Borough Market

Working, as I do, in the middle of London, one of the world’s most vibrant and varied cities, it theoretically doesn’t take much for me to get some interesting photos. All I should need to do is bring my camera to work, and then go for a walk at lunchtime.

It isn’t always that simple. For a start I’m obviously limited to somewhere I can get to and back from within an hour, allowing time for shooting. That’s difficult. I often shoot excessively to see what comes out which means I like to not have time constraints – not to mention I obviously also need to eat at some point during that hour. Then, of course, there is always the luck of the light with whatever you’re trying to photograph..

Sometimes, however, it all comes together. Last Friday two friends from work and I (Catherine and Simon – the same two who, for anyone with a long enough memory, I went along with to attend the International Paralympic Day celebrations) headed down to Borough Market. Catherine (curator of CJ Trigg Photography, linked to the right) had already spent a small amount of time there experimenting with the photographic possibilities, so we decided to all go there and see what we could capture. Fortunately, we got a work-sanctioned pass, which also removed the time commitment.

For us, the idea was to resurrect our joint blog plan from last August, as well as have the opportunity to compare and contrast the different images we got from the same location.

As is often the case with this sort of trip, initially it can take a while for the self-consciousness of going somewhere with a camera and shooting abstract things to wear off. It doesn’t help, of course, when you show up as three people, each with SLRs, looking quite a bit like this:

Borough Market, for those who’ve never heard of it, is a mostly-covered market selling primarily food, with a few arts and crafts thrown in for good measure. We went relatively early – about 11am – in order to avoid the crush of the lunchtime rush.

We stuck roughly together as we wandered around the market, separating a little when we saw something worthy of a shot. Occasionally we all found ourselves in the same spot – at least once, we ended up all standing in the same square couple of feet of space to avoid the crowds, whilst pointing our cameras in three completely different directions.

That said, when we got back into the office and had a quick look through the photos, we all have some very similar shots to each other. Some of them border on identical (give or take the height difference).

Still, it was interesting to shoot somewhere else, and above all shoot images that are impressive but generic. I even managed to use all four of my lenses at one point or another.

Due to the nature of the subject and the photographs, I liken the results to the Sights and Sounds of London Town post from two months ago, and as a result have put these images into the gallery format.

I added a filter to this one to give it a 1970s Europe feel. | 1/20sec, f/7.1, ISO 125, 18mm

I added a sepia filter to this one. | 1/20sec, f/5, ISO 200, 53mm

This one has been mostly desaturated. | 1/100sec, f/4.5, ISO 250, 39mm

Past their best, but still worth a sup. | 1/60sec, f/4.5, ISO 250, 37mm

A nice, old-school feel. | 1/320sec, f/3.5, ISO 250, 18mm

Cabbage and stuff. | 1/800sec, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 100mm

I forget what these are. | 1/250sec, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 100mm

I don’t know what this is, but I like the detail. | 1/250sec, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 100mm (cropped)

I love the clarity of the stuff and the bokeh of the background. | 1/500sec, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 100mm (cropped)

Part of a display. | 1/320sec, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 100mm

I don’t know why you’d need ‘extra’ virgins in your olive oil. | 1/500sec, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 100mm (cropped)

Disgusting things but I like the texture and divided colour in this shot. | 1/100sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250, 100mm

Love the colours. | 1/100sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250, 100mm (cropped)

Love the lighting on this shot. | 1/200sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250, 100mm

Not really a fan of these either but they look interesting. | 1/125sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250, 100mm

Any jokes I make about something with ‘rape’ in the title are bound to be inappropriate. | 1/50sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250, 100mm

I love the way this is surrounded by the leaves. | 1/60sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250, 100mm

Ah, now we’re getting to the sugary delights. | 1/1600sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250, 100mm

Tasty, tasty fudge. | 1/800sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250, 100mm

I don’t know what this is but I know I want to eat one. | 1/2000sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250, 100mm

Can… can I have some? | 1/200sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250, 100mm

I’ll just take a bit… | 1/250sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250, 100mm

That knife looks a bit sharp for just nougat… | 1/800sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250, 100mm

My favourite shot of the whole set. | 1/400sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250, 100mm

Ah, balsamic vinegar. My favourite of the vinegars. | 1/1250sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250, 100mm

They stack it like that to make it harder to steal without making a noise. | 1/160sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250, 100mm

Uber brownies! | 1/10sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250, 100mm

As long as that green bits aren’t mould or mint, I want some. | 1/250sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250, 100mm (cropped)

Do you like bread? I’ve got a French loaf *whomp* | 1/320sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250, 100mm

We weren’t really sure what they were doing with this cheese, but it still looked tasty. | 1/800sec, f/5.6, ISO 800, 135mm

Looks like they overcooked this a little. | 1/125sec, f/11, ISO 1250, 120mm

Are you hungry yet? Does it matter? | 1/400sec, f/5.6, ISO 1250, 75mm

The multicoloured ones taste like rainbows. | 1/500sec, f/5, ISO 500, 55mm

Meat served up on a platter. | 1/400sec, f/5.6, ISO 640, 120mm (cropped)

Could you imagine the bus driver’s face if I tried to use one of these to pay for my ticket? | 1/250sec, f/5.6, ISO 640, 135mm

This is why we eat paint. | 1/640sec, f/5.6, ISO 640, 85mm

Simon, photographing a line of smoothies. | 1/500sec, f/5.6, ISO 640, 135mm

Eel stakes. They’re high. | 1/125sec, f/5.6, ISO 1000, 75mm

Stilton. | 1/100sec, f/5.6, ISO 1000, 135mm (cropped)

I love the sharpness and detail on this shot. | 1/320sec, f/5.6, ISO 1000, 135mm (cropped)

A multicoloured jam. | 1/1250sec, f/4.5, ISO 1000, 70mm

Spoons in a jam. | 1/1250sec, f/4.5, ISO 1000, 70mm

I think they’d get angry if I were to take that and try dunking it in the fudge. | 1/800sec, f/5, ISO 1000, 180mm

I think these barrels are for people to be sick when they’ve eaten too much. | 1/800sec, f/5, ISO 1000, 135mm

I’m pretty sure this is the shot I took, not the one Simon took. | 1/200sec, f/4.5, ISO 1000, 70mm

Screw the olives, that feta looks delicious. | 1/800sec, f/5, ISO 1000, 140mm

A scoop in a barrel of olives. | 1/160sec, f/5, ISO 1000, 160mm

Do owls like biscuits? | 1/2500sec, f/5, ISO 1000, 160mm

I love the colours of these. | 1/500sec, f/4.5, ISO 1000, 95mm

A customer ponders his purchase. | 1/320sec, f/1.8, ISO 500, 50mm

Some of the fishing gear at a stall. | 1/100sec, f/1.8, ISO 500, 50mm

I’m not really sure why these were above a fish stall, but here they are. | 1/250sec, f/1.8, ISO 500, 50mm

I love the perspective on this shot. | 1/640sec, f/1.8, ISO 500, 50mm

A fishmonger’s stall.

After all the fudge, nougat and fish, burgers for afters. | 1/500sec, f/1.8, ISO 500, 50mm

Like a 50s orange juice advert. | 1/1600sec, f/1.8, ISO 500, 50mm

It took a lot of effort, but this shot came out really, really well in the end. | 1/80sec, f/2.8, ISO 800, 100mm

There was also a white rose. | 1/400sec, f/4, ISO 1250, 100mm

… and a pink one. | 1/250sec, f/4, ISO 1250, 100mm

A low cloud on the day obscured the (admittedly unfinished) top of the Shard. | 1/100sec, f/1.8, ISO 500, 50mm

If you like these, check out Catherine’s shots on CJ Trigg Photography. Simon’s shots have been mixed with ours and posted on our shared blog, CSR Photography.

#BoroughMarket #Catherine #food #London #macro #Photography

Creative Splurges

2011-09-09 09:33:59

International Paralympic Day

Yesterday, as part of the run up to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, London hosted International Paralympic Day to showcase some Paralympic sports.

Myself and a couple of friends headed down to Trafalgar Square in the afternoon to see who could get the best picture of whatever we found happening. Unfortunately it was a bit of a grey day.
Trafalgar Square
The first thing we came across was, well, um…

Simply put, the Mayor of London was playing tennis against the Prime Minister. They were each doubling up with a Paralympian (who rarely had a chance to hit the ball, but still), and they looked… well, like politicians playing sports, who at the best of times look awkward and uncomfortable, and even more so if they’re playing in the same suits they use to run the country.

And of course, our own Mayor Boris Johnson is not exactly renowned for his dignity.
Usually when a politician makes that face they've been caught doing something.
As bad as Boris looks, Mr Cameron (I’ll reserve political comments for the appropriate place) has managed to look even more uncertain of sporting activity as he wields a tennis racquet like it’s a live grenade:
We all knew a kid at school who did sports like this.
Unfortunately, I also discovered the problem of the bright red playing surface which lit up their faces and shirts like nobody’s business. In that last shot it’s pretty bad, in others it was less of a problem.
The PM looks like he's settling in to the game. Rather this than running the country.
With Boris it’s hard to tell as he always looks pretty drunk and red faced whatever he’s doing.
Like an uncle at a wedding.
Now, those of you familiar with tennis will be able to spot the errors in Boris’ serving technique.
That's a serve?
I’m also sure this is a non-standard posture for tennis:
This is not what we envision when we think of our politicians being on guard.
The PM by this point had settled into the game, and was looking a little more confident. His serve was still lacking, but at least he looks the part in this image:
That man has a firm grip on his balls.
You could almost believe this was a real tennis game. Played by some mid-management IT types.
Boris against the background of the Trafalgar Square lions.Shouldn't they be playing squash?
I decided whilst shooting this little sparring match to use my 70-300mm lens. Ultimately I think I would have been better off with my wider angle lens, because from my vantage point 70mm wasn’t usually wide enough, and 300mm could get a little close at times. In fact, you might want to brace yourself for this next image.
Most people wake up looking terrible then smarten themselves up a bit. Boris wakes up and it's all downhill from there.
This next shot I’ve included as it features the ball in motion with David Cameron looking right at it. However, from the angle I’ve taken it it does look a little like he’s soiled himself.
The unmistakable uncomfortableness of someone with a turd in their trousers. Maybe.
Unfortunately, for an event that was supposed to be about the Paralympics, the two politicians did spend most of the time on the ball and didn’t let their two disabled doubles partners have much of a look in. Sorry, that’s bordering on political discussion – quick, here’s a picture of Boris Johnson looking about as much like an idiot as usual:
Still lacking the correct technique for tennis, but looking far more determined than Tim Henman ever did.
Here’s Boris trying another serve. If this was a more politically-minded blog there would be a comment about underhand tactics or some such thing.
Underhanded. Geddit? What?
That’s the last of the tennis match photos, which to be honest took up the majority of the good images I took at the event. There was however still plenty more going on.

The 2012 Paralympic Games are due to start in a little under a year. Like for the Olympics, there is a clock in Trafalgar Square counting down to the opening ceremony.
Any time you want to see how long it is until the Paralympics, just come back here and refresh this page.
The next sport we found being demonstrated was something called ‘Sitting Volleyball’. I’m not sure what sort of disability you can have to play this one, but looking at the apparently able-bodied people playing it I assume its for people who suffer from multiple sclerosis.

Whoever it’s aimed at, the participants were obviously taking it seriously.
This is my game face. Fear me.
From the angle we had and the way the action panned out, ultimately most of the shots I got looked like ones I could sell for a ‘find-the-ball’ competition.
The trick is to follow their eyes.
I did however manage to get some interesting action shots, although annoyingly the frame is often quite cluttered.
It's not good for goalkeepers to play volleyball as the old reflexes kick in too easily.That said, sometimes those goalkeeping reflexes can come in very handy.
The hardest part sometimes was keeping the ball in frame.
That man seems to have forgotten his trainers.
Other demonstrations going on through the day included rowing (which I failed to photograph in any interesting way), wheelchair rugby (which we didn’t stick around for because it started raining) and weightlifting (which happened whilst we weren’t looking).

After photographing the sports for a while, we then turned to trying out our paparazzi skills at photographing some of the famous people floating around at the event (metaphorically, I mean, they weren’t unconscious in the fountains).
Boris, talking to a tripod. And the international media.
There was also the opportunity to photograph some of the sights of Trafalgar Square.
These statues and their dolphins seem interested in how long it is until the Olympics start.
Currently occupying the fourth plinth is a four-ton ship in a bottle.
The trick is to melt the glass first, then put the ship in.The artist must've been waiting for ages before his gran drank her way through all that rum.
I tried also to get some images of the rest of the crowd, in order to get some of that atmosphere stuff. I used my trusty f/1.8 lens, as I find that its shallow depth of field can create an interesting photo where there might not have been one otherwise. Yeah, I said it.
Another day where there's as many people with camera phones as there are with SLRs, and the former still seem to expect to get the better photos.
This final guy looks a bit sad.
I don't know if there's something in his eye or if there is something in his book that has moved him.
And that’s it. After the epic length of my last post this one must seem a little short.

If you want to see more of this event, myself and the two friends I went with will shortly be launching our own photo blog where all of our attempts at photographing this event will end up in the near future. I’ll post a link when it’s live and kicking.

#London2012 #Paralympics #Photography #sports