Digitaloskar now at digitaloskarphotography.co.uk

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Digitaloskar has moved!

Yes I finally took the plunge and got myself a domain and website and all that stuff so now I am learning all about wordpress, it’s exciting stuff!

I would really love to have you follow me at my new blog where you can get the latest updates of what I am up to and see my latest photographs which I’m really proud of!

There is also going to be an exclusive members area where you will be able to download some of my work for free (I’m still building that bit). So I look forward to seeing you all in my new home at:

www.digitaloskarphotography.co.uk

Photograph of Cranes – Construction Site Kings Cross

It feels like London has been one big construction site for years now a day doesn’t seem to go by without a road being dug up or a building being torn down. The pace of things seems to have picked up to almost fever pitch. With the Olympics just round the corner and I often wonder just how it’s all going to get done in time. Kings Cross is one of the hot spots for construction it seems though of all the other places I think it is seeing some progress at least. Inch by inch the scaffolding creeps its way across the station and surrounding buildings, revealing shiny new glass and steel structures (the architectural flavor of the decade). I often find myself being drawn to the sight of the huge cranes that seem to float above the city. I am often at dusk or dawn captivated by their calm heights as they bask in the sunlight and the open air. Commodities we are a bit short of down on the ground amongst the buildings and the rubble.

Ariel Photography – A photograph of London from a plane

Coming back to London from a trip away I happened to notice that it was one of the few times I could actually see the city and not just a bank of clouds. I began to trace the trip home from the airport. I could see the road I was going to drive home on and then I started looking out at all the buildings I recognized in London like the Gherkin, Center-point, St Pauls Cathedral. Having my camera to hand I decided to take a few photographs before I had to put it away and managed to track most of my journey home from central London out to Heathrow. I wasn’t expecting that much from them but when I did finally get back and had a look at what I had captured I was very pleasantly surprised to see I had captured some interesting cityscapes. You never know what you are going to end up with in your digital camera.

USA Trip – Roller-coaster at Dusk

This photograph I took on another trip out to the West Coast of America. I didn’t actually ride this roller-coaster and I am not sure why that was. I am not normally one to pass up a cheap thrill ride in an amusement park. Instead I opted for taking this rather amusing picture of it in the dusk light before we headed home the Hotdog on a Stick sign still tickles me when I see it.

Seafood at Borough Market

 

I have a deep and meaningful relationship with food. Food and I have been entangled with each other ever since I could stick my hand into a bowl and mush it into my face ( and usually down my shirt and into my ears too). It’s a relationship which has been passed down from parent to child in my family for generations. So when we get together we will often choose a part of town (in this case London) that is famous for great food (in this case Borough Market). So my dad being very much a seafood lover could not resist buying some seafood from this lovely fishmongers, it was very very tasty and well worth the effort of negotiating the crowds. When I am not wandering around with family members or friends eating our way through London I am often found taking photographs of food. I don’t think it’s something I’m ever going to get bored of.

 

There’s a wolf on the beach

I took a trip down to Big Sur, I was working for a large IT vendor at the time whose offices were near San Francisco. Myself and a couple of other engineers (that’s what they called us though I have never studied engineering just so you know) decided to take our rental car and drive it down the coast to Big Sur. We’d all heard about the place so we though hey why not go see it. The drive was amazing such a beautiful coast line and I’d love to do it again. We did end up going a bit further on to a small but well-known town whose name escapes me now (answers on a postcard or in a comment if you want to guess) and we hung out there for a couple of hours. The sand was blindingly white and the sea amazingly blue. I noticed this guy turn up on the beach with what I first thought was two dogs, one of the dogs seemed to attract a lot of attention from other people. No one seemed to worried but I did over hear someone comment that it was not a dog but a wolf. Curious I hovered around, too shy to actually talk to the guy, I did manage to catch this shot of the wolf taking a nap in the shade. It is one of my favorite images.

Spain

I took this on my trip out Spain with some friends. It was a great trip and I do hope to return to Spain another friend and I have been talking about doing the walk across Spain together. I love to walk a country, there is something deeply connecting about exploring a country step by step at your own pace. It is humbling to have a true sense of the size of a place which I think is hard to do in a car or on a train. There is also a great sense of achievement to walk for a whole day and to see just how far one step at a time can take you.

A break in the weather

Despite the changeability of the weather at the moment plants are doing their best to keep to schedule, they keep on doing what they do which is put on their best colours to entice lots of busy insects and birds. A good thing that we are still managing to get the odd day or two in between the rain and hail storms for them to really shine. And it is so lovely when I do get a moment or two to appreciate them.

Reminder

A timely reminder from life that I am not lost, I wander.

Creativity

I am often as much impressed as I am amused in by the way we humans creatively use our environment. Quite often I see evidence of other people using what is around them to overcome the limitations of their own resources or environment. This student for example not having access to the space or clothes dryer he needs to dry his underpants. Simply takes advantage of the warm sunny weather opens a window and hangs them out to dry. Fantastic!

By the water

I find something deeply soothing and powerful about just sitting and watching the water. Maybe it’s because I where I grew up I spent a great deal of my childhood either in a pool or on a beach or by a river. My mum used to jokingly refer to us as water babies. We would as children play games where we pretended we were dolphins trying to launch ourselves out of the water and arc through the air then dive back in again. I don’t think we ever quite managed to emulate them to be honest. I learnt a great deal about myself and life through my interactions with water. I learnt how to relax my body so I could float on its surface. I learnt that to get where you want to go and not be exhausted by your efforts you work with it because it does what it does. Water is a teacher of great wisdom.

Waiting

These two old fellas wait patiently while their master pops in and outs of shops, they watch him dashing back and forth with some amusement I imagine. He seems to be in such a rush and not really appearing to get very far, I hope he remembers the dog food.

London Photo -Trackside

I continue to find myself fascinated by the workmen on the rail tracks. Is it their High Viz uniform I wonder? More likely for me it is that they are one of unnoticed millions who go about their daily jobs keeping the cogs of infrastructure moving. They are one of many professions that day after day make sure that the stuff we just expect to be there, like electricity, running water and trains just keeps being there.

London Photo – The tower in the sky

Here’s a fun one the Shard to be found in London Bridge. I love taking pictures of this building it is such an imposing structure which I am sure is what they were going for. This was one of the few times I have managed to get a shot of this building where it’s tip is not in the clouds so I was very happy to catch it. I slapped a filter on it I think it was earlybird and got this effect. It kind of reminds me of one of the orc towers in Mordor, I like it.

London Photos – Blackheath Station

I am really pleased with this shot the dirty brick wall the lady walking past in a blur and the sharp sign.

I am really enjoying playing with Instagram, I have only just really started to use it and it has really been a revelation for me. I have for the last few years been not really been working with my phone  camera at all. Then I discovered Instagram and a whole new world has opened up for me. It is fantastic and I have really reconnected with my love of just taking pictures for fun and play. Now I just need a phone with a better battery life!

London Trains

Another train, another train journey into London. When they are not packed full of people, or when I don’t have to be somewhere and I’m stuck on the train, I love riding the trains. Watching the world woosh past or crawl depending on the signals is great fun. You can see all sorts of amazing things out the windows, there are fields full of horses and cows and bunnies and deer. Some of my favorite train moments have been early in the morning out in the country seeing the deer in the fields as the sun rises it is so surprising to see them and such a rush!

Today though I am coming into the city so no furry animals but there are trains and graffiti which I also love to photograph.

London Photo – Homeward Bound

On the platform of London Bridge walking up to the front of the train heading home. I looked up and saw this old gentleman wandering down the platform ahead of me. He seemed ready to head home and kick back and relax after a hard day in front of his desk. Luckily he wasn’t moving that fast so not only could I keep up with him (I’m a slow walker), I also had time to get my phone out, unlock it and take a photo before I got on the train.

Lunch Break

Another train into London, this time to Waterloo. There is a lot of construction going on in that part of the city from London Bridge Station to Waterloo East seems to be non-stop scaffolding and construction sites. As we were slowly moving by on the train I happened to catch these two guys taking a breather or lunch break (I like to imagine). I really get a kick out of catching these moments in the day when people are just taking a moment to do nothing more than be themselves. I often aim to catch people in that state when I am shooting events or parties, it can be a bit tricky because people often find it hard to relax with a camera floating around, which is completely understandable. I do my best to get people comfortable and usually after a while they forget I am even holding a camera, or even better they start to have fun with me taking their pictures.

Central London Green Tea Cheesecake

I love the bitterness of green tea and in desserts, I can enjoy that bitterness and half convince myself it both naughty and healthy at the same time. This green tea cheesecake was just the ticket after a lovely lunch in central london with friends. YUM!

We have recently found this cake and tea house on Wardour St just a few doors away from the Humming Bird Cafe. It does an impressive selection of cakes and teas and also boasts some tasty sounding breakfasts. I can’t vouch for the breakfasts as I havent had any but the cakes are good and so are the teas. It’s always busy as is to be expected in that part of London so you have to move quickly to secure a table sometimes .