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Guildford Music Takeover 2013

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Greetings all! This weekend I was lucky enough to be asked along to a fantastic musical event with the amazing band Unsung Lilly and singer-songwriter Alex Louise, the Guildford Music Takeover 2013! The idea was to play sets in the shops around Guildford, Surrey, and I went along to take some photos. I actually met both Unsung Lilly and Alex Louise through my photo work on Under The Radar, a live music show on internet radio station Brooklands Radio, every Sunday from 7-9pm, and you can see my photos from their sessions here and here. They both make some fantastic music, I’d really recommend checking them out. All in all I think it’s fair to say the day was a resounding success!

Alex Louise playing at Jack Wills in Guildford
Alex Louise playing at Jack Wills
Alex Louise playing at Jack Wills
Alex Louise playing at Jack Wills
Alex Louise
Unsung Lilly play at Jack Wills, Guildford, unplugged!
Unsung Lilly playing at Jack Wills
Unsung Lilly playing at Jack Wills
Unsung Lilly playing at Jack Wills
Unsung Lilly playing at Jack Wills
Unsung Lilly playing at Jack Wills
Unsung Lilly
Unsung Lilly
Unsung Lilly
Alex Louise plays at House of Fraser, Guildford
Alex Louise plays at House of Fraser
Alex Louise plays at House of Fraser
Alex Louise plays at House of Fraser
Alex Louise plays at House of Fraser
Unsung Lilly and Alex Louise
Unsung Lilly
Unsung Lilly play at House of Fraser, Guildford
Unsung Lilly play at House of Fraser
Unsung Lilly draw quite a crowd!
Unsung Lilly playing at House of Fraser
Unsung Lilly playing at House of Fraser

London – Tiffany Fountain

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St James’s Park, London, just before sunset. I’ve got a habit of going out to watery places just as the sun’s going down, it seems. Not that I’m complaining, you understand.

I feel I should mention that there’s only minimal post-processing on these shots. I know a lot of people complain that it’s snobbish to do so, and I agree since post-processing is such a large part of photography. But in this case I feel I have to, because if I hadn’t taken these photos myself I might not believe that this is real. Trust me, there are no colour filters or hue adjustments, just a little curves and levels tweaking. It really did look like this.

You see, the sun was setting right down the length of the lake in the park, so there was a fantastic golden light illuminating the Tiffany Fountain at the east side of the park.

The fountain captured and reflected the light of the sun low on the horizon, making it appear to glow from within with this golden light. It really was spectacular.

Walking away from the park, over towards Horseguard’s Parade, I could see the fountain looked like a beacon of light surrounded by silhouettes of people. Now, how am I supposed to resist a shot like that?

It was a fantastic sight. The quality of light we get at this time of year is really phenomenal, and if you’re in or near London I really recommend getting down to St James’s Park in the early evening while the weather’s still good. It’s definitely worth the trip.

Photo set – Kingston at sunset

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I’ve lived in and around Kingston-upon-Thames for most of my life, and one of its perennial attractions is the stretch of the river Thames that winds through the town. So, with the last of the good weather fading away I went for a wander down to the riverside as the sun was going down.

There was hardly a breath of wind and no cloud at all. The surface of the river took on an incredible metallic sheen, the only ripples coming from wake of the occasional passing boat.

As the sun dipped over the horizon the sky took on a fantastic orange colour the was reflected in the river, giving a strange, almost other-wordly feel to what is otherwise a very familiar sight.

Walking down the riverside at this time of day is a very peaceful experience. There’s hardly any noise, just benches full of people quietly enjoying a beautiful sunset and the occasional swan.

I’m always reminded by this sort of thing that really, boredom shouldn’t exist. There’s something interesting to be found anywhere at any time, and that the best camera is the one you have with you. All in all, I’d say it was a successful jaunt, but it did teach me that I’d benefit from a camera with better performance at high ISO once the light started to disappear. That’ll have to wait for now though, and besides, there’s life in my old Panasonic yet.