Back To London

In amongst the reunions and gatherings I took some time to wander the streets of London and catch up with a few friends who I first started shooting street photography with. I was very glad and impressed to see that were all striving with their work even through the miserable and cold winter – and it really was very cold.

I still have mixed feelings about London – it’s an endlessly fascinating place I love to explore, filled with millions of interesting people, but I can’t help but empathise with the bitter reactions a camera often provokes. I’ve spent most of my life here and I understand it’s a city with much to offer but it can take a lot from you too. People are stressed, but with confidence it is possible to make taking a photograph a fun and less selfish act. For me it’s very important to resolve this discomfort and I hope to do this place justice one day.

A Bit Of Bokeh

A friend of mine, Scott Chung, was kind enough to lend me his Nikon 50mm f/1.2 AI-S lens. This is an unusually fast lens that was still in production until very recently. I’ve been using it with my Nikon FM3A with some Portra 400 film. I shot one roll with the aperture mostly wide open at f/1.2 just for the fun of it. Focusing is… very difficult, but it’s well worth the effort to see the character of the lens.

(Luke Ding)

An Introduction

07-2

In the last couple of years a long standing interest I’ve had in photography has transformed into a passion, and although it may still be early, it has already consumed me to a point that I realise it’s important.

I was fortunate to stray upon a genre of photography called Street Photography, which I was able to identify with, be inspired by, and meet others because of. In its essence it’s about capturing candid photographs of people in public places, but it’s open to much interpretation and not a strict rule I use to govern all my photographs.

Now seems like a good time to start sharing these photographs and some of my thoughts too.