Wonkyeye Photography
An insight into travel photography
summer dreaming….
Such a gorgeous day here in London, but we’re off to Greece this Saturday for a week so I’m dreaming of beaches and calm turquoise waters.
I’ve no Greece photos yet but here’s a few from Zanzibar just to get you into the summer mood….it is nearly June after all!!
All Images © 2011 Wonky Eye
St Petersburg
After a busy month we want to share some of our photos from an enjoyable visit to St Petersburg earlier this year.
Here’s some brief information: Saint Petersburg was founded by Tsar Peter I of Russia in 1703. From 1713 through 1728 and from 1732 it was the capital of the country until 1918 when the central government bodies moved from Petrograd to Moscow.It is Russia’s second largest city after Moscow with 4.6 million inhabitants.
The temperatures in Russia had plummeted to -25 on our arrival there, with the city’s Fontanka river long since frozen over. The conditions made photography challenging, but we persisted and captured many images of the beautiful range of architecture throughout the city. A highlight was a visit to the Baroque-style Church on Spilt Blood, with it’s richly decorated and colourful facade. On our final day, we visited the memorial to the ‘Heroic Defenders of Leningrad’, giving us a powerful insight into the 900-day siege the city endured from the Nazis in WW2.
All Images © 2011 Wonky Eye
Obama V Osama
As the debate goes on, is he or isn’t he dead? Has this made Osama Bin Laden a martyr? Has Obama ordered a killing in cold blood or was this a capture mission which through necessity resulted in his death?
While we can’t answer these questions yet an interesting blog has been published by one of the Reuters photographers who took pictures of Obama as he announced to the world that Osama Bin Laden has been killed.
Check it out on: http://blogs.reuters.com/photo/2011/05/02/ready-to-record-history
The London Documentary Photography Project: Michelle Dolan images
As Andy explained yesterday there was a certain criteria required when shooting on Friday April 29th; Michelle chose to shoot in black and white, using a 50mm Canon f1.4 lens to capture these images:
All Images © 2011 Wonky Eye
The London Documentary Photography Project: Andy Greaves images
Yesterday we revealed the two chosen images to be displayed at the World Photography Organisation exhibition now on at Somerset House, London until 22nd May 2011.
Below are a selection of Andy’s other images from the day of the Royal Wedding. As participants in the London Documentary Photography Project, we were encouraged to capture candid and surprising images that captured a moment and told some kind of story of the big day, therefore avoiding any literal interpretations of the occasion wherever possible. We were given some ground rules regarding technique; to use a fixed focal length lens to discourage zooming; to think more about composition and positioning yourself closer to the subject, therefore avoiding cropping of images afterwards; to make the decision whether to shoot in colour or black & white at the start of the day and maintain this throughout.
Andy chose to shoot in black and white, using a 50mm Canon f1.2 lens to capture these images:
All Images © 2011 Wonky Eye
The London Documentary Photography Project: The Royal Wedding
Documentary photography usually refers to a popular form of photography used to chronicle significant and historical events. The photographer attempts to produce truthful, objective, and usually candid photography of a particular subject, most often pictures of people.
As we described in yesterday’s blog, we have been participating in the WPO London Documentary Photography Project during the last four days. With Friday’s Royal Wedding as the backdrop, we were encouraged to try and capture the mood of the day and create surprising images; an alternative documentation of the day’s events. The project was led by renowned British Photographer Jocelyn Bain Hogg and with his assistance we chose one image each to put forward for the World Photography Organisation exhibition at Somerset House, London.
The exhibition is now on and will run until 22nd May 2011.
This image by Andy was taken amidst the celebrations in Hyde Park. Over 120,000 people flocked to the park to watch the ceremony unfold on the big screens, and many arrived in costumes and full picnic baskets. Champagne seemed to be the drink of choice for many and why not! The atmosphere was euphoric and Andy captured this image of a group of friends enjoying the occasion.
This photo was taken by Michelle, also in Hyde Park. The image captures the intensity of the day. After the ceremony the party got into full swing, music pumped from the speakers and the crowd danced where ever there was an uncluttered patch of grass. The long day obviously took it’s toll on these Spanish students who slept as in a jigsaw puzzle.
All Images © 2011 Wonky Eye
The Royal Wedding, worth all the hype?
So the Royal Wedding, is it worth all the hype? A resounding YES!
What a day! We were in at Westminster at 8.00am when the hazy skies still looked like they might open and spoil the fun, they never did and everything about the day was fun. Hundreds of thousands of people turned out to genuinely support the marriage of William and Catherine. An overwhelming sense of emotion and pride ran throughout the streets. This was a truely global event with 2 billion people watching and thousands of nationalities celebrating as if it were there own. Ironically this monarchical celebration was inclusive to all, the streets were made ours after the royal parade and it was surreal to watch children run down the centre of the Mall or groups stand and pose for a group photo in the usually congested and stressed streets of the city.
Our job was to document this, trying to capture a sense of what the day was like, behind the barrier and off screen. It was a challenging and exhausting day but paid off. Our photos have been well received by the World Photography Organisation and world renowned photographer Jocelyn Bain Hogg has chosen two WonkyEye photos for the exhibition.
The exhibition starts tomorrow at 17.00 and will run until 22nd May 2011.
We will hope to publish our photos on this blog over the next two days, so please come back and have a look at the alternative side of the Royal Wedding!
It’s here, The Royal Wedding!!
Time to collect the memorablia and create your Royal Scrapbook!
The day has finally arrived for Will and Kate to tie the knot and become Mr & Mrs Prince of Wales….not as catchy as his/her royal highness!
Wonkyeye will be in town all day to try and capture what is bound to be a feast for photographers!
Call your friends and get together to enjoy your Royal Wedding day, no matter where you are.
All Images © 2011 Wonky Eye
What William and Kate will be receiving as gifts..
What do you buy a Prince and Princess? Nothing according to William and Kate, they have set up a charity : http://www.royalweddingcharityfund.org/index.php
Don’t forget to get organised for tomorrow, have a look at the official Royal Wedding Programme; order of service and the route are included on this printable PDF
The Royal Wedding
So it’s finally come; thirty years after Diana married Charles, the dramas, media attention and the traumas, William is going to make Kate his princess. For two seemingly very ‘normal’ young people the nerves must be building as the worldwide media covers the wedding of the year. The streets of London are displaying banners screaming ‘street party’ or ‘Kate and William ‘ and Union Jacks are proudly displayed on taxi ranks, shop fronts and homes. It is hard not to get caught up in the Royal fever. For most people it is the spectacle of the horse drawn carriages, the streets lined with people and the feeling of knowing this could be the future King and Queen of the United Kingdom, we will be watching history in the making tomorrow and I myself and excited!!
Now to more important questions….what will her dress be like?!!
We will hope to keep you updated over the rest of today, tomorrow and the weekend.
All Images © 2011 Wonky Eye
