FALLING SOMEWHERE AS RAIN

A recent weekend in the capital gave me the chance to play tourist amongst the many sights of London. Rather than use the mirrorless camera and be hampered by using a large camera in crowded spaces, I favoured the iPhone and made use of the catalogue of photography apps to take advantage of the speed and convenience of handheld shooting. The phone came into its own for street photography and was especially useful shooting on the fly during busier periods, or in large crowds. The proliferation of interesting architecture and colourful scenery, meant that I could indulge my love of filters and colour grading, as well as high contrast black and white. Whereas I was a little nervous at first about shooting street, or carrying a camera, it soon became very apparent that photography was an everyday occurrence, especially near anything remotely famous or photogenic, so I soon settled in and took more time over my shots. It was clear that other enthusiasts were hard at work documenting reality...

My weekly trawl through the vintage photography section on ebay, sometimes flags up the weird or the curious and even less often, I manage to buy something. Over the last five years, vintage lenses and related material have shot up in price and popularity, as the hipster crowd have found it looks good to be seen with an analogue camera on their arm, alongside the tweeds and neatly trimmed beards.  Vintage Camera Stall, Camden Market  Also, the distinct look and effects possible with old glass have been popularised by Hollywood, as many film makers use older lenses to achieve specific effects. Zack Snyder recently used an old Canon lens to film 'Army of the Dead' and the cinematography of the 'John Wick' series echoes the glowing neon favoured by japanese camera enthusiasts, looking to re-create the cyberpunk effect. Shinjuku District, Tokyo One of the oddities I managed to score and very cheaply, despite having a bit of a drive round Lancashire to collect it, was this o...