everything the chap in the picture was saying.

You would have thought with the age of the internet, that this form of communication would not be very popular, but the two speakers I did see, did attract a rather large audience, which was engaged to the speakers.

Happy Valentine’s Day

Wishing you all a very happy valentine’s day.

Commutergraphy – Winter Special

I had finished my Commutergraphy project a while ago now. However, this morning, I saw someone that made me smile. We did have quite a bit of snow over the weekend, but this morning, most of the snow had gone, so this chap looked a little out of place:

I love the green wellies!!!

Winter Has Arrived

Well, we have had a really mild winter here in London. It has been so unseasonably warm, that I had kind of forgotten that it was still winter. The weather during the last week, had got colder, and last night, the snow arrived. We got about 10-12cms of the white stuff – enough usually to make London’s transport system to grind to a halt. However, this time we have been told that London is prepared. We shall see.

At the moment the snow looks rather pretty. I do like the fresh snow, but I dread when it turns to slush, and with the temperatures not rising much above freezing, it looks like we are set for icy pavements/side-walks.

I have been out with my camera this morning. Unfortunately, the light is not that great, and it is rather dull outside. I only popped round to the local park, and I loved the way this tree looked against the bleak background:

I was lucky to get this picture without anyone in the shot. It always amazes me when it snows, the number of people who come out to play. Not only children, but adults too. Its a lovely atmosphere, just a shame it doesn’t happen all the time.

Penguin and Reflection

Penguin and Reflection, originally uploaded by gary8345.

Apparently this picture made the Flickr Explore page – and was picture number 484. Considering it was such a high number, I am surprised by the number of people who have spotted it, and let me know.