Stephen Saito Seeing

Tattoo Convention: Sparks Will Fly

2011-11-28T23:00:00.001+09:00

I lied, I'm a liar. I thought I had posted all the Tattoo Convention photos I wanted to but this one was half finished in Photoshop.

I've added some of the sparks on the right of the photo as they were only heading in one direction, I reduced the exposure on the crowd behind her until they disappeared and I've added a red-green-yellow colour dodged gradient which has added the teal and rose hints to the photo.

Gradients have been featuring a lot in my post production experiments, sometimes they're very obvious (example 1 & 2). Sometimes I will use a layer with a gradient map and they're a bit subtler (example).

I hope you like them all and my experimentation is working.

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Greenwich

2011-11-25T19:25:00.001+09:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

"This is where people come to die."

The above is a quote from my friend who observed that Greenwich is full of couples and families with kids, the living dead in her opinion. They're not living the fast life of an east end girl and have opted for the more sedate charm of south London.

Being a Greenwich resident I've come to appreciate that charm, it's nice round 'ere and I imagine that the student population make sure it's not as slow and quiet on a Saturday night as it is on a Saturday afternoon.

I like the quiet sometimes, I like moments like those above. I hope you do too.

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Starlight, Star Bright

2011-11-23T21:05:00.001+09:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

More autuminal shots from the weekend. I was shooting straight into the sun and using the branches and remaining leaves to create these shadows and starbursts. It hasn't worked as well as I would have liked and I'm wondering if reshooting will be easier/more fun than doing a bit of photoshop.

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

620 Hawkeye Special

2011-11-21T21:30:00.001+09:00

Impulse buy, but it's not going to end up in a drawer unloved and unused like. I want to fix it up, clean it up and then maybe use it, even if that means I have to fashion the 620 film myself.

Researching the Hawkeye I've found this article on the Brownie on Wikipedia which I've yet to read, the most interesting stuff I've found has been on Youtube, where I've found some enthusiasts and a guy who told me about the knob on the top which I need to pull to open the camera up. I haven't managed to open it yet, it feels like it may be stuck.

This guy has a similar model to me, I think his is older... his opens up and it takes 120 film so he has more chance of using it than me, I'm jealous.

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Fall Down

2011-11-19T08:30:00.001+09:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Kids Stuff/Adult Stuff

2011-11-06T08:50:00.001+09:00

Londoners may recognise the lights in this diptych as the signs you find around Soho outside the bookstores, lingerie shops and video stores of London's seedier side of the West End.

Soho has toy shops aplenty but the one in the foreground won't be familiar to the usual purveyor of vibrating phalluses and studded paddles, no, those belong to GOSH! the comic store.

I don't actually believe that kids are the only audience for comics, I'm currently reading some Adrian Tomine which is not suitable for kids at all, but I wanted to choose a title that highlighted the dichotomy of this one view.

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Bestival Festival 2011: ♡♥

2011-10-28T20:30:00.001+09:00

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Searching for The Decisive Moment

2011-10-25T21:22:00.001+09:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

I've been sitting on these images for a while now, the plan being to make a large album of photos I've taken within the 'decisive moment', but the project never really got legs and instead I've put photos which would have fit into this gallery into lots of other smaller collections.

So in a bid to break up the Bestival and Tattoo Festival photos (I only have two more sets of them to post, I promise) I thought I would share these.

A woman striding out of the gloom on a sunny afternoon, a couple sit on a the steps of the South Bank parade framed by the shadow of the bunting, a lad flicks a football in a busy park eyes set on it and both feet off the ground and a man looks directly into camera as I intrude upon his time with his girlfriend, his expression neither neutral or angry.

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Bestival Festival 2011: Tweedledee & Tweedledum

2011-10-24T03:40:00.001+09:00

"If your name's not down, you're not coming in."

See the full gallery on Posterous

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Bestival Festival 2011: Enjoy The Sunshine But Prepare For Rain

2011-10-23T19:30:00.001+09:00

How very British!

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Bestival Festival 2011: Crystal Panda

2011-10-22T03:03:00.001+09:00

Crystal Castles were playing at Bestival! Wait, what did I just type? "Crystal Castles were playing..." What the hell!!! Why didn't I go see them? Where was I during their performance? I have no excuse... What? They were on the main stage? You got to be f--cking kidding me?

I suck at being where I want to be at festivals.

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Tattoo Convention: Graf

2011-10-21T07:46:00.001+09:00

I was in two minds about posting these. I don't feel like they're good photos, they're not good photos, but the art in them is so vibrant and quirky that I felt like I wanted to share it.

It was possible to win this massive piece which was made on the day by serveral graf artists live in front of the attendees of the convention.

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Bestival Festival: Colour Chameleon

2011-10-19T09:59:00.001+09:00

I was not the only person at Bestival with a camera, there were lenses of all different girths and lengths and on more then one occassion I found myself staring with mouth agape due to lens envy. There was even a young man with a vintage large format camera exposing one large frame at a time in a wooden camera on a wooden frame.

I'm not sure what Ms Boy George (above) is lining up in her viewfinder but she was crouched long enough for me to take a few shots and didn't notice me snapping away. I wonder if anyone took any sneaky pics of me... please, no, not on fancy dress day!

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Tattoo Convention: A Few of My Favourites

2011-10-16T20:07:00.001+09:00

I love this guy's tattoo! I've not featured the whole thing in the shot, sorry for being a tease, but it really was magnificient as you can tell from the suggestion of scale and intracacy you see here.

This lady had a few admirers amongst the convention goers and none more admirer than her owner.

This ladies tattoo, made up from godesseses and cobras and all manner of other things stopped at her neck and covered every other visible inch of her body.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Tattoo Convention: Vestibulum est Iaculis

2011-10-14T20:58:00.001+09:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

Dancing, acrobatics and other sports lend their selves so well to photography, I'm ashamed that I've only just got around to point my camera at these athletes. I'm always very impressed with photos of dancers, they always look so good. I think it's the positions they contort their selves into, the posture and poise, there is always something impressive about that.

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Tattoo Convention: Periculose Ferventes

2011-10-07T20:50:00.001+09:00

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Bestival Festival 2011: Tamer and Lion

2011-09-29T18:30:00.001+09:00

The theme of this years fancy dress was Superstars and Popstars, but the theme isn't strictly enforece (nothing is strictly enforced at Bestival) so you will see all sorts of fantastic costumes.

These ladies, I can only assume (because I can't remember what they told me), are a stylish lion and a lion tamer, nothing to do with the theme at all, but they look great.

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Tattoo Convention: In Tincidunt Vivamus Tripudiis est Punctum

2011-09-27T08:48:00.001+09:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Bestival Festival 2011

2011-09-24T18:59:00.001+09:00

I'm getting around to this quite late, Bestival was some time ago and although I did the dutiful thing of updating Facebook, tagging friends old and newly made in the haze of my festival days, I neglected my blog and flickr, I can only appologize it's been a busy few weeks.

Well, here's the first in a series of photos from the festival:

Bestival is a four-day music festival held at the Robin Hill country park on the Isle of Wight, England. It has been held annually in late summer since 2004. The event is organized by DJ and record producer Rob da Bankand is an off-shoot of his Sunday Best record label and club nights.^[1] The initial Bestival attracted 10,000 people, growing to 55,000 in 2010. In 2006 it was voted the Best (Medium-sized) Festival at the 2006 UK Festival Awards, and it was voted the best major UK festival in the UK festival awards 2010.^{[2]...Read More}

- I took this photo while waiting to watch: Beardy Man - Watch his 2009 performance here.

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Do You Remember Summer?

2011-09-10T18:45:00.001+09:00

Hi London,

I know you're feeling a bit down and wondering where our summer went? Feels like you may have blinked and missed, right? Well, we did have a few good days, I have photographic evidence here.

If that trip down memory lane isn't enough then I hope this summer scene from London's South Bank makes up for it.

No? Well, I tried.

South Bank is an area of London, England located immediately adjacent to the south side of the River Thames. It forms a long and narrow section of riverside development that is within the London Borough of Lambeth to the border with the London Borough of Southwark (which is properly Bankside) and was formerly simply known as Lambeth Marsh / Lower Marsh. It developed much more slowly than the north bank of the river due to adverse conditions, and throughout its history has twice functioned as an entertainment district, separated by a hundred years of use as a location for industry.^[1] Change to the current use of the South Bank began in 1917 with the construction of County Hall at Lambeth and the Festival of Britain in 1951 redefined the area as a place for arts and entertainment and the name 'South Bank' was formally adopted. It now forms a significant tourist district in central London which stretches from the near Oxo Tower to the east to the London Eye and County Hall at Westminster Bridge in the west.^[1] A series of central London bridges connect the South Bank to North London, including the more recent Golden Jubilee pedestrian bridge.^[1]

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Tall Structures by Water

2011-09-09T20:36:00.001+09:00

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Aenigmate Per Speculum

2011-09-08T20:20:00.001+09:00

I know! I know that I've used this title before, but I like it, I feel the phrase adds foreboding and mystery. Unlike many photographers I do believe that a title affects the reading of a photograph. It can encourage further interpretation or it can simply tell the viewer how to interpret the photo bluntly and without subtlety.

For a title, take your time and consider it or take no time at all and forego it.

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Deep In Conversation

2011-09-06T19:07:00.001+09:00

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Notting Hill Carnival - 2011

2011-09-02T19:02:00.001+09:00

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Notting Hill Carnival - 2011

2011-09-01T19:59:00.001+09:00

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Salsa Dancing - Notting Hill Carnival

2011-08-30T06:11:00.001+09:00

The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual event which since 1964 has taken place on the streets of Notting Hill, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea , London, UK each August, over two days (the August bank holiday Monday and the day beforehand).^[1] It is led by members of the West Indian community, particularly the Trinidadian and Tobagonian Britishpopulation or 'Trinis', many of whom have lived in the area since the 1950s. The carnival has attracted up to 2 million people in the past, making it the second largest street festival in the world^[2] after the Rio Carnival held in Brazil.^[3]

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

A Lesser Squirrel Would Baulk at the Challenge

2011-08-29T06:10:00.001+09:00

Not this one though

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Covent Garden

2011-08-17T19:11:00.001+09:00

The morning of my birthday I woke up and was still a bit tipsy from the night before. Wearing last nights clothes and smile I made my way to Covent Garden where I had arranged to meet my friends and family for lunch at 12pm at 12:45pm when the majority of my guests deemed it convenient for them to show up (at this point my mother and dad still hand't made an appearance) we all sat down for lunch at Wahaca for some Mexican Street food.

Before 12 though, I took a walk around and took a whole load of photographs, three of which I'm posting here. I hope you like them.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Covent Garden ( /ˈkɒvənt/) is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Laneand Drury Lane.^[1] It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as "Covent Garden". The district is divided by the main thoroughfare of Long Acre, north of which is given over to independent shops centred on Neal's Yard and Seven Dials, while the south contains the central square with its street performers and most of the elegant buildings, theatres and entertainment facilities, including the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and the London Transport Museum.

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Homeward Bound

2011-08-11T23:24:00.001+09:00

Sent from my iPhone

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Living Fast, Brick Lane

2011-08-11T19:00:00.001+09:00

I enjoy a stroll down Brick Lane every once in a while, it's interesting to see just how much it and the surrounding area changes and how rapidly those changes occur.

The people seem to stay the same though, the same age, the same fashions and the same modes of transport.

During a coffee stop I practiced panningand got these shots. I hope you like them.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Whitstable

2011-08-09T19:40:00.001+09:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Canterbury Cathedral

2011-08-08T19:20:00.001+09:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

More Canterbury Cathedral

2011-08-05T19:31:00.001+09:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

Wonky photos.

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Happy Birthday

2011-08-01T20:45:00.001+09:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Photowlaking With WDPS

2011-08-01T00:00:00.001+09:00

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Walthamstow

2011-07-31T23:59:00.001+09:00

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Westferry, London

2011-07-28T20:05:00.001+09:00

It's probably not too clever announcing to the world where you live, yet here I am again with another couple of photos of my neighbourhood. I guess I did exactly the same thing when I live in Leytonstone but expect a lot more now I'm a stones throw from Canary Wharf (expect a lot more stones to be thrown too... we've not forgiven the bankers yet... well I haven't).

So I took these photos from the bank of the Thames, I actually can walk right down onto the shore and be at water lever, well when it's low tide anyway. I need more practice at this kind of photography, I have a few rolls (folders) of photos which are blurred, underexposed, dull, uninspiring or all of the above. I hope that these two are none of those things. You decide.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Through A Glass Darkly

2011-07-28T04:40:00.001+09:00

Do you ever start with a title and then try and find the shot? This is how this shot. Came about. Enjoy.

Shot with my Hipstamatic for iPhone
Lens: Hornbecker
Flash: Off
Film: Ina's 1935

Sent from my iPhone

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Photography Club

2011-07-26T06:12:00.001+09:00

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

More Whitstable

2011-07-25T19:00:00.001+09:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

Here are some more photos from Whitstable photos. I hope you're all having a great Monday.

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Whitstable Days & Nights

2011-07-22T20:50:00.001+09:00

I don't often just take a day off work and go visit some distant place (not distant) but when a antipodean friend visited our fair shores I decided to take a days holiday and visit Canterbury Cathedral. None of these photos are of the cathedral by the way, because my plans, made out of sand as they were, changed after I had spent time under the lofty roof of the cathedral and then become thirsty.

Where better to have a drink on the one sunny day we've had all year (not bitter) than then seaside? No where, that's where. So I and my friend went to Whitstable, drank wine, ate cheese (please visit The Cheese Box if you ever go), chatted and took photos. Here are four I hope you like.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Charity Workers: Running On Empty

2011-07-18T20:30:00.001+09:00

Last Sunday (10th of July 2011) I went down to Westminster to support my friend, Natasha, as she ran the London 10K and earned some pennies for her chosen charity. It was a gorgeous day, balmy warm and sunny and there was a lot of support for the runners besides me. I sat on a wall on Parliament Street, 300 metres from the finish line and 10 metres from the PA system playing inspiration songs by Black Eyed Peas and Lady GaGa!

I sat, I cheered, I listened, waved and took photos!

See the full gallery on Posterous

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

The 'Can I Take Your Photo Game' Flickr Group

2011-07-17T21:59:00.001+09:00

At the time of writing this blog entry, The 'Can I Take You Photo Game' Flickr Group has 4 members including me, and that is OK. I want people to join in, but I only want people to come on board if they are really going to commit to the principles of the game.

The rules, as you must know by now are:

1. You must ask for a portrait

2. You must get permission to take the portrait

3. You have to alternate between genders, so ask a man then a woman then a man and so on

4. No means no, move on and don't be disheartened

5. Post your best shots as a set of two or more

6. Tag your photos with 'cityPGame' or 'The Can I Take Your Photo Game'

If you have happened upon this blog, and you like the idea of street portraiture and want to play, then please do so, and please join the group. There are only a few of us, but from humble beginnings...

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Photographic Assignments: Discover Magazine

2011-07-13T10:00:00.001+09:00

Another Photographic Assignments outing and another rainy day out in London. This time the location was Greenwich Observatory, and the assignment was to take a photo of the new Astronomer Royal for an article and cover for Discover magazine.

Without a real Astronomer Royal we had to depend upon the other members of the group to pose for us, so in this post you will see Pete who runs Photographic Assignments and Monica, my main study and a somewhat challenging one at that.

All shots have been taken without a flash or reflector, and only with the grey light of a dull rain soaked day. Despite these limitations I feel that the results are OK. Perhaps not perfect for Discover Magazine, which tends to go for a very graphic design centred design for both it's covers and articles.

As alway's I would like to know what you think.

See the full gallery on Posterous

The first project can be seen here.

And the Photographic Assignment's site can be found here.

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Linnea Strid's photostream

2011-07-11T06:14:00.001+09:00

Linnea Strid's photostream on Flickr.

Amazing oil paintings, portraits and 'snapshots' of modern life - enjoy.

Run!

2011-07-10T07:15:00.001+09:00

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

New Digs

2011-07-07T02:14:00.001+09:00

I've moved to Westferry.

This is my neighbourhood.

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

Photographic Assignments: The Houses of Parliament

2011-07-05T16:22:00.001+09:00

NB: There are a lot of grouped images in the post and I recommend that you view the original post, here, for an easier read.

See the full gallery on Posterous

The second Photographic Assignments Meetup had a fake brief to take a photot for an article in the Independant Newspaper for an article about tourism in London. The photo should be of the Houses of Parliament and could either include tourists or not. If we opted to have a photo with no tourists in the shot then it should be a very strong photograph of the subject.

I enjoyed this shoot, but was soaked through by the end of it as it rained relentlessly for while I was trying to get my photos. Not being used to shooting in the rain, I found it difficult to get the shots I wanted and later on I found it difficult to pay attention to the brief at all and just went I did my own

thing (see the photo of the London Eye).

Just a short update then, just two photos

The last project can be seen here.

And the Photographic Assignment's site can be found here.

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

These Dark Things

2011-07-01T16:00:00.001+09:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

Snatches of colour from Gotham's mean streets.

Posted via email from Stephen Walrond

The Can I Take Your Photo Game: Hyde Park 5

2011-06-30T19:23:00.001+09:00