Went on a trip round the Southwest of Great Britain - The West Country. A trip that took me all the way to the very tip of the island at Land's End, via Stonehenge, the Jurassic Coast, quaint fishing villages, and of course Cornish cream tea and Cornish ice-cream!
Still going through the tonnes of photos that I snapped. For a teaser, here's Stonehenge. A bunch of big rocks that you are charged £5 to see!
DAVID BECKHAM IS BACK! Yeah, he may be overrated and overhyped. But the fact is, he's still the best crosser and dead-ball specialist in a Three Lions shirt. Anyway, I was there for England's first international at the NEW Wembley stadium. Great stadium, great facilities - escalators instead of stairs! However, the atmosphere was just not there, unlike Old Trafford.
Snap is of Beckham in his trademark freekick pose. Taken using my 80-200mm f/2.8 at full zoom and cropped.
Did a shoot last week for a mate's portfolio. Very talented guy, you can find his full portfolio here.
Went to Wembley Stadium on Saturday for the FA Cup Final. Not to watch the match though, as like the boy above, I too did not have a ticket. But just to experience the atmosphere of a Wembley Cup Final involving United, plus it was also a good chance to get in a few snaps.
Sadly we eventually lost the match, albeit to a moment of brilliance from the Chelsea attack. Oh well. At the end of the day, WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF ENGLAND!
Rainy days here in London. In a cruel twist of irony, it only started raining after I completed my exams 2 weeks ago. Every. Single. Day. So I'm forced to put back shooting plans at places like the London Zoo, the flower beds at Regent's Park, and even day excursions to Kent and Bath. Hopefully the weather gets better before our road trip to the North in a couple of weeks' time. More on that in later posts.
Above snap was taken from the top deck of a bus (the number 7 bus) during a traffic light stop at Oxford Circus. Taken in Shutter Priority mode at 1/2.5s, doing my best to keep the camera still by bracing myself against the bus window! Curves were then adjusted to increase contrast, and noise was added.
Despite the pouring rain, had a smashing time at Thorpe Park a few days back. A must-go for anyone who loves thrilling rides, and it's only a half-hour train ride from London. My tip is to get on the front row for Stealth. 0 to 80mph in less than 2 seconds, and then you're plummeting down from a height of over 200 feet! Take my word for it, the experience alone is worth the admission price!
Above shot is of Colussus, a crazy rollercoaster with countless loops. Had to get the timing right to snap these thrill-seekers going upside-down at speed through one of those loops. Had problems getting the exposure right, shooting against the bright sky.
More snaps can be found at my flickr page.
Spring's here in London - well, quite a few may argue that SUMMER is here, with the daytime temperatures we're enjoying. Still chilly when the sun's down though. Managed to snap this little birdy before it flew off. I'm not a bird-watcher myself (birds of a different kind, maybe), so I have no idea what species it is. Maybe some kind soul would care to identify it.
Great result for the mighty Manchester United against Roma the other night, more so for myself as I was there at Old Trafford! This snap was taken before the England-Spain match some time back. It's at the corner of Sir Matt Busby Way, right in front of the fish and chips shops where the Red Army congregate before every home match. Boosted the saturation a bit to bring out the blues in the dusk sky.
One of the snaps I managed to take of the total lunar eclipse last night. Despite initial forecasts of rain and cloudy skies, the sky was extremely clear last night with not a cloud in sight, providing perfect view of the moon throughout the entire period.
Unlike sun eclipses, the moon doesn't actually disappear during the eclipse. Rather, it takes on a reddish hue. The BBC website explains that during "totality" the Moon takes on a reddish hue; the only light reaching its surface by this stage had been filtered through Earth's atmosphere.
This snap was taken during the "peak" of the eclipse, taken at full telephoto on my 80-200mm lens, with a shutter speed of 1.6 seconds at f/2.8.
Gary Neville in action. Snapped at the England-Spain friendly match on 8th February 2007 at Old Trafford, Manchester.
We had really good seats, close to the action, but far enough to enjoy the whole match. Snapped the above using my trusty 80-200 lens at f/2.8 to freeze Neville in mid-air.
Refreshing change after the recent spate of Prague photos. This one I snapped just before leaving for London. It's an oft-taken image of the main market in Kota Bharu, Malaysia. Looks deserted at first glance, but look again closely for the well-camouflaged vegetable sellers.
I've finally finished editing all the photos from our Prague trip. Please feel free to browse through at the below link:
http://ozzyphoto.com/prague
This is the Charles Bridge, the most prominent and famous building/structure in Prague. It's what Tower Bridge is to London, or the Petronas Twin Towers is to Kuala Lumpur. It spans the Vltava River, connecting the Old Town to the Little Quarter. It is a fully pedestrianised bridge, filled with camera-clicking tourists (like me!) and peddlers and artists selling their wares. It is flanked on both sides by religious statues, though through wear and tear many of these are copies.
One of the legacies of being under communist rule is that Prague has a superb transport system consisting of the underground Metro, busses and trams as above. The same tickets (which are sold according to time blocks, rather than number of trips) are used for all three systems. The best thing is that system is based on trust - there are no ticket turnstiles or bus conductors. This snap was taken in the quiet streets near our small hotel which is located in the outskirts of Prague.
This is a snap of the Old Town Hall Tower located in Old Town Square, built in 1364.
It snowed in London! Not much, but it's still snow, and those of you who have stayed in London would know how rarely that happens. The above snap is that of our back "garden".
I prefer this snap though. Snow-covered selipar jepun. Now THAT'S a rare sight!
A little teaser from our Prague trip. To the uninitiated, Prague is the capital city of the Czech Republic. A country known for its communist rule in the past when it was known as Czechoslovakia, but now famed more for its respected football team. It is one of the oldest well-preserved cities in Europe, and many a Hollywood blockbuster has been filmed on its narrow cobbled streets (XXX, The Bourne Identity, Underworld, Van Helsing & Mission Impossible to name a few. Click here for more.)
The photo above shows the River Vltava (don't ask me how to pronounce it!!), which is the prominent feature of Prague, running through the heart of the city. Snapped the photo from the top of Vysehrad, which is a rocky cliff looking over the river that provides stunning views of the city. A storm was brewing which explains the gloomy sky.
Do come back often, as I'll be posting more snaps from Prague from time to time.
We're going off to Prague (Czech Republic) next week, to "celebrate" the end of the exams and enjoy a proper holiday. Literally been buried in my notes since the first day of the Christmas hols! Really looking forward to the trip from a photography point of view. I'll have the opportunity to capture the history, romance and beautiful architecture of Prague. Hoping to snap a few keepers, which I would of course post on this humble blog of mine to share with you.
