You're either on the bus, or off the bus

One of the most unexpected things about Malta were the buses that operated across the island. I quickly discovered that Malta is a (very) Catholic place, with signs of this everywhere, least of all on the buses. Apparently in the past each driver was allocated a vehicle which they then customised as they pleased. The aging fleet of vehicles made for some great pictures and even though they were noisey, unreliable and quite frankly uncomfortable their charm leads you to forgive them for all this. After doing a bit of research I discovered that the Maltese transport authority plans to phase out these older vehicles and replace them more modern and ultimately bland vehicles. I plan to head back to Malta late spring to do a more concentrated project on these icons of Malta. Below are some more pictures showing the sights of Malta and the neighbouring island of Gozo, Malta is a really nice place and if you haven't been I can thoroughly recommended going

Cairo revisited

Whilst searching for a file on my computer I came across a folder of images taken on a college trip to Cairo ten years ago. I hadn't seen the images for years and had forgotten about them since a friend (who is an Egyptologist) had asked me for some prints and I had scanned a few images for output - hence the border.
These images were not on my previous site and have never really seen the light of day (digitally speaking) so I thought it was a nice opportunity to post them here. Coming across the images I had a hunt and found all the original prints that I had kept in a little display book (from Muji), in the back of it are odd scraps/tickets/cards aswell as a few pictures - not taken by myself - of those who were on the trip. With everything being digital these days it was so nice to come across a book of prints and found/borrowed/stolen souvenirs, whenever I'm away traveling I always seem to keep hold of such items and it's shame to not display them in some way.
Going over the images has got me thinking about how it was to shoot then, I was shooting on film with a Pentax ME Super (you can see it round my neck in one of the small photos) with one prime lens, no zoom, no autofocus. Nowadays I'm out shooting with two camera bodies with a 24-105 and 70-200 lens and although I have a prime 50mm it very rarely gets used. Zooms are great when you are in a situation when you can't move but I've always felt that relying on the lens to get you closer takes a certain something away from the act of taking photographs. Plus the size and weight of these lenses can mean you're not as mobile or discreet as you would be with a small prime lenses. So coming across these images has really given me a reminder to use prime lenses more, I may even look into getting a focusing screen for my bodies to have the option of manual focussing to return to keeping things really simple - as they were in those days.

Three Mills Lock, Bow

A shoot for Construction Manager magazine focusing on the recent investment in British waterways, the canal routes in East London are being given a new lease of life thanks in part to the waterways now being increasingly used to ferry goods and materials to and from the Olympic site. This overlooked waterway also has the added benefit of offering an environmentally attractive alternative to the road network.