Photos on the streets of Peterborough.

I went into Peterborough today to meet a couple of friends I used to go to college today, between the chit chat, drinks, and shock at the price of bus fares I took my camera out and captured a couple of moments. Peterborough's not a bad city for street photography, it's right on my doorstep, but I find it hard to photograph as I know it so well.. I need to get out of my mindset that I need to go to London to take good street photos!

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Peterborough Horse Fair. 2nd January 2013.

Every year around New Year a horse fair is held in the city of Peterborough. This is the first year I have visited this event... I found it was a very interesting environment to take photograph. I was one of a handful of women there; but there were men and boys of all ages looking at the horses, catching up with each other, and enjoying the event. A great little event to photograph with so many things happening.

(For more photos from the event: http://www.ruthjones.org/#!peterborough-horse-fair/c2i9)

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Parnwell. 28th September.

I went out today and did a test shoot for what I thought could be a possible project, I wanted to photograph life in a small estate in Peterborough, Parnwell.. the test shot did not go to plan as there were not that many people about.. making it hard to photograph it how I wanted to. I am not sure if I'll continue the project, I might visit a couple more times to see if it changes.. if not then I may look at different areas to test shoot.

Mario. 27th September.

I met Mario today on the streets of Peterborough so I had to get his portrait. 

I'm still sorting through my photos from London as I have had another very busy day today... I'm hoping that I get a little bit of time on Saturday.

Weather-dependant I have a test shoot tomorrow for a documentary piece I am thinking about doing on an estate near to me, so you may see a test shoot from that tomorrow if all goes well!!

Louis Smith makes his city proud. 18th August.

Louis Smith, the Gymnast who won Silver and Bronze medals at the London 2012 Olympics, made an appearance in his home city of Peterborough. Hoards of people gathered around Cathedral Square waiting for the arrival of Louis on his open top London bus, everybody eagerly waiting to congratulate the success of this great Gymnast. I captured a few photographs of this event, he is a Gymnast who inspires the children of this city to get out and be involved in sport. I have a lot of respect for Louis Smith, congratulations Louis, I look forward to seeing you move forward as a world class Gymnast.

Ice Cream, Summer and Pretty Flowers. 16th August.

Whilst I was in the city of Peterborough today I realised the us Brits seem to have a love affair with ice cream cones in the summer. Wherever you look there is someone holding a wafer cone filled with soft vanilla ice cream, I have to say that I embrace the trend of ice cream in the summer! Even on days which aren't particularly hot or "summery" the ice cream vans come out in force and the punters flock towards their nearest ice cream distribution centre.

I also found these two rather vibrant flowers today in the gardens surrounding the Peterborough Cathedral, I decided to suddenly become a nature photographer and snapped a couple of typical stock-photography style shots.

Jazz in the City. 26th July.

Today was another one of those beautiful days where you have to get outside and do something! I headed into Peterborough, my nearest city, and took some street shots. A jazz band happened to be playing in the main square of the city, the square was full of people with many young children dancing around the fountains... there was just a lovely atmosphere. 

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Overground Arts Festival. 21st July.

Today I dived straight into life after the D&AD Graduate Academy by taking part in the overground arts festival. It was a mash of artists from across the UK who came together to paint live, share work and connect with other artists. The work I chose to exhibit was "Our British Lives" http://www.ruthjones.org/#!Our British Lives/cuik

 I had my work exhibited on a wall full of messages and flowers, and to top it of I chose to hang it outside (probably not the best idea exposing prints to direct sunlight...). It is my first outdoors exhibition and it was quite strange working in outdoor conditions.. I had to trust that the weather would stay fine, I had to make sure that there was as little glare as possible in the frames and I also had to keep wiping flies and bugs off the glass. I received some great feedback, people suggestions on post-it notes for where I should shoot next for the project, and I had the chance to chat to a few great people about my work and their own work.

Today was great and there was a wide range of people producing art and presenting their own work. I captured a few photos of the day:

 

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Countryside vs City life. 8th July.

So today was the day I had to yoyo back to London again, it's nice going home for the weekend and being able to relax somewhere which can actually be quiet! As I was on the train home I looked out the window and captured the last few bits of countryside which I would see until the next time I went home. I do love the countryside and it's wonderful wide open spaces, but London is growing on me.. the city is full or inspiration and there are always things which you can photograph.

I also got on a London bus today, I'm one of those people which always takes the tube, but after moving flats I worked out that it was much easier to take the bus than to walk from the nearest tube station. I prefer some aspects of busses to the tube, firstly it's overground... and secondly people actually talk to each other on a bus, it feels a lot more open and relaxed.. it's nice! Although I am not going to stop taking the tube as it is quick and direct!

Getting my brief from Jelly tomorrow... quite excited!

On the rails to London. 1st July.

So after a nice weekend at home I caught a train back to London to start my second week with the D&AD Graduate Academy. I'm quite excited to start week two as the first week was really great and I learnt so much and have been given a tonne of great opportunities. 

Tomorrow I'm going to be based at Google Campus and Mother London, so I'm looking forward to the sessions and I'll be telling you all about it! I'm also going to be receiving a group breif which we will be working on during the coming week, which is going to be quite a big challenge, but I'm ready to embrace it!

Goodbye Education. 22nd June.

The institute where I have studied for the past three years.

After three years of photographic studies, I have now finished. I have been taught by the best lecturers and been surrounded by great photographers. Not going to lie, I will miss the place, it has been an experience of a lifetime. I started student life as a young person who only vaguely knew what they wanted to do, now I have become a photographer who has such a great love for the craft and will do whatever they can to succeed as documentary photographer. Valuable lessons have been learnt throughout the years, photography and non-photography related. I could never thank my lecturers enough for how dedicated they were to seeing me succeed as a photographer, so thank you Billie Kitchener, Crystal Brook, and Gabriel Van-Ingen.

In and Out the Train Station. 20th June.

Train Stations are interesting, I've spent my fair share of time sitting around in them waiting for trains and I'm about to spend a lot more time over the next month as I am in London with the D&AD graduate academy. The thing which I enjoy is watching the interactions between people... you have the typical lovers who enjoy making out for a good five minutes before they say goodbye, you have the business man briskly shaking hands of their "connections" as they get off their train, you have the commuters running so that they don't miss the train, you have parents saying bye to their kids telling them to "stay safe"... there are so many things happening in one small space. It's pretty amazing.

I also received a new batch of Business Cards today, I decided to order from MOO as I have heard nothing but good stories about them. I absolutely love them, you can have different backs for each card, the printing is high quality and they are finished off with a lovely matte sheen. If you're looking at getting new business cards I thoroughly recommend MOO cards. You can even get a 10% discount with this friend referral voucher link: http://www.moo.com/share/r8khn6