snapshots and observations

Sunday 28 February 2010

iphone



i was given a new iphone a couple of days ago


this is my home screen


i got a couple of apps for it too...
first up i installed a swiss railway clock
a design classic


i also installed the lego app
which enables you to make lego versions of
your favourite photo's
sweet !


100th post



i'm still pretty new to this blogging thing.

i've been doing it for just two months now
and noticed yesterday that i'd posted 99 times.

so i thought the 100th post should be something special.

my favourite self-portrait


maybe you need to click on the image to see it better ?

i had a shoot at an exhibition in the truman gallery on brick lane
and there were lots of portraits of the queen there.
i couldn't resist grabbing a shot of myself next to
her majesty, both of us with our eyes closed.

ps. i bought the print of the queen.

Saturday 27 February 2010

saturday



what's going on in n7 ?
i went out to get a paper this morning and for the second
time in recent weeks, the motorbikes at the end of manor
gardens had been pushed over.


back home to read the paper and to breakfast healthily
pears, cranberries, yoghurt and honey. 


we headed out to the west end and had a good look at
the bob dylan exhibition at the halcyon gallery
i was pleasantly surprised... no, i was absolutely
knocked out. there were some amazing pieces.
good old bob.

after a quick look in the dover street market it was time
for a bite to eat at napket on piccadilly.
eggs ben with ham for me, but what a schoolboy error...
i forgot to ask if it came with salad.

i bought some freshly made muffin-type things on the way
out. the smell was amazing.
i think they mean sweet bread not sweat bread !


then i checked my iphone to see how chelsea had got on at 
home to man city... ouch !

ian brown adidas superstars



  today i wore my adidas superstars
ian brown editions from the 35th series
the leather is really soft and is a strange colour.
it's black, but almost has a dark green tinge.

red suede heel tabs with gold trefoils and ian brown 
stitched in red

red suede stripes and fat brown laces with gold tips
they came with 3 spare sets of laces and gold lace jewels
but i stuck with the original laces and took off the gold
lace jewels

hmmm... lyrics on the insoles

teamed up with a pair of levi's capitals and i'm good to go.

damn straight




Friday 26 February 2010

me and my little girl



from back in the day...
my favourite photo of me and my little girl
x


desayuno



what a touch !
look at this little place. it's tacked onto the front of
the british library on the euston road.

it sells the usual suspects but also...
wait for it...


churros y chocolate

not the best location for desayuno
sitting next to all the early morning traffic in what feels 
like a wind tunnel

but the churros were freshly made and were absolutely
perfect.
£2.50 including a free coffee !

it was so cold sitting there that i took the coffee back to 
the warmth of the markmobile and took this photo
their coffee is made from a wide range of freshly ground
beans and i reckon it was one of the best coffees of the 
year so far.

£2.50 for some freshly made churros, hot chocolate
and a small latte with an extra shot. 
what a start to the day.

Thursday 25 February 2010

full house !



the story so far...


the a.n.a. test is negative... it's not lupus

jackie's secret drawer



or is it a damien hirst installation ?


...but where's my lemsip ?

genius idea



look what i got through the post today ( thanks al )
it looks like an ordinary disposable cardboard coffee
cup with plastic lid...

but it's a re-usable cup made out of silicone rubber
the lid is made of the same material. you can wash it out
and keep on using it. keep it in the car, take it into 
starbucks, whatever... great idea.

available here:

http://remogeneralstore.com/pages/item.cfm?PLU=1737&x=0&y=0 


Wednesday 24 February 2010

adidas montreals



i showed some special adidas montreals on saturday's blog.
today i got another pair through the post.
i bough these bad-boys from a german ebayer.
they are a black / dark grey colour. 
suede with snakeskin trim.
the inside of the tongue, the inside of the shoes and the insole
are all padded with a furry kind of material.
and as my friend neil says... " they feel like slippers "
oh and they cost me €30.
bargain !

twin 1



i had a portrait shoot in south london yesterday
afternoon.
twin 1 was assisting me.
here she is skulking in the background
when i was preparing the first shot.

i did a sneaky shot of her while she was holding the reflector
later on and noticed three things about her...
1. she looks just like her sister when she pulls a face.
2. she has a nice necklace with 'hackney' on it.
3. she has a thumb like a blind cobbler.

sorry about baseball



i know it's an old clip, and yes it's a bit slow...
but it really is a sweet little film and the music 
is beautiful

Tuesday 23 February 2010

italians do it better



i do a lot of photography in restaurants and it must 
be said, whenever i'm shooting in an italian place
not only do i get offered a coffee straight away...
but the coffee is absolutely incredible.
thanks to luca at caponata for this double espresso.
( just click on the pic to see the coffee properly )




after the coffee it was the same old routine from me.
 i spent an hour or so with the magazine 
photography then got down to the important shot...
then back to n7

Monday 22 February 2010

sunny sunday



on sunday morning i bought a coffee from the hollywood
cafe, just around the corner from whitfield towers
i shot this in our garden
1/4000th sec at f1.7 ( iso 100 )

medium latte with an extra shot. £1.50


then in an effort to eat healthily i shunned the offer
of a full english breakfast and opted for...
pears, grapes, yoghurt and honey
1/400th sec at f1.7

Sunday 21 February 2010

arsenal



it's been noted that my comments on arsenal f.c. have 
been less than complimentary recently.
they are my local team after all and their fine stadium
located just 15 minutes walk from whitfield towers.

yesterday lunchtime i received a text message from danny
that he had a spare ticket for the sunderland game...
would i like to come along and sit with him and gooner jeff ?

i walked down holloway road to meet up with danny and spotted
arsenal's new goalkeeper making his way to the stadium !
( the bloke on the right hand side of the pic )


this is gooner jeff. i've mentioned him before on this blog. 
he is a notorious user of cockney rhyming slang
he had a young apprentice with him. throughout the whole game
 they hurled insults at the sunderland team, the referee and danny.

gooner jeff was feeling very confident about the result today.
lately arsenal's defence has been as stable as ashley cole's marriage
but today jeff was confident of not only a clean sheet, but that 
arsenal would be popping in some goals. hmmm...


it must be said, arsenal do have a corking stadium
and the boys have good seats.

half-time and arsenal lead 1-0. danny gives jeff a bit of stick
regarding his wasted bet.


i asked gooner jeff to take a photo of me and danny.
"no problem, this'll be a blindin' photo" he said...
jeff is a gardener and i think he was more interested in the turf being
watered than in getting a photo of me and danny... grrr !

luckily i spotted my friend andy who was photographing
 the game for a national newspaper.
i gave him a call and asked him to take a photo of us.

here we are... the three amigos !

nice one andy.


the game stayed at 1-0 until the final minute when arsenal
were awarded a penalty.
fabregas tucked it away

arsenal 2 sunderland 0
( ladbrokes 1 gooner jeff 0 )



Saturday 20 February 2010

for neil...



in honour of neil's birthday, i decided to break-in
a new pair of kicks today.

adidas montreal oki-ni editions
i bought them from oki-ni in savile row not long after it opened.
it's been closed for 3 years now so i guess they're about
 5 or 6 years old.

they are a beige / cement colour with flourescent yellow
stripes and trim.

these were especially made for oki-ni in kangaroo leather
and were only available from their one store.

the hi-vis yellow really kicks out and the leather is
really buttery.

oh yes...
serious heat !