Uploads from an untrained eye, tagged topv3333, with geodata

Whitechapel

nobody@flickr.com (an untrained eye) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:46:54 -0800

December 30th, 2009 - Whitechapel, London, England

I could try to imbue this image with some sort of appropriate New Year's symbolism - say it represents a young man walking towards a brighter future, or something like that. Or I could just thank the photography gods for presenting me with the perfect Flickr-friendly combination of rain-glistening cobbles, a silhouette in a long coat and a vanishing point.

Happy reveling !! See you in 2010 !!

I think it's worth clicking here to view large on black.

Red Hot Riding Hood

nobody@flickr.com (an untrained eye) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:28:41 -0800

an untrained eye posted a photo:

November 1st, 2009 - New York, United States

This picture was actually taken a couple of minutes before this one. I've held off for some time from posting because it seemed rather uninspired to return to the scene of an earlier crime, but I do rather like it. Contrary to appearances, the woman is not hiding her face from me, but rather hoping that her boyfriend will leave her in peace for a while.

I think this looks best on black.

Of course, as a huge Tex Avery fan, my favourite version of the Little Red Riding Hood story has always been this one.

I Just Have To Make One More Call, He Said

nobody@flickr.com (an untrained eye) — Mon, 26 May 2008 11:12:56 -0700

an untrained eye posted a photo:

May 10th, 2008 - New York, United States

This photo was blogged on Desde dentro hacia afuera on September 15th, 2008 and on www.mayombe.org/site-research/prenda-de-lucero-mundo-palo... on March 7th, 2009.
It was also blogged on Spanish site Riesgo & Recompensa on May 31st, 2009.

Compare And Contrast

nobody@flickr.com (an untrained eye) — Sat, 10 May 2008 12:19:00 -0700

an untrained eye posted a photo:

May 9th, 2008 - New York, United States

** Update April 4th, 2012 **

I'm not generally one for recycling my images, but here I am doing so for the second time in the space of a couple of weeks. On this occasion, however, it's for a good cause : I'm proud to say that this photograph has been selected as one of thirty-five or so of which prints are being auctioned on the specially created Street Collection site. I'm humbled to find myself in the company of great street photographers such as Nick Turpin and Nils Jorgensen in a selection curated by Sophie Howarth, editor of the wonderful Street Photography Now book, which came out to much critical acclaim last year.

Please find below the official press release :

"Street Photography has been enjoying an extraordinary renaissance in the last few years with a raft of dedicated publications, festivals, magazines and exhibitions. Now leading practitioners from across the world have come together to offer their work in an online sale to raise money for PhotoVoice, a charity that raises money to fund projects with marginalised communities, and helps them communicate through the power of photography.

The Street Collection includes beautiful, dramatic, comic and moving images that capture the energy and idiosyncrasy of everyday life on streets across the globe. 500 prints will be available at just £100 each. This is a unique opportunity to buy outstanding street photographs at an affordable price. Many of the prints available are well known but have never previously been available for purchase.

Participating photographers include: Nick Turpin, David Gibson, Maciej Dakowicz, Nils Jorgensen, Mark Alor Powell, Arif Asci, Stephen McLaren, Mimi Mollica, Polly Braden and Ying Tang. The sale is curated by Sophie Howarth, co-author of Street Photography Now (Thames and Hudson, 2010).

Buyers will be able to view all the available photographs online at www.thestreetcollection.net from 4th April. Online sales open at 10am on 11th April."

** End of Update **

I arrived in New York to news that there was a flood warning in place this evening - apparently two to three inches (that's five to seven and a half centimetres) of rain are forecast tonight. But I've been looking forward to this trip for 18 months, and there was no way I was going to let my enthusiasm be dampened (literally or metaphorically) by a spring shower. So out I went. Fortunately, I wasn't the only one.

Please click here to view on black.

This photograph has been blogged on Musical Rambling... and The Tea Leaf... and Hecyra... and Inspiration DC... and is referenced on club-sejour.fr/new-york/galerie... and Digital Picture Zone... and to my great pleasure, it's been all over tumblr several times !!

As of November 25th 2009, part of this image is being used as the banner on the home page of the WNYC radio culture site.

Why Choose When You Can Have Both ?

nobody@flickr.com (an untrained eye) — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:01:25 -0800

an untrained eye posted a photo:

December 8th, 2007 - Paris, France

I was trudging along in the rain behind Notre-Dame on Saturday, trying to hide my frustration at the lack of real photo opportunities behind a feigned interest in gargoyles when the friend I was with, who as a general rule finds my obession with street photography unhealthy, not to say unethical, said to me in the most matter-of-fact way, "Did you see that woman we just passed ? She was wearing different coloured shoes - it would have made a great photograph."

I barely had time to glance around before the woman in question disappeared into the crowd behind me, but it was long enough to see that indeed the potential for a great shot was there.

I walked on, my frustration doubled, trying to work out whether my friend's remark was a coded encouragement, all the more welcome for being so unexpected, to indulge my passion for once. As lightheartedly as I could manage I repeated her words. "Yes, it would have made a great photograph."

No response.

We walked on further, as the rain became increasingly heavy. We stopped beneath the awning of a souvenir store and looked absentmindedly at postcards. The missed opportunity continued to eat away at me.

Eventually, I could contain myself no more. I turned to my friend. "I have to go and get a picture of her. Wait for me here," I blurted, turning to run before she could reply.

By the time I caught up with her, the woman with the unmatching shoes - a fashion statement, or an unwitting witness to her colour-blindness ? - was almost the other side of Notre-Dame. But I caught her, and I took several shots as discreetly as I could. This is the clearest one of her shoes. You can see the whole outfit here. Trust me, it's worth it.

This photograph has been blogged on the rather fabulous This Is Star.

South Bank Portrait

nobody@flickr.com (an untrained eye) — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 15:30:47 -0700

an untrained eye posted a photo:

October 16th, 2006 - London, England

This is not a stream for family photographs - they're mostly here - but I made an exception with the very first picture I posted, and this is a second to prove the rule even more definitively.

This is my son, aged 13, snapped on the South Bank almost as I would have done a true street portrait - he'd wandered ahead of me and my parents, then stopped to wait for us to catch up. I managed to steal up on him before he knew it, and even when he realised I was just beside him, I don't think he really expected me to press the shutter. The result is one of the most natural shots of him I have ever managed to take - I liked it so much, I even mocked it up as an album cover for him.

This photograph appears on WanderWizz, also known, in its German version, as StadtLandBerg.

It was also used on September 1st 2009 as the opening image for a video announcing the Job Labs Program, an initiative to "address holistically the societal challenge of joblessness", launched by London Creative Labs, which specialises amongst other things in "Social Business" and "disruptive innovation" - both of which I wholeheartedly endorse !

Click here to view large on black.

New York Public Library #5

nobody@flickr.com (an untrained eye) — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 03:55:12 -0700

an untrained eye posted a photo:

April 13th, 2006 - New York, United States

When I visited New York in April 2006 - I like to try to get there at least once a year if I can, so invigorating and exciting do I find it - I had hardly taken a photograph in six months. I wandered the streets looking for the iconic (or, failing that, the stereotypical) Big Apple shots, and though I half-heartedly took one or two snaps of a young man leaning against a wall on 5th Avenue playing the saxophone, with the Empire State Building looming in the background, I found I hadn't quite got my street photography mojo back. It had taken me a long time to get up the courage to take candid shots in public back in Geneva less than a year earlier, and not having done so for so long, I reverted to my natural discretion and self-consciousness.

Eventually I decided to give up and went into the New York public library behind Bryant Park, where, ironically, an exhibition of street photography was being shown. Once I had been round the exhibition I explored more of the magnificent building with its astonishing grandeur and gorgeous artworks. Finally, exhausted - I had walked over 120 blocks in the day - I sat down on the bench opposite the one in this picture with the intention merely of resting, only to have my photographer's instinct ignited by the arrival of a young Japanese couple.

This and the next photo of the couple in black and white may not strictly speaking be considered street photographs, but to me they represent the best I have so far achieved in the genre.

Click here to view large on black - I'm not sure it's better, but I'll leave you to decide.

This image has been used on the Metalife Project website and on the associated blog, Metalifestream, both of which are thoroughly worth exploring. In a nutshell, the Metalife Project is an exploration of the way in which our personal and business lives are unwittingly changed by our interaction with communication tools. There's some fascinating material on the website, and it's been beautifully designed by Steve Haynes.

Blogged on Kristo Nikkolo on January 6th, 2008 - Kristo is an Estonian, so unfortunately I don't understand a word of his post, but I owe him thanks as (I believe) my first ever blogger !!
Also blogged onThings Look Like This and Happy LOL Day on March 15th, 2008.
Blogged on Siam Intelligence on April 30th, 2008.
And blogged on Narcissique Blog on June 22nd, 2008 (Merci, Thomas!).
Blogged on Flickr Art of Color Photography on July 31st, 2008.
Blogged on www.submityourarticle.com/creative-article-marketing/2008... on September 18th, 2008.
Blogged on Beyond The Book on November 5th, 2008.
Selected as one of Yahoo Travel's Best of 2008 and featuring on the page Top 10 Destinations 2008.
Blogged on Weblogs and Wikis Daybook on February 1st, 2009.
Blogged on Prelovac on February 11th, 2009.
Blogged on Wide Open Spaces on April 6th, 2009.
Blogged on Greek Rider on May 20th, 2009.

I'm also flattered to say that this image has also been used here by MarcSanDiego to create what is known as an RL/SL (Real Life/Second Life) montage in honour of .:Galatea:., one of Flickr's leading Second Life artists - thanks to Marc for introducing me to a whole Flickr sub-culture I knew virtually nothing about !!

Finally, on May 4th, 2009, this became my first picture to reach 20,000 views. Thanks to everyone who has viewed, faved, commented on, or simply enjoyed this image !!

Berlin Building #4

nobody@flickr.com (an untrained eye) — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 14:12:15 -0700

an untrained eye posted a photo:

September 20th, 2005 - Berlin, Germany

This picture, along with the next - both of the 22-storey GSW headquarters in Berlin, with its extraordinary multi-coloured blinds - was, again along with the next - the most viewed and most favourited photograph of my 2005 Flickr existence. This may have been slightly influenced by the fact that apparently the building features in the popular German soap opera "Verliebt in Berlin", which is currently running at over 600 episodes - but I think it's more to do with a simple Flickr truth : most people are suckers for a bit of colour and a geometric pattern...

This picture was blogged on culturista's fotolog on May 6th, 2008.
And blogged on SmogR on March 5th, 2009.
It also features on the front page of the rather cool Designolosophy blog.

Please click here to view large.