LONDON – FINDING OUR FEET

It’s midnight here in Amsterdam and I really should be sleeping.. but instead I’m sorting through the thousands of pictures I’ve taken over these past few weeks. I haven’t left home without my camera, not once. I can’t bring myself to leave it behind incase I might miss a moment, you know, the kind of moment that’s just begging to be captured. While we walk I snap constantly, not looking through the view finder, instead shooting from the waist hoping to not chop off heads or have skewed sidewalks. I want to experience everything with both my eyes and my lens.

Oh how I need to catch up on these blogposts! It’s not the editing that holds me back… as I’m a kid in a candy store sorting and editing my captures for each day by lamplight in the evenings. It’s the words that stop me. I think I might start keeping a diary to help my short attention span. When you’re traveling between countries each week it’s easy to be woo’d by the next and forget the last.

So here are some more snaps from our time in London. After our first three nights spent in the hostel we moved accommodation as coincidentally talented photographer gal Francesca Allen was looking for someone to sublet her room for the dates we were remaining in London! We moved into her gorgeous home with lots of space to spread our things and relax after our long days of walking.

 

We spent one day ticking off the typical London touristy things. Big Ben – check. See the squirrels at Hyde Park – check (uhhh I held hands with one and my life was complete!). Buckingham Palace – check.

Walking the streets in our new suburb finding quiet little places tucked in between rows and rows of identical houses.

The sun would often peep it’s head out between the clouds but it wasn’t quite strong enough to warm the skin. We spent one afternoon walking Hyde Park and watching people feed the hundreds of birds. I took a picture in the exact spot as I had six years previous, it was one of my favourites at the time and I still look back on it fondly as it was when the passion was so new and exciting.

Camden! Quirky and wonderful.

I love the fashion in London. Lots of neutrals but sometimes there are these real gems that stand out in the crowd.

We caught the tube to Knotting Hill as I recognised the name. As we came up from the underground and consulted the map, I realised we were right near Portobello Road, one of my fondest memories of my first visit to London. I was saving the market for Saturday when it’s in full swing, but we decided to explore the streets so we could have a proper look before the crowds arrived for the weekend.

First signs of spring! Pretty blossoms outside pastel painted houses.

I stopped to watch the pigeons feasting on some leftover hot chips. I have a real soft spot for pigeons, often unfairly called the rats of the sky. These sweeties were tossing the chips into the air and playing together. They’re really quite beautiful when you look closely, their features gleam in the sunlight.

I love photographing shops on the street, the kind where two shops sit side-by-side in the most perfect way, and yet hundreds of people walk by everyday and won’t glance twice. I like to think my pictures might make others notice the beauty in the little things sometimes.

Blue doors! If I’m not mistaken the left door is from the movie Knotting Hill (which I actually haven’t seen… but I took a picture for future reference 😉 )

 

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