adetorrent; photography, lifestyle.

Following the epic fail first attempt with the Yashica T2 , Christy is back on Old Cameras . This time she was equipped with my favourite camera - the Olympus 35RC . We needed a 400 speed film to match the overcast weather and the camera's 1/500 maximum shutter speed so we stopped by Lomography near Carnaby Street, London , to see what we could find. We basically picked the cheapest option - the Lomography CN400 .  CN stands for Colour Negative I guess. I'd shot this film once in the past and I remember not being too excited about the colours. I much prefer the 100. As expected, Christy brought her A game. She's not really a film shooter - she uses a DSLR in real life. You can follow her on Instatram where she posts some of her lovely snaps. Since Lomography don't currently offer the 1 hour service at their store, and we needed the photos developed and printed same-day, we had them done at Snappy Snaps in Covent Garden . To be honest, I was a littl...

Olympus 35RC / Agfa Vista 200 I've had to let go of a lot of things lately. While renovating my place this spring, I took a long look at many items I'd be hoarding for years and decided to break the emotional link with them. It has been hard, but very liberating. Finally I have the room for that creative working space I've been dreaming about for ages. For some reason, I'd also been holding on to a few things that didn't make any sense. I had been paying for Internet access in multiple ways. Like many people nowadays I love and rely on the Internet. I, however, have been on the Internet for a long, long time, since before it was a thing . Back then, you had to take special measures to get fast, reliable connections from home. I found that I had been holding on to some of these old ways of thinking about the Internet and technology in general. I had accumulated a lot of obsolete technology that though still worked, were now either unnecessary or inefficien...

I actually hate flying.  My extensive understanding of the physics, and statistics of flight do absolutely nothing to cull my fear of flight. Flying is unavoidable these days, however, especially if you have family spread across four continents.  This year, I've already been on a plane too many times for my liking.  From now till year end, there are many air journeys to come.

Some times I shoot random shots, apparently just because. You can trust this city though to randomly make things interesting in the background.  Random London.

Rye is great from the ground level too.  Exquisite antique shops - to be fair, virtually all shops there seem 'antique' anyway.  The walls of the buildings themselves are a historical record - stone, brick, wood and concrete, showcasing the different building materials over the centuries.

The French were extremely interested in England back in the 1240's. To curb this French enthusiasm, his majesty the king Henry the 3rd ordered there to be built this rugged structure on the edge of the kingdom.  The Ypres Tower or 'Rye Castle' was constructed as part of the defence against the raiding armies from across the channel in 1249. Rye itself is a charming little English town in East Sussex that lies between the confluence of three rivers and the sea.  The charm is even more visible from the top of St. Mary's Church from where you can see the rustic rooftops of this well preserved 13th century town.

More evidence for you that yes indeed the sky does sometimes get blue here in the UK.  Here are more photos from Camber Sands in East Sussex where the charms of the English countryside meet the sea.   The tide rises so quickly that you might suddenly find yourself trapped on a sinking sandy island on the beach.  The interaction between the sand and the water resembles something like a giant cappuccino as it fizzles and foams.  It's quite a sight to behold.

Spring is imminent. No doubt a good chunk of the nation is planning, or has already planned their summer holiday for this year.  For many, it's an escape from the dreary clouds of Britain into the delightful glory of the Iberian peninsula and beyond. I, on the other hand, will probably be spending a lot of it staycationning right here. Sure, I'd probably hop down to the African continent for a wee bit, but that wouldn't be for a holiday per say. If like me you fancy a bit of a getaway in summer, may I recommend East Sussex?  Except of course, you are from East Sussex.

Spring is well on its way here. This week brings promises of sunshine here in London. I'll be out with my cameras once again.  Monochrome season is over. Bring on the colour. And randomness.

This is Clissold House. It is located in Clissold Park, which is in the general area of Stoke Newington, London.  It was built in the 18th century for a City merchant at the time. So far, so good. Nothing remarkable about that, especially for London which is full of structures such as this one. What is remarkable about this building is the history surrounding it. Said City merchant was Jonathan Hoare, a philanthropist and anti-slavery campaigner in his day. He was one of the founders of the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade . Clissold Park, one of the many lovely London parks, was created around this house.  There is a stretch of water around the house which was part of the New River - [a canal built to supply clean water to London from Hertfordshire].   It is no wonder then, that many people including me, love to photograph the house.  On this lovely day as I was in the process of framing this photo, I was confronted by two of the pa...

When I was a kid, I was told to always make sure I start a new year on as new a slate as possible. The tradition was to ensure to pay back any debts, fix any broken friendships, settle any disputes, in order to make the following year as successful as it could be.  I remember rushing around on the last two days of each year saying 'sorry for this, sorry for that' to my siblings and cousins.  I even admitted to some porkies I may have told my parents at the time. Looking back, that was actually quite a healthy tradition.  One that I am determined to resurrect now as an adult.  It wouldn't hurt to go through all my bills, credit cards, subscriptions and all that to ensure I'm not owing anything.  It would be great to reach out to friends and associates to ensure we're all on a positive standing towards each other.   These are they days. Peace, love and friendship to all.

So today is most probably the shortest day of the year.  I say that because it doesn't always occur on the 21st.  It is a pretty significant day as you can imagine.  It's one of the major turning points in our natural calendar.   I have always wondered why this isn't considered the last day of the year, tomorrow being the first day of the new year.  After all, the days start getting longer again from tomorrow.

Our eyes are simply incredible.  As far as I can see [ahem!] we are not able to zoom with them, but we are able to focus across a staggering distance if you think about it.   Using a fixed prime lens camera like the Olympus 35 RC , you really come to appreciate that. Especially when you are unable to 'zoom with your legs' for whatever reason.  Interestingly enough, I find that looking at a photo that I took, I can still see what I saw on the day, but other people may not see the same thing obviously. For example in the photo above, one might see the subject as the group of trees and their reflection in the lake whereas I was trying to shoot the two birds racing across the water like speedboats.  Thats what my eyes are drawn to every time I look at this photo because I was there on the day, and that's what inspired me to take the photo. Now tell me, in the following photo, a more extreme case, do you see a field of bell flowers or like me, do you see a ...

I love trees.  No, I'm obsessed with trees .  Talking of which, I selected my Christmas tree today, so I suppose that's the rest of Sunday planned :)

I love lonesome animal moments like this.  It reminds me so much of myself.

There is something calming and meditative about fire.

Reluctantly contemplating going outdoors I slide the window blinds to one side to see what I was headed into.  There it is; the usual cacophony of the rowdy urban streets.  People hurriedly getting on with their day, seemingly resigned to that fate.  The streets are littered with all manner of man-made debris. Litter is one thing that really gets to me.  So much so that I made a video ranting about it on YouTube .  As I stand wondering why its so filthy outside two men  interrupt my thought stream with their loud voices as they greet each other.  They exchange pleasantries and shortly head their respective ways BUT without leaving a trail of litter in their wake.  One sprinkles the streets with sweet wrappers and what looks like shopping receipts while the other casually tosses an empty cigarette pack across the street.  All this within 2 metres of a public bin.  There's my answer. The above is a common scenario for me living ...