Next, we have day 3 of the elephant hunt.  This was a very bright day, which is always a pain from the perspective of getting light which is a bit too contrasty. Still, we managed to bag another 17 or thereabouts, bringing the total so far up to 96.  Still a long way to go, but it’s a great excuse to go out and do some good old fashioned sight seeing around London. My “official” elephant shots can be seen either on Flickr, or SmugMug, and I’ve also created a new gallery on SmugMug which contains all the elephant shots which have Francesca involved, plus other shots from the “hunt” days; she especially liked dangling her feet in the fountain in Trafalgar Square

Click on either of the main images in this post to get to the galleries.  Enjoy!

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2. Elephas Maximus
3. Elephants Part 2

An afternoon off work gave me a chance to pop into town to bag a few more of these fine beasts! The main aims for today were to grab 2 of the more elusive examples of Elephas Maximus, namely “The Happy End Of Nature”, which is supposed to be at Heathrow Terminal 5, but for some reason, is sat on the Heathrow Express platform at Paddington (maybe the train was cancelled – wrong kind of leaves perchance…?); and secondly, “Cloudia”, who is of no fixed abode, but I had a tip-off (thanks Steve – Twitter @sjnewton) that she was in Carnaby Street until the end of today. As in was in the vicinity of Soho and Paddington, I grabbed a few others in both areas to bring the day’s total to 25 (although as I only had a couple of hours, this was quite a yomp!)  Grand total so far – 79 bagged.

You can see the shots by clicking here or on the photo to the left. As before, the latest piccys are at the start of the Flickr set (in case you were wondering .

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We had our first family outing to “hunt” elephants this afternoon, and bagged our first 54.  Not a bad first attempt, although we did get a lot of the easy ones, which can be found in “happy herds” in the Royal Parks.  As the day went on, we did venture further afield, including a novel session spent hunting around the interior of Selfridges.  Anyway, day 1, and 54 bagged. Francesca had a great time, and wants to continue, so I suspect we’ll be doing more of this over the next few weeks, before the elephants are moved on and auctioned for the charity.

You can see photos of our hunt successes so far here (with the latest one shot at the start of the set), or by clicking on the image above.  Francesca makes a guest appearance, posing in a few of the shots – she’s the small one in the pink

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Group Shot in the rain
Originally uploaded by Heart & Soul

On Saturday, I took part in a photowalk organised by Ghene Snowdon. The plan was to meet at 2pm, then spend the afternoon shooting around Greenwich. Late afternoon, we would move down towards the O2 along the Thames Path, and  finish with some shooting around the Thames Barrier further downriver.  Unfortunately, the rain came, and got progressively worse early evening, so we pulled stumps once we got to the O2, and had a bite to eat.  We managed to grab a group shot (well done Adrian!), and you can see how wet we were (plenty of lens water there)!

Even so, it was still a great day, and to be honest, the rain offered an extra dimension to the outing (plus a number of obligatory pub stops when the opportunity presented itself!)  It was good to see a few old friends, as well as meet a few new ones.

The path from Greenwich down to the O2 had a mountain of shooting opportunities, which I managed to work with for a while, but the rain eventually beat me and the camera had to return to the bag.  I’ll definitely be returning on another day to have another try.

You can see my shots on Flickr, or in my SmugMug gallery.  Finally, a slideshow (created with Animoto) on YouTube below….

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I was in one of two London walks, the one in question being at Portobello Market in Notting Hill.  The weather was perfect, and the market was a fascinating place for shots. Unfortunately, I had a stack of photo processing to do last week, and sorting the photowalk had to take a back seat, so for the entries into the Worldwide Photowalk competition (you’re allowed to enter 2 shots), I guessed at which two would process the best, got them finished, then entered them….

…Out all day Saturday for another shoot.

…Deadline for competition end of Saturday.

Sunday, sat down to process all the other shots, and whilst one of the shots I had entered, I was very happy with, the other ended up disappointing me, and there were any number of better shots I could have used instead. Oh well, you takes your chances!

As the market was so busy and vibrant, I’ve gone for a very vivid, high contrasty feel to the processing, which I’m sure people will either love or hate!

Thanks to Ed Davis for once again organising things for the day, and it was good to see a few old faces on the walk, as well as plenty of new ones.  Same time next year!

You can see some of the more choice shots here on Flickr, or see the complete set (warts and all!) here on SmugMug.

Finally (as always!), the video slideshow over on YouTube:

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Yesterday saw the first ever Worldwide Photowalk, organised by Scott Kelby as a publicity event for his new book. Over 5000 people were registered to take part worldwide, and full details on the scope of this event can be seen at the Photoshop User web site.  The London event met in the Southwark Tavern, and the walk took in Borough Market, down the river to Tower Bridge, over to the Tower itself, then back up the river and across once again back to the starting point. The shots I took can be seen either on Flickr or by clicking on the image below (which, if it looks familiar, is the main location from “Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels”).

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The first of two photowalks in central London. The first ran from the Wellington Arch, down into Green Park, past Buckingham Palace, down to the Houses of Parliament, across the river and along the South Bank, then back across the river to Trafalgar Square. Click below to see the results…

The next event is this coming Saturday, when I’ll be taking part in Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photowalk.

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3. Photogenic Places To Visit

The Wey Navigation, from Coxes Lock to Weybridge Town Lock has some very nice scenes – get there in time for sunset, and you can get some wonderful images.

Southwark Cathedral in central London has a mine of great shots within, and you can easily pass a few hours of shooting within. To take photographs you will need to purchase a shooting permit from the shop, but that’s very reasonably priced at only £2. There are also plenty of other great photo opportunities around the cathedral, leading me on to…

Just around the corner from the cathedral is Borough market, which has some of the most photogenic market stalls and produce you’re likely to find on our fair land. Get there early on a Saturday to avoid the crowds.

The market has become a favourite haunt for photographers, and it is not unusual to see hordes of ‘togs wandering the market. The stall-holders are now very used to this, and don’t seem to mind you shooting away.

Painshill Park in Cobham, Surrey has an impressive array of vistas which open up before you as you walk around the park. Gothic towers, temples, ruins and much more await you:

Not actually in my home area, but whilst on a short holiday in North Yorkshire, I went to a very interesting place called The Forbidden Corner. Essentially, this is a modern folly, with a whole selection of weird and wonderful things to see. If you’re up on that part of the world, I can recommend a visit (but note you need to book in advance). You can find a few shots in this album on my Smugmug site.

Portobello Market is a colourful and lively market, popular with tourists (especially since the film, “Notting Hill”), running most of the length of Portobello Road in Notting Hill, London. I visited it as part of the Worldwide Photowalk, 2009, for a few hours of shooting, and was very happy with the variety of subjects. If you are more interested in food photography, then I would recommend Borough Market (see above), but for a wider range of interesting bits and pieces, Portobello Market had plenty to offer in its own right.

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1. Railway Arch
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