For Want Of An Umbrella

Posted by Mark on May 9, 2012 | 7 Comments

Those clenched fists tell you all you need to know: yes, I'd captured a shot just as the man in the suit – damp from the rain and surrounded by people more suitably-attired to the conditions – remembered that his bag contained an all-weather sombrero for just this sort of occasion.

He mouthed the word "damn!" as his hand struggled to release the protective headgear and I snorted with laughter.

"All-weather sombrero?" I asked, innocently.

"Yeah," he mumbled, getting wetter as the rain picked up in strength and the hat finally emerged from its carrier.

"Dumbass!" I said, with a smile. Sadly, he didn't quite see the humour in the situation, growled, and moved towards me with a string of profanities about to roll off his tongue.

Fortunately for everyone involved – mainly me, and not him to be brutally honest – an old dear chose that moment to wander between us. One lowered, exposed spoke on the umbrella she had remembered to bring neatly plucked out his left eyeball and all thoughts of swearing or sheltering vanished in a heartbeat (that heartbeat being accompanied by quite a scream, as you can imagine).

The man in the suit spent the remainder of my lunch break hunting for his errant eye – a task not aided by his newly-acquired lack of depth perception – before I laughingly let him know it had fallen into the crown of his still-clutched sombrero and he'd had it on him all along.

For #WetWednesday curated by +Susanne Schweiger and for #StreetPics .

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Alone With His Thoughts

Posted by Mark on May 8, 2012 | 8 Comments

I'm alone with my thoughts, he thought, unless that man with the camera over there has a thought filter on his lens. But that would be crazy.

I sniggered loud enough to make him flinch.

I'm not looking at the camera. I'm just going to think my thoughts. Alone.

"Oi!" I shouted. "Thinky McLonesome!"

Ignore him, Leonard, he's shouting at someone else. Just think to yourself. There is nobody else here. Just you and your thoughts.

"Leonard! Look at me!" I hissed.

You're imagining things, Leonard. That's not that photographer. That's the other voice you can hear. Dr Green said he would return from time to time. Just ignore him. We all agreed: no more bloodshed. Let's just think our thoughts alone.

"Sorry!" I shouted. "I didn't realise you were a recovering, schizophrenic, psychopath!"

He gave me a nod then and a tight smile as the benches around him rapidly emptied of people who had suddenly realised there were places they needed to be. I decided to leave him alone with his thoughts.

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Conscientious Bird

Posted by Mark on May 8, 2012 | 2 Comments

I never really cared for and don't know much about birds – I mean, I know they have wings, beaks, evolved from dinosaurs, and some of them taste like chicken – but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate it when I see one of them carefully tidying up, removing some old foliage from the path so that I wouldn't trip over it or traipse any of into the office building. That's good to see and something that the youth of today would do well to emulate.

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London Photowalk

Posted by Mark on May 7, 2012 | 8 Comments

Last year we visited America to see my wife's sister and, on Thanksgiving, two of her friends (a married couple) drove down from Virginia (I think) to show us around Washington D.C. That's the sort of nice thing you don't forget in a hurry. Subsequently, when we were told that Michelle – one of the friends – was coming over to little old England (her first visit) on a business trip and that she was coming over a couple of days early so that she could take in a bit of London we jumped at the chance to show her around.

Thus it was that on Sunday I, my wife, and her parents took the train up to London and engaged in a meandering walk that took us from Liverpool Street past St Paul's Cathedral, through Farringdon, across to Covent Garden, down to Trafalgar Square (Sikh New Year festival was taking place), back through Covent Garden and the market (a gem of a place for a person with a camera), along the Strand, and back to the hotel to drop off one very jet-lagged, tired, full American visitor. Also: slightly tipsy. There may have been pubs along the route.

Naturally, someone – that someone may have been me – also took the opportunity to take a photo or two (or two hundred), some of which are included here. A London photowalk, even if there was only one of me.

In album London, Michelle's Visit (130 photos)

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Pink Boots

Posted by Mark on May 7, 2012 | 2 Comments

Quick submission for #ShoesMonday curated by +Olga Kafka, +Terry Fabre, +Laura Harding, and +Bernd Schaefers while I continue to confuse myself with the new Flickr uploader after going through the shots taken yesterday in London.

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Market Man

Posted by Mark on May 5, 2012 | 4 Comments

After my photographic endeavours in the Bishop's garden (see previous post) yesterday lunchtime I headed back to work via the precinct in Chichester; it was there that I discovered that not only was the market in full swing but there were coachloads of tourists in from the continent. How lucky, I thought, that I should pick today to miss out on all these street photo shots in favour of some plants. I often think things with heavy sarcasm.

Swallowing my disappointment I checked the time and realised I could hang around a few minutes and see if anything good caught my eye. Something did – I forget what now – and I lined up to take the shot, only to get that special photographer tingling sensation that tells you someone, somewhere, probably somewhere near, has just done something. I pulled the camera away from my face and glanced to my left where a man had obviously stopped in mid-stride, keen not to step in front of my shot. Ah, a conscientious civilian; I thanked him for his courtesy and indicated that it was fine for him to carry on through.

"I didn't want to spoil your shot," he said.

"You wouldn't have," I assured him.

"What are you taking a photo of?" he asked as he started to walk past.

"You," I said, swinging the camera up and catching him with a smile on his face.

He laughed. "Me? What for?"

"You're interesting." Nice people are always interesting but I didn't tell him he was nice because I've been down that route before and restraining orders aren't half as much fun as they sound.

He stopped then and looked around him. "What's this?" he asked.

I looked at the market stalls and the people in the market perusing the market stalls, as well as the signs on some of the market stalls that included the word "Market" in their writing. "It's a market," I told him.

"Is this a market?" he asked incredulously. I nodded, but I forget exactly which adjective would best complement the action. "Is this always here?" he asked with a high level of astonishment in his voice.

"Not always," I said slowly, trying to imagine an eternal market in Chichester. "First and third Friday of the month," I added.

"Oh!" he laughed, shook his head in bewilderment, and walked on.

Nice guy, I thought. Dim too.

#StreetSaturday

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Around The Garden

Posted by Mark on May 5, 2012 | 4 Comments

Not mine, of course. If I'd wandered around my garden taking photos then this would be an album of weeds, dirt, and motion-blurred shots where I'd jumped away from something big and scary on a fence panel. This, instead, is the Bishop's garden; being a Bishop he can afford to have pretty flowers in it and lawn and paths and such. What a life!

In album Around The Garden (20 photos)

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Beastie Boys Triple

Posted by Mark on May 5, 2012 | 0 Comments

No surprise that Beastie Boys will feature for this weekend’s trio of videos in the wake of Adam Yauch’s death.

Body Movin’

Hey Ladies

Shake Your Rump