I’ve always loved the retro look so I was really pleased when a colleague told me about this really cool i phone application – hipstamatic

So I tried this out on a recent trip to London and I love the results and unpredictability of it. Even the most boring looking scene can look interesting. In the 70′s as a child I owned a few crappy soviet, eastern block style cameras and loved to play around with them often processing the film in weird ways. That was the joy of photography and I guess today it has become more and more predictable with camera technology improving at an alarming rate. Its why I see now a lot of professionals (mainly American) who process their images this way as well as the increasing popularity of Lomo and Holga cameras.

Anyway this is a great application which costs a few pounds. In particular I like the square format which in many ways is easier to work with and reminds me of my early days in photography when we used Hasselblads. Below are some more favourites, let me know what you think.

London documentary photographer

What better way to spend a cold, grey November afternoon than doing some street photography. I recently purchased the Leica Summilux 25mm 1.4 lens with an adapter to fit my Lumix G1. Below are some shots I recently took on a visit to London’s Science museum with the kids.

I love the Lumix camera in particular its small size and Leica fast lenses. So the 2 together is a match made in heaven. Some have said the AF is slow but I found it perfectly OK. I did not need to go higher than 800 iso which is just as well as it gets quite noisy at 1600 (I guess as a Canon 5d mark ll user I’ve become spoilt). and the Leica Lens is pin sharp even at 1.4.

Most of these were taken on this lens apart from the last few which I took on the Lumix 20mm 1.7. Again a great fast lens and also being very small it fitted very well into my jacket pocketeven when attached to the body.

Most of these shots below were shot around waist/chest height so I can remain as unobtrusive as possible which is important for street photography and photographing strangers.

Neil Palmer Leica street photography London

Very few are aware that the town of Reading hosted approximately 900 prisoners of war during the Napoleonic Wars between 1807-1809. About two thirds were from Denmark and were ‘fortunate’ to be held in Reading with a fair amount of freedom. The alternative was usually a rotting prison ship. During this time they integrated seemlessly into Reading life and became quite popular. They were often referred to as The Gentlemen Danes.

One of these prisoners was Laurenthes Braag whose memorial stone at Minster Church of St Mary the Virgin can be seen above. This was spotted some years ago by my friend and local historian John Nixon. It was in a bad shape then but was restored to its former glory by Michael Eastham and Joscelyn Schmidt. Yesterday saw the official unveiling of the memorial. This was well attended by local historians and special guests as well as Reading Civic Society, The Mayor of Reading, Per Bjerg (Museum Curator, Fano), Captain Niels Erik Sorensen (Danish Defence Attache) and Lars Flyvholm (MD of Bang and Olufsen UK – who sponsored the event)

Below are some of my favourite shots. If you attended the event and would like copies of the complete set (114 in total) please e mail me with your postal address. Please feel free to add any comments below.

For photographers – All images shot with on Lumix G1. Lenses – Lumix 20mm 1.7 (pancake lens) and Leica Summilux 25mm 1.4. This is a great camera I love using. Very small and discreet with excellent metering and AF which locks quickly and doesn’t ‘hunt’ in low light like my Canon 5D tends to. It is however quite noisy in the shadows at 1600 compared to my Canons. Not so much a problem for me as I often add grain to my images afterwards to give a film look.

The Danish Flag (Dannebrog) flys proudly above Reading.

On the right Richard Bennett Chairman Reading Civic Society.

2 members of The Buffs – 3rd East Kent Regiment of Foot

John Nixon local historian

Captain Niels Erik Sorensen, Danish Defence Attache

What a pretty face ! One of the guests having a good time.

On the right Lars Flyvholm, Managing Director of Bang and Olufsen UK – The event’s sponsors.

Far right Birgitte Winther Braag, a distant relation of Laurenthes Braag

Captain Niels Erik Sorensen, Danish Defence Attache

Per Bjerg, Museum Curator Fano

On the right The Mayor Reading Cllr Fred Pugh