KL Morning

TG-4, f4.2, 1/250, ISO 200, RAW, 74mm

Early Morning Commute

GR, f5.6, 1/640, ISO 100, RAW

Commuting in London is one of the worst things that you can ever experience but there is one way of commuting that is actually very enjoyable and this is taking the boat to work. This means you need to live along the route and be willing to pay extra but it’s a very nice way to get to work. While I can’t commute by boat, at least I don’t have to take the Tube because there is really nothing worse than that.

Tower Bridge in the Morning

GR, f8.0, 1.5 sec., ISO 100, RAW

Another long and busy day without much time for photography but at least I had some time on my way in early in the morning. It was a cold morning but clear so this made for a very nice sunrise, although I didn’t catch all of it.

Day 47 – Guilin Sunrise and Train Chaos

The day started of very nice and calm with an early start and walk around the lake near my hostel to take pictures of the sunrise.

Guilin is probably nicest early morning and in the evening when you can get some great photos. There are also less tourists and people around in the morning so it’s nicer to walk around and take pictures of the locals doing their exercises.

Once I got to the train station however the calm changed and people were everywhere due to the holiday being over so everyone was heading home. This would not have been a big issue as I had my train ticket sorted already and was just waiting to board.

There is something about trains on Sundays in China as all trains to Nanning were delayed and with my 9:17 train, delayed to 11:25, it would mean missing the connecting train to Hanoi.
Heading to the ticket office, I tried to change my ticket for a fast train leaving slightly later at 10:30 but it turned out this was also delayed till 11:40 and I would again miss the train to Hanoi.
So instead they gave me a ticket for the 7:45 train to Nanning at 10:30 because this was also delayed till 11:05 but according to them it should get to Nanning between 16:00 and 17:00 leaving me with 1:20h to get my connecting train.

I know what you think, I should have just got back to my hotel and enjoy the day in Guilin and travel tomorrow but I am stubborn so I set out on the journey sitting in 3rd class on a seat near where my ticket allocated me, enjoying the company of my fellow Chinese travellers.

It was a fun journey but the train did not only not make up any time, it got even more delayed along the way so I got to Nanning at 17:55 and had to still buy my ticket for the train to Hanoi. You might rightly say I should have bought this in the morning already but I was suspicious if the train would make it in time.
The queues were very big in the ticket office and I would have never made it on time were it not for my knowledge of the Chinese queuing system. If you’re in a rush, just jump the queue and go straight to the front. In the UK this would not go down well but here it seems common and I had the tourist bonus. ;)

Long story short, i got my train ticket and made it on time to get the train to Hanoi with plugs that did not work again. Since it would only be a few hours overnight, this did not bother me too much.

The border crossings were quite efficient although this time everyone had to get off the train with their luggage and have it scanned in the terminal building. Still, it was preferable to the crossing between Mongolia andChina where we got locked in the carriage without water, AC or toilet access for hours.

A Shard Sunrise

GXR A12-M, f8.0, 1/2000, ISO 200, RAW, 53mm (Voigtlander Nokton f1.2 35mm)

Everyday

GRD III, f6.3, 1/84, ISO 64, RAW

Took a few pictures as usual on my way to and from work today. While this is not my best picture it’s my first picture and one where I like the colors best.
Early mornings are great for photography, there are not many people and cars around and it is fairly quiet even in London. As I posted some time before, early mornings feel like it’s a different world out there.

What I like about the GRDs is that you can always have them along without noticing but want to use them as much as possible at the same time. AT least for me it’s like that, as soon as I hold the camera I want to go out and take pictures.

Morning Coffee

GRD, f5, 1/400, ISO 64, JPG – Taken on 20/01/2007

This is another of my favorite pictures and one that I could only take because the GRD I is fast to power on and ready to take the shot. Took it at Luxor airport just before boarding the bus. When I saw the scene it looked nice but when I saw the driver with the coffee it made it perfect and I had to get the shot.

December Sun

R10, f5.1, 1/800, ISO 100, JPG

Took this picture on my way to work this morning while walking across London Bridge. This is a picture where the R10 was best due to the extra zoom. I cropped it to the 16:9 format since it reminds me a bit of a scene from a Michael Bay movie.
Changed the levels in Photo Shop and used the highlight recovery tool but did not change much else. Turning sharpening down to -1, contrast to +2 and color depth to +1 gives great results with the R10 as long as you don’t underexpose much. RAW would be great to have or the option to turn the noise reduction completely off.

Blackheath Station at 6am

GRD II, f2.4, 1/20, ISO 80, RAW 1:1

When you wake up early you can find a different world out there, it is quiet, calm, people are nicer, more relaxed. There is no rush or the noise you have for the rest of the day. The streets look different, the light is great, you want to walk around, take it all in. Especially when the days get shorter and the temperatures lower the light and mood get better. I like travelling at this time of the day but am overall too lazy to get out that early on weekends but will need to do it and make a series of pictures in London.

At the same time the night can be fascinating, too, and present you with a different mood and atmosphere. Have a look at this set of pictures.