Nicotine Reverie and Other Altered States

Public smoking, for better or for worse, is still around. Walking around London, it’s hard to avoid. Going down the ramp that leads into Paddington, one whole side of the walk is dedicated to public smoking. And people DO use it.

This gent was hanging out in the Knightsbridge area, seemingly lost in thought as he enjoyed his moment of smoke.

On the other hand, it’s not all about cigarette breaks —

Not sure what she was waiting for, but it was a striking profile and I couldn’t resist.

Crossed over the street, heading for the Tube to get out of this over-priced neighborhood and was standing, watching as people came through the covered walkway. His expression of delight was too good to miss:

Though it was Sunday and ostensibly a day of rest for some, there were those who apparently had a long day so far — this, on the way in from Heathrow on the Picadilly line, sitting across from me, almost in a trance:

Even Pikachu was being busy today —

The neighborhood around Harrod’s is utterly insane… I wasn’t the only photographer working today:

Actually, she was the model and he was taking the photos. The real heroes were doing their thing, just as they do everyday:

and over at Samer’s Delivery Service, there was no job too big to handle:

There’s more, but I’m trying a slightly different workflow today — transferring images directly from the camera and editing the page on the iPad… of course, the beauty of the JPEGs straight out of the Olympus PEN-F make it really easy. All the images here were done using the Olympus 45mm ƒ/1.8 prime lens. It’s a perfect match on the PEN-F, compact enough to put in a jacket pocket. I’ve found myself walking around with it and the 17mm ƒ/1.8, switching back and forth from working close to having a little more distance.

So, until next time, a bientôt!

Winter is icummen in, Lhude sing Goddamm*.

Of course, if we look at the calendar, it’s been with us for some time now… but, until recently, you wouldn’t have known it. Flowers sprouting up and trees budding out in bloom, it’s as if it was really Spring!

Until this past week.

BOOM!

A little blast of air showed up (“Beast of the East?” Seriously?) and dumped Serious Winter on most of Europe and the UK went crazy with the sudden appearance of cold temperatures and lots of white stuff on everything.

Londoners, and the tourists therein, were scrambling to deal with this seemingly new phenomenon.

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I was amused by the response… I think my friends in Scotland were suffering from the temperatures more than down here… still…

Not all were deterred: witness these brave souls…

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No café racers here…
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Requisite folding bike rider photograph

I haven’t seen so much down gear since I left Alaska and you’d think that Canada Goose was a local brand in this town.

Fur, both fake and otherwise, was much in evidence, too.

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAPeople scurrying about —

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Burrrrrrrrrberry!

Or enjoying the scenery…

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But some of us were getting some work done… Isaia is a young Israeli photographer, shooting film. We got in to a great discussion about it as he was using one of my favorite little 35mm SLRs, the Olympus OM-1.

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Film rocks, too!

Keep up the good work!

The Tube was a great equalizer, although we were all worrying about impending delays and cancellations.

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(I loved her cut… really wanted to get more photos… )

Friday was Holi, so I’m going to close with some local color…

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The local market in Southall
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One of the clothing store windows
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Billboard

 

So, until next time, a bientôt!

*https://genius.com/Ezra-pound-ancient-music-annotated

 

 

Les Moyens du Bord

Atelier pour tous

Fountain pen blog

Pens, inks, notebooks and other accessories

Hypnagogue Podcast

A thoughtfully handcrafted podcast of ambient, electronic, New Age, and contemporary instrumental music

Fountain Pen Love

For people who love using, collecting and learning about fountain pens.

UK fountain pens

Your impartial and comprehensive review site for writing instruments

The Leipzig Glocal

Leipzig's international blog & webzine

EMULSIVE

film.photography

Portals of London

Towards a catalogue of London’s interdimensional gateways

"At Half Past France... "

No point clicking your heels, Dorothy!

Les Moyens du Bord

Atelier pour tous

Fountain pen blog

Pens, inks, notebooks and other accessories

Hypnagogue Podcast

A thoughtfully handcrafted podcast of ambient, electronic, New Age, and contemporary instrumental music

Fountain Pen Love

For people who love using, collecting and learning about fountain pens.

UK fountain pens

Your impartial and comprehensive review site for writing instruments

The Leipzig Glocal

Leipzig's international blog & webzine

EMULSIVE

film.photography

Portals of London

Towards a catalogue of London’s interdimensional gateways

"At Half Past France... "

No point clicking your heels, Dorothy!

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