My Photographic Identity

Last Sunday, I was invited to a friends house for dinner. She lives in Greenwich.

I took advantage of this day out to photograph the train station at Canary Wharf and Greenwich - it was a visual delight.

I took two cameras with me:

My X-T2 paired with the XF16mm F1.4 & my X-Pro 2 paired with the XF27mm F2.8.

This was a good choice because the Train Station and Cutty Sark ship both called for my Wide Angle optics.

I was very happy with the results, particularly the Station exits because of the cool blue light.

I have become a human light meter. I can feel the colour temperature as soon as I leave the house. When I saw and felt the coolness of the light, I switched my White Balance Kelvin to cooler temperature and voila, the image above came out exactly as I felt it.

The Photographer David Alan Harvey once said “shoot how it feels”. White balance is key to this emotional impact.

One my way home, I had to change trains for The Elizabeth Line which meant a five minute walk.

It was worth it.

I caught sight of a glorious display of colour.

This scene blew me away.

It looks like a Martian space landing.

Once again, my White Balance played an important role in communicating the depth of colour, vibrancy and almost psychedelic vibe without being overly saturated.

Colour correctly handled is glorious.

Colour is my identity.

I just happen to live in London and right now, it is miserable and overcast. It makes me quite ill. Last Sunday was a god send, it made me appreciate what excites me about creating images.

I love Light, its quality, warmth and direction.

I love the impact of Colour when mixed with warm light.

Subject matter will always be important but it’s meaningless without the Light.

“Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography”.

George Eastman

Thanks for reading.