Wonkyeye Photography
An insight into travel photography
Coney Island
Coney Island: ‘Nathan’s hotdogs’, ‘The Cyclone’ and ‘Freak shows’…what isn’t there to like?!
We went to visit Coney Island on the Eve of Hurricane Irene 2011; it was a little blowy and relatively quiet as we wandered along the seafront and through the maze of clunking machines.
Nevertheless it was still a treat for the eyes, so we invite you to roll up, roll up and enter our world, our Coney Island experience….
Got your happy face ready?
First thing first, you must buy your tickets for …
But it’s a busy place so make sure you take part in all activities…
but don’t get worn out…
Sometimes you just don’t want to leave…
But remember you can always come back.
Coney Island is an institute, a place beyond the realms of normality, a place of dreams, we’re just not sure whose dreams!
All Images © 2011 Wonky Eye
Geoffrey Mutai wins NY Marthon!
Congratulations to Geoffrey Mutai who has just smashed the NY marathon record, racing past the finish with an unofficial time of 2:05:05!
Huge win for Ethiopian Firehiwot Dado who won her debut NY race in 02:23:15!
Good luck to all the runners competing in this great marathon!
All Images © 2011 Wonky Eye
AUSCHWITZ
Here are a range of images taken during a recent day visit to the Auschwitz I and Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camps in Poland. It is a day I will never forget.
I used a Canon 35mm 1.4l lens on a 5D Mark II, and aimed to capture some powerful images; please let us know what you think.
All Images © 2011 Wonky Eye
Berlin Marathon
The Berlin marathon is always watched intently by runners as the flat course leads to a record breaking race. This year was no different with all the attention on Haile Gebrselassie. Elite runners Hahnel, Farsoeht and Pakhoi weren’t to know that two of them would finish a race that Haile dropped out of.
Hahnel: 02:28:04 Farsoeht 02:21:04 Pakhoi: dropped out
Paula Radcliffe may have been nervous before she started making a quick stop in the portaloos but she proved that she is back on form finishing 3rd behind Florence Kiplagat and Irina Mikitenko.
As with all of these races it’s the thousands of amateurs racing to achieve personal bests and the thousands of locals lining the streets that create the true atmosphere. Here’s a few photos of competitors and street scenes that made the day such a fun one.
Oliveira, Antonio 02:28:44
Halfway point and ‘where the **** is the finish line?’ is already in the thoughts of many!
Steffen Zeyer seemed to benefit from the extra support running his fastest km at this half way point, finishing with a great time of 02:53:45.
Bands lined the streets…
The other half of Wonkyeye: Andy Greaves did me proud finishing in a personal best of 04:01:26
Impossible is nothing…
For some the hot weather couldn’t be quenched by a drink and they sought relief running through the spray of the Berlin city Fire Brigade trucks
As we left to go and enjoy a bratwurst and beer the thousands were still streaming through, battling against the pain to finish the last few kms.
All Images © 2011 Wonky Eye
Berlin, Berlin!!
We just spent last weekend in Berlin: half of Wonkyeye running a marathon and the other half taking photos, good times!
I managed to catch Paula Radcliffe coming out of a ‘portaloo’ and on the flight home sat beside Kyle Shaw who told me how he has his sights set on a place in the 2012 Paralympic in London. In between all the meetings there were photos, lots of photos! So please check back in a few days when we get a chance to write a blog.
In the meantime why not have a look back at the “Emmanuel Mutai wins the London Marathon!” or “Great North Run” so see some of our other sporting events. You’ll see lots of familiar faces like, Berlin marathon winner Patrick Makua.
Remember an easy way to keep up to date is to sign up for email subscription.
Great North Run 2011
The great north run is truly a challenge, a hilly half marathon where you battle amongst 54,000 for your place on the road.
Not for the faint hearted this races allows the amateur to enjoy the crowds and the challenge, the enthusiastic to push themselves and the professionals battle to break records.
Kenyan stars Martin Mathathi and Lucy Kabuu raced through with phenomenal speed and style to come first in the men and women’s sections.
From the comfort of the hill fans watch Lucy Kabuu race far beyond the field to win in 01:07:06
Martin Mathathi sped home in 58 minutes 56 seconds
We had previously photographed Emmanuel Mutai as he won the London Marathon 2011 on a hot April day amongst the excitement of the streets of London so it was slightly strange to see him run the streets of newcastle on a bleary, wet day.
Mutai came third with a time of 00:59:52. He was beaten by fellow Kenyan Jonathon Maiyo
Maiyo came second with a time of 00:59:27
From 01:00:00 the rain started to pour and the athletes started to pour home:
Stacey Rogers was egged on by the mural on the house wall to come 17th in the womens category with a time of 01:21:09, while James Douglas pounded towards the finish line with a time of 01:08:20.
The important thing to remember is that aside from record breakers, fancy dresses and celebrity runners the majority of runners pounding the pavement were running to raise awareness and money for their chosen charities.
So as always if you think you have what it takes why not enter yourself for September 2012.
All Images © 2011 Wonky Eye
NYC: Ground Zero
This past weekend marked the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America. We felt it was time to share some more photographs from our recent visit to New York City; in particular these images from the Ground Zero site in Manhattan taken two weeks ago, including the construction of the new Freedom Tower.
We’ll be sharing more of our photos from our time in NYC very shortly.
Hurricane Irene: Pre-storm in NYC
On our recent trip to Central America we stopped off in NY on our way home. We thought it would be a relaxing time with a chance to take a few photos around the city. Unfortunately the night we were due to fly home hurricane Irene was due to fly in. We now know it was a tropical storm by the time she hit the city but the build up and the aftermath made for some great photos.
From the iconic Bloomingdales being boarded up to Times Square silently twinkling for no one, New York was how we’d never seen it before.
However the first thing we should all do is….
And they were out in force, the wetter the situation the more camera crews that turned up…
There were lots of warnings…
but that didn’t stop people getting on with their daily life…
or coming out to watch the show…
But the reality was that a hurricane was due to hit, everywhere was boarded up to avoid shattered windows and destruction of property…
The Subway was closed and taxis circled the city to pick up the few remaining stragglers..
But as we left the city there was a sense of ominous danger approaching….
the fire engines, police men and ambulances the last to leave…
Veolia Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition 2011_Semi-Finalist
Just before we went to Central America for the summer (blogs coming soon) we received feedback from the Veolia Wildlife Photographer of the year competition. 5 of the 6 photos that we entered got to the semi final.
There were the giraffes at sunset and the brown hyena in the long grass. Both entered into the animals in their environment category.
In the black and white category both the Zebra stampede and the female mountain gorilla made it to the semi final.
And in the Portrait section the Leopard photo reached the semi final while unfortunately the Tawny Eagle did not.
While it is always disappointing not to advance to the finals we look forward to the exhibition which opens in October, we’re sure we will be amazed and inspired by this years winners….after all, we can always try again next year!
All Images © 2011 Wonky Eye
