Industry, EmpTea, & Orchids. 28th January.

This is a brickyard that I always end up photographing, I drive past it quite a bit and I always end up admiring all the different facets that create the brickyard. Industry has always interested me, and I am ever so slowly creating a photo-essay on the British (possibly world) industries. 

I apologise for my lack of blogging... Here are my photos from the past 2 days:

For those of you who don't know, I have been taking a photograph every day since September 2011, I try to blog them as much as possible, but due to life's crazy schedule and the fact internet is not always accessible I sometimes get behind!

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Photoshop Photographer. 23rd January.

Today I went a little bit Photoshop happy... Mainly because I was inspired by Julian Calverly, a photographer who normally shoots Medium Format images, but has created a series of amazing photos on his phone.. (http://blog.lisapritchard.com/2013/01/23/julian-calverley-iphoneonly/) 

So I decided to take a photo on my phone, but all that I could find at the time was some stairs... so I decided to jazz the photo up in Photoshop with textures, colours, and blending modes.

Photoshop is fun, but I fear if I use it too much I'll become a graphic designer, not a Photographer.

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London: Trains, D&AD, Cartier-Bresson & Tim Walker, and a few street photos. 21st January.

Today was a London day, although I spent a large chunk of today travelling to-from London due to the snow! (Hence the glorious train/landscape-through-window photos!).

The main reason of the trip was to be interviewed by D&AD for a video about GradAcad, so my first stop was D&AD HQ where this piece of street art can be found, any "The Apprentice" fans should recognise it. The interview went well and I'll post it when it goes up.

I then headed over to Somerset house, to look at the "A Question of Colour" exhibition, inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson and featuring many amazing street photographers. Tim Walker also had an exhibition which felt slightly Alice in Wonderland-esq, it was very creative and slightly creepy with a Massive Doll hiding in the corner of the last room.

I was always going to take some street photos, but the Cartier-Bresson exhibition inspired me to think more about composition and elements within the photographs.. here's a few photos from today:

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London street people.

London.... in my opinion it's one of the best cities for street photography, so many different nationalities, social stereotypes and cultures all in one city. I'm hopefully in London tomorrow (if the snow doesn't cause any disruptions!), I'm hoping to steal a few hours to get back on the streets with my camera.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150553346735046.646541.407058550045&type=1

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2 Snowmen. 19th January.

2 snowmen, standing in the snow... as snowmen tend to do.

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The branches have traded their leaves for white sleeves. 14th January.

Two Words: Snow Day!

Cold Water. 13th January.

It's getting cold; the streams, rivers, lakes and ponds are frosting over... snow is coming... we are now reaching the depths of winter.

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The Whittlesey Straw Bear Festival. 12th January.

Today was the Straw Bear festival, it's a folk festival in the fenland town of Whittlesey. I've been attending the festival for years, when I was a child my family used to go for the day.. but in the past few years I've been going and taking photos, because there are some amazingly characterful people to be found at the event. 

My blog photos are not that great as I spent the day shooting on film with my Mamiya (RZ67) and only took a couple of digital/phone snaps. So now I have a few rolls of un-developed film sitting in my fridge, the worst thing is that I won't be able to get them developed for at least another week! 

I'll let you know when I have the photos up on my website as I'd love you to have a look and tell me what you think.

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Food Bank. 11th January.

I was at Peterborough Food Bank today taking some photos and recording some video.

FoodBank is a great charity that distributes food packages to people who just can't afford to eat; not only does this practically help people who are going hungry, but it also gives a mental boost to people who are living in hard situations and not able to provide for their families.

Food Bank relies completely on food donations, you never know how much your tin of soup could help somebody.

The website of Food Bank:

http://www.trusselltrust.org/

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Those Glowing Golden Arches. 10th January.

These glowing golden arches are internationally recognised; it is not rare to see these dotted along the motorways to comfort hungry travellers, or to see these in the middle of busy town centers where people don't want to wait for hot food, and for people travelling to far away places and aren't into the local cuisine, they will find this sign comforting.

McDonalds is such a big brand, their food is ok, their facilities are alright... but somehow, people all over the world are attracted to this fast food chain. 

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The Old Playpark. 6th January.

This is a playpark I used to spend time at when I was a child years ago.... it looks like it hasn't been changed at all since I played there, the paint is now rusted, the swings have lost their seats and the tarmac is breaking apart... it's strange to see how things have changed, or not changed. 

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In Memory Of. 5th January.

I was out taking photos in a local cemetery today with my Mamiya.. I'll tell you more about it when I get the negatives developed... but here's a digital photo from the shoot, may give you a bit of a taste of what's to come. 

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Your New Local Shop. 4th January.

Across the UK in towns and suburbs the meaning of "The Local Shop" is changing.. a few years ago it would have been the butchers, corner shop or post office.. but now it's turning into your nearest Tescos, Asda or Morrisons. I'm not going to lie, I like the fact that Tescos is so low priced and open all hours.. but do I like the fact that Mr.Smith's Butchers is suffering because it can't be as convenient? 

I'm not sure.. what do you think?

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The Mamiya & Me. 3rd January.

So, I own what is one of the most wonderful cameras ever made (in my opinion) a Mamiya RZ67...  but I know I could always use it more. I love shooting film, and the quality and aesthetics of the photos I take on film win hands down to the photos I take with my Nikon DSLR; but somehow I use digital more than I should do due to it's instant results and capacity for thousands of photos.

Right now I'm itching to get out with it, so I'm planning a few shoots over the next few days where I can have fun with my camera once again.

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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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2013!! 1st January.

I'm one of those people who likes to go out for walks on Bank Holidays and Sundays if the weather is nice. So as per tradition I went out for a New Year's walk through the town, parks and countryside. My shoes got muddy, my socks got wet and my jeans were splattered.. but it was a successful new years walk. I also became a graphic designer today, I am not a photographer who's best friend is photoshop, but I wanted to make my first Photo-A-Day of the year a relevant and reasonably good image.. so here you go!

Here's to 2013 and a whole ton of photos and opportunities!

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New Year Cathedral. 31st December.

Every year, on New Years Eve I go to the Cathedral, hundreds of people from churches across the city gather for a service looking forward into the next year. It has developed into a tradition for me, it's a great service and I absolutely love the building. Peterborough Cathedral is definitely the most grand and beautiful building in the City, and possibly the whole of Cambridgeshire. 

Happy New Year, lets make 2013 a year to remember!  

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