adetorrent; photography, lifestyle.

Christmas is fast approaching now, and the days are getting darker.  I remember thinking this exact thought last year when I took this shot while walking home from work.  I can't believe how quickly the time goes.

Today is World AIDS Day.

Just like that, I was handed a  Zenit-E by an elderly Slovakian gentleman. It had been well looked after, loved even - obviously, and it came complete with it's original everything. I was happy. I was very happy indeed. The Zenit-E I believe was manufactured in western Moscow between the mid sixties to the early eighties.  It's a rugged-as-heck pentaprism SLR camera capable of shutter speeds from B to 1/500. The default lens is the Helios-44-2 58mm f/2. It also has an inbuilt selenium cell exposure meter, which means no batteries are required what so ever.  However the meter is not TTL, so it is somewhat equivalent to carrying a standalone meter. I let this camera sit on the shelf for a few months before even loading it with its first roll for two reasons.  One, I had a few other cameras ahead of this one to test.  Two, I found the exposure meter a bit baffling at first, and after playing with it for a few hours and figuring it all out, decided to ...

I'm considering going back to posting everyday.  Since I stopped posting daily, I've taken far fewer photos, and effectively have stopped growing.  I had an ongoing 'trees' project which has suffered massively as I have missed an entire month.  Thankfully June isn't that exciting for trees. They look roughly the same in July. Anyhow, enjoy the day. Our days are numbered.

Spring is in full swing now.  The boats are out again to compete with the birds on the waters of the pond.

Who doesn't love a 4 day week?

As the saying goes, aim for the moon; even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.  So true.

Testing out a 28mm M42 lens for the Zenit and tempted to acquire this old timer.  It still works apparently.  

“Is that a Leica you’re wielding like a sword?” uttered the street snapper as I walked past him one chilled out afternoon in east London.  “I beg your pardon? oh this? It’s an Oly”.  He was then immediately less impressed and apparently more understanding of my nonchalant attitude to the camera.   You will occasionally see me holding my camera by the neck strap while walking, leaving it free to swing back and forth.  The gentleman used the wrong medieval weapon metaphor of course - the correct one would be a ball and chain.  He could also be forgiven for mistaking it for a Leica.  I’d by then pimped the thing up with a Leica Leitz style vented hood, and the self timer lever had snapped off in such a way that it left a Leica looking ‘red dot’ in the correct place. The Olympus 35 RD has been referred to elsewhere as the ‘RC on steroids’.  That’s basically accurate.  The lens on this thing is simply magnificent.  The aperture ope...

moonshine.

Awaking from anaesthesia is moving from lack of consciousness, memory and sensation to a world of confusion, colour blindness and excruciating pain. 

Oh boy, has it been a long difficult week.  Very long hours at work, difficult problems to resolve on a daily basis.  You know what though, I've had so much energy all week and I've been feeling right on top of the world. I'm off to a very old part of England for the weekend and I am looking forward to it.  We have been promised lots of sunshine and spring-like, almost summer-like even, temperatures.  There will be a lot of photos taken, I can assure you that. 

Who said you couldn't have man-boobs and still be a fierce warrior?

Gotta love this city.  You live here for dozens of years, but the very day you take a different route, turn left, say, instead of right, a brand new world opens to you.  Other Londoners are laughing at me now, but can you believe I'd never heard of, let alone seen, the Geffrye museum in Hackney?  Believe. Took a wrong turn one day and there it was in all its magnificence.  To steal from the official website; " The Geffrye Museum is devoted to the history of the home, showing how homes and gardens reflect changes in society, behaviour, style and taste over the past 400 years. " Wow.  What a concept.  I was immediately mesmerised by the trees (of course) in the courtyard of the museum that I spent a considerable time studying them.  Thankfully, there were benches strategically located at points of wonder around the yard. The courtyard was eerily deserted, even though just outside the gates is a major road bustling with foot ...

Graveyard friends are they, the squirrel and the pigeon, feeding together in the late afternoon sun.

So much olde London in this; the post 'box', the horse, the ancient pub.  So much new London; the electric bus, the new style police uniform, the skyscrapers.

I saw a plane fly into yonder cloud formation.  I found myself sympathising with anyone on board that is anything like me, with my fear of flight.  Hope the turbulence wasn't too terrible.

That anticipation definitely adds to the perceived deliciousness.  Waiting for the sand in the hourglass to completely pour through is a worthwhile spectacle.  Call it delayed gratification.

My first attempt pushing Lomography Lady Grey, and I did by just one stop, and turned Spitalfields market into a starry night.

This week I will be sharing some recent black and white photos, the vast majority of which were shot on my trusty grey lady. Kicking off without further ado then am I with these two enticing signs. I fell for both, I'd have you know.  Alas I didn't buy any vintage clothes, but I did acquire a (not so) shinny old vintage M42 mount lens for my Zenit-E. And, of course, some coffee and spliced apple. £3.40 is a crazy good deal for how good it tasted.