The Spying Glass

Top Gear

2006-04-26T13:45:00.000+02:00

This was my first attempt at a panning shot. I took it using the Kodak DX6490 about a year and a half ago. By no means is it perfect, but I was so pleased with it the day I took it that I have decided to post it anyway!!

I also just found out how to create links to my favourite posts. This probably won't be one of them, but if you get a chance, have a look at a couple. Some of them were posted right at the beginning when there was nobody visiting my blog!!

The Other Side Of France

2006-04-19T18:36:00.000+02:00

These two pictures were taken last November during the riots that plagued the suburbs of the big French cities. I won't bother delving into such a sensitive political issue, let's just say that the atmosphere in France at the time was peculiar, and there was a noticeable amount of tension in the streets. I took these photos on the day that the riots spread (for the first time) into the centre of one of the major cities (that city being Lyon). It all happened because of an unecessarily large police presence on Place Bellecour, the main square in the centre of the city. It started as a stand-off between the Police Nationale and a few groups of gathering youths. Progressively, more and more police started showing up and at the same time, more and more teenagers. Soon the youths started to jeer at the police and that is when I took these pictures. Soon after this, the CRS (the French riot squad) arrived and I, along with many other, was swept away by the Police Nationale and kept away from the ensuing scenes of chaos.
For anyone who is interested in seeing what life is like for the yougsters that were involved in these riots, I cannot recommend the film 'La Haine' highly enough.

To change the subject, this is the first time I've tried colour separation/isolation. It's not a great effort, but it is something I'm going to try again!! And I'm sorry that I can't visit your sites every day at the moment. I'm at a really busy time in my life and I barely have time to breathe. I'll check in as often as possible.

New Age Photographer

2006-04-16T22:55:00.000+02:00

This was another photo I found in the archive from last summer. I took it because it has become such a familiar site. Lots of tourists now don't bother taking cameras, just their mobile phones! Although the picture quality is never going to be great, I prefer to see people doing this than filming everything with those Godforsaken camcorders. And in a way, the launch of camera phones and digital cameras has sown the seeds for a new crop of photographers, many of whom might not have thought about photography as a hobby or an interest before.

Lollipop Girl

2006-04-14T22:07:00.000+02:00

I didn't know what to post today, so I delved into some of the photos I took last summer and I found this. As you can see, it's just a simple candid of my girlfriend getting the last of her ice cream off the stick. But I thought I'd post it because it reminds me of summertime and it was a very summer-like day in Lyon today!

Rooftops

2006-04-12T13:14:00.000+02:00

This is a view of the rooftops in Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon). It is probably my favourite area of the city. It is full of winding cobbled streets, beautiful churches, wonderful restaurants and bars, and some great shops. Apparently, it used to be the roughest area of the city until the Mayor (in the late 80s) cleaned it up and got rid of the lingering crime element that plagued the district. It worked a treat because it is now one of the main tourist attractions of the city.

The Lion King

2006-04-08T17:34:00.000+02:00

I took this in Antwerp zoo in Belgium. I usually hate zoos, and hardly ever go because they depress me so much, but I decided to go into this one as my father was with me and he had visited it before and said it was worth a look. There were the usual distressing sites that you get in most zoos (I won't bother going into details), but the Lions' enclosure was excellent. Really big and spacious. This particular Lion was the only male. It was about 5 in the evening and he was the only one outside. The females and young were obviously being fed because I could here the noises coming from behind the door at the back of the enclosure. The females inside must have been calling out to the male and he was getting really frustrated. He just kept pacing up and down the enclosure and making a very unusual sound. One I'd never heard before. It wasn't really a roar, more like a roar split up into several small ones. He would shake his head from side to side while doing it. The noise was so loud that it was almost unbearable. It was an impressive display and I was so glad I caught it. I took a load of shots of him, but with the falling light, this was the only one that came out well enough to post. It's not a very good picture, but it's one I wanted to share nonetheless.

The Rice Farmer

2006-04-06T23:10:00.000+02:00

This was a farmer in the Longji rice terraces. He and his wife had this little wooden hut up in the hills, and as my girlfriend and I had somehow become separated from our mountain guide, they made us come in and wait (it was pouring with rain). His wife gave us towels and made us soup, and we sat there and talked for what seemed like hours (my girlfriend translating of course!). When the rain finally subsided, he came outside with me to smoke a cigarette. We had a mutually incomprehensible conversation, but I loved it. He let me take a few pictures of him, and this was one of them. I really didn't want to leave, but he told my girlfriend that it would start getting dark soon. He directed her to where we needed to go, and we left. It was a heartwrenching moment, even though we'd only met them an hour before.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank my friend Daz ( http://www.infinityimages.blogspot.com ) for all his help and advice on how to use the amazing adobe photoshop package effectively. He knows it inside and out and is full of useful tips.

Washing Her Hands

2006-04-04T22:49:00.000+02:00

I took this in one of the courtyards of a Hutong in Beijing (though it could have been anywhere!). It's just a simple picture of my girlfriend washing her hands under an old fashioned water pump. I took it, not only to capture a still of how beautiful the water looked splashing off my girlfriend's hands, but also because our tour guide (who spoke only Chinese) was rambling on and on, which led me to boredom, which in turn led me to start taking lots of random pictures!

Place de la République

2006-04-03T22:51:00.000+02:00

This is Place de la Republique in the heart of Lyon. On most occasions, this shot wouldn't have been possible as there are several jets of water shooting inwards from each side, so I took advantage of the stillness while I could. I wanted to stay longer and shoot from some different angles, but I was being hassled for money and cigarettes by a drunk. This was about the only one I got that wasn't sabotaged by the foul mouthed hoodlum. I'll go down there again one of these nights, hopefully by which time, my inebriated friend will have moved on to greener pastures!

Chinese Bliss

2006-04-02T23:18:00.000+02:00

These two photos were taken near the city of Guilin, in the heart of the Guanxi province in southern China. This is without a doubt the most magnificent place I have ever seen with my own eyes. It's like some sort of exotic oriental dreamworld, where every sight, sound and smell is wonderfully unfamilar. I stayed there for 3 nights but it wasn't enough, and I will definitely go back there at some point next year while I'm living in Beijing. It's only a 26 hour train ride away!!!!!

Table Manners

2006-04-01T16:04:00.000+02:00

This is a picture of my girlfriend finishing off her bowl of rice. It's funny how in the Chinese, and indeed most of the east Asian cultures, it is seen as bad manners to leave your plate/bowl on the table and to bring your food all the way up to your mouth, whereas in the West, the complete opposite is true. For example, if we were to see someone in a half decent restaurant lifting their bowl of soup up to their mouths and drinking it directly from the bowl, we would probably think they were rude and had no manners. But the same would be true in a Chinese restaurant if someone was using their spoon to bring the soup all the way up to their mouths!

Looking for Stones

2006-03-31T00:03:00.000+02:00

I took this photo on a Sunday evening enjoying a leisurely walk along the banks of the river Rhône (one of the two rivers which runs through Lyon). The evening began to draw to a close and the colours of the water became stunning. I saw this kid looking for stones to skim and asked his parents if they would mind if I took his picture. I'm so glad they did because he was such a photogenic kid and I really liked the way this photo turned out.

Country Park 2

2006-03-30T11:20:00.000+02:00

This was another photo taken at the Country Park. I was just messing around trying a 'pushing' technique I had read about. It's a cool technique and I was quite pleased with the results considering it was one of my first attempts! Hopefully one day I'll be better at it, because it is definitely a technique that has potential!

Taking Off

2006-03-28T13:57:00.000+02:00

I took this photo on the beautifu Lac d'Annecy in eastern France near to the Swiss border. My parents and I had hired a motorised boat for an hour and we were in the middle of the lake. I saw this lone seagull sat on the water, and got my father to drive towards it. It took off as we got to within about 20 metres of it, and I managed to get this shot.

La Grande Roule

2006-03-27T14:08:00.000+02:00

This is the ferris wheel on Place Bellecour in Lyon's city centre. It is only there for about a month during winter, but it should stay longer as the views you get from riding it are spectacular. It is especially beautiful during the annual 'Fête des lumières' (Festival of Light) which takes place in Lyon on December 8th, an enchanting night where one of the traditions is that everybody lines their window ledges with candles. You can imagine how beautiful it looks. To find out more about the fête des lumières, have a look at the following articles :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/4105565.stm

http://www.en.lyon-france.com/page/p-556/art_id-/

Beijing Bicycle

2006-03-26T18:52:00.000+02:00

These photographs were taken in the Hutongs of Beijing, which surround the Forbidden City. A Hutong is a lane, or an alley, formed by a series of quadrangular courtyards surrounded by small, usually one storey houses. Many were built during the Yuan (1206 - 1341), Ming (1368 - 1628) and Qing (1644 - 1908) dynasties. Unfortunately, these beautiful places are disappearing at breakneck speed as Beijing is forced to answer the needs of a soaring economy. Most of them will become high rise flats and offices, so I suggest that if you would like to see them, go before it's too late. As for the bicycles, they are still (by far) the most common means of transport, and the Chinese are wonderfully adept at carrying anything and everything on their bikes. I remember seeing a man once riding casually on one of the many long, wide and chaotic boulevards in Beijing, with a full-sized trailer connected to his bike. The trailer was full of boxes of mineral water. Imagine how heavy that would be, and trying to manoeuver such a load in the centre of one of the biggest and most active cities in the world! There will be more on China to come in the near future. In the meantime, for more photos of the Hutongs' architecture and layout, try Iain Masterton's website www.hutongphotography.com

Country Park 1

2006-03-26T14:10:00.000+02:00

Taken during one of the amazing winter sunsets at Pembrey Country Park. I decided to use (from right to left) my nephew Oliver, my sister Lara, and my girlfriend as silhouette models for this photo. It was freezing that day, and although Oliver was happy to play up for the photo, you can feel the glare from Lara and Qing saying "How much f*%#ing longer?!" If anyone who reads this hasn't heard of the Country Park, you should definitely go there. The beaches are beautiful; spotlessly clean with soft, golden sand. There are also stunning pine forests which run parallel to the beach for about seven miles or so. There's even a nude beach! But unless you like seeing fat hairy naked middle-aged men, don't bother. It's not like the nude beaches in France or Italy (where the women are hairy too!).

Reflections

2006-03-25T22:47:00.000+01:00

This is one of my favourite photos. It was also one of the first I ever took with the Nikon. I took it from my balcony looking in through the glass doors at my girlfriend Qing. It was a late summer evening and the sky was beautiful. I like it because there is a real urban feel to the buildings reflected below the sky, and Qing has such a photogenic face that she compliments the composition beautifully.

The Fisherman

2006-03-25T15:56:00.000+01:00

Could he be anything other than a fisherman with a face like this? I took this on a boat trip with my father and sister around the Gower peninsula in South Wales. He was the 'captain' of the boat and a great character. This photo, and all others on this page (unless stated otherwise), are taken with the amazing Nikon D70s.