Imagine, if you will, that time before the UK heat wave hit, a time when it rained. Yes, water fell from the sky, and there was no requirement to carry factor 50 sun block with you. That was a period when I was working silly hours, long days, and weekends too. There was no time for personal photography and I was sad, dear readers, yes, I was sad. One Sunday afternoon when I had said “pah!” to work and was lounging around the place, I saw an advert for a Light and Land London workshop on my news feed. “That”, I thought to myself, “is the tonic I need”, and so booked a slot pronto.
Light and Land is celebrating its 25thanniversary, founded by Charlie Waite and Sue Bishop, it has a pedigree all of its own.
Last Saturday, with the weather app on my phone telling me that it could hit 31C in London, I braved the trains* and tube and made my way to meet the group. There I met our tutor, Paul Sanders,** and the rest of the group. We also had bonus tutors, Neil Wake, and Shanice, of Fuji UK, who had kindly lugged half of the Fujifilm equipment stores into London for us to play with. I got to use the XT2, which I may well have fallen for.
Anyway, enough gear talk, Paul set us off photographing the marvellous staircase in the hotel. This made me very happy indeed; you know how I love a staircase.
Fuji X100F - Flats, London
After that we headed for the Tate Modern, taking photos as we went. We then headed along the South Bank of the Thames over the Millennium Bridge towards St Pauls, shutter buttons happily clicking away. Lunch was upon us and we stopped for a break and some photographic natter. Fully refreshed, we headed for the city, where we were able to shoot the amazing architecture.
Fuji XT2, 50mm f2 - Angel Wings Sculpture, London
Fuji XT-2, 50mm f2 - City of London
It was a really great day, Paul, Shanice and Nathan were brilliant, always ready to help. It wasn't rushed either, it was a healthy wander around, camera in hand seeing what we could see. I hate being marched from one location to the next and told to "be creative" on the spot. Check out Light and Land for similar courses, and Paul and Nathan on Instagram below:
@lightandlandphotography
@wiggys (Paul Sanders)
@nathan_xp1 (Nathan Wake)
*South Western Railways was on strike again, oh, the joy!
** So, this is slightly embarrassing, but I spent the first half of the day thinking, “Blimey, this Paul bloke sounds so familiar, can’t place him though”. It wasn’t until we made it to the Bank of England I realised he is one half of the marvellous Togcast, of which I am an avid listener.