NY-London Daze of Confusion
Photography is such a moody business.
From spring sunshine in New York and Mad Men on 9th Ave who don't bat an eyelid
to a prickly punk giving me the finger in London a few days later. "One Pound!" he kept saying, his
finger jabbing the air as I walked past but I wasn't in the mood for placating interaction because
to tell the truth, I wasn't really in the mood for taking photos. It wasn't happening then and it
hadn't been happening earlier. The New York - London daze was becoming so much more of a reality in
that I wasn't sure how my shooting routine would go down given the shift in the home plates and the
very short amount of time on my side. The looseness wasn't there, it was all too wrapped up in the
rush of having to be here and then there.
I gave in and I gave up, retiring to the comfort of an outdoor table at one of the pubs along the
beautiful exotic Stoke Newington High Street. Let the world go by, I thought, put the camera down.
Have a drink, a long tall cold beer and, with an inch or two left in the glass, from out of nowhere
came the delightful Eugene.
He sat down, talked about life and family back in County Kerry, his friends here in London. A good
life but for one little problem . . . . "the drink."
And it was then I forgot where I was because really, it didn't matter at all that much . . . we were
somewhere.
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Eugene is beautiful. Geez England. We watched Harry Brown a couple of nights ago with Michael Caine. Maragareth Thatcher’s legacy. The shot with the daffodils is great. Somehow the black and yellow combined gives it colour and endless joy.
I haven’t seen Harry Brown, did you enjoy it? You would have loved the lilacs and bluebells Gerard, they were everywhere!
Oh my, Patti. This is fabulous. Sometimes I think we get uptight about whatever, and that freezes the whole creative thing. You did the perfect thing by letting go….and then there was Eugene. Are you in London for awhile now?
We do get ourselves uptight at times don’t we . . . only for those whatevers to eventually feed the creative thing. We have to put those “whatevers” somewhere. Trust all well with you and your family Angeline, thinking of you all!
Great shots Patti even though the the guy flipped you the bird. You should have asked him how long the batteries last for his hair 🙂
Shall make sure to ask next time, thank you Joe!
You find beauty wherever you are. Great work Patti.
Thank you Tom, there are days and then there are days!
The magical attraction of beer karma at play – you won’t find it with wine drinkers! Lovely story !!
I hadn’t thought about that Pat, thanks and cheers for the beer karma!! 🙂
Great post, love your go with the flow-vibe in all photos!
And the story and photos of Eugene are full of character 😉
Have a good week, Ron.
You can’t fight the flow, whichever way it takes you! Thank you so much Ron and wishing you a great week also!
That was some experience! People can be so rude.. I like the face in Eugene, and the way the buildings from across the street reflected in the pub’s windows. When are you going back Patti?
To tell you the truth Paula, I don’t mind being given the finger – it sort of goes with the territory but I will forever loathe being flashed the Facebook fingers! Back in NYC now and great to hear from you, thank you Paula!
Same hear Pattie. It is nice to hear from you always. Take care and rest. You must be jet lagged still.
Patti I think anywhere after New York requires a decompression time……..like coming to the surface after a deep dive! Best wishes, Robert
That’s for sure! Great advice Robert and well worth remembering!
Fine post, Patti. ‘Hello beautiful’…
Thank you Harrie, strange isn’t it what comes along!
You had one of those moments, life knocking with another chapter, and you opened the door for all of us to partake. A good story from the ups and downs of London.
Thank you so much Bente, where would we be without our ups and downs!
Hi from Stoke Newington! I was reprimanded for taking a photograph at the Columbia Flower Market yesterday though there was no mention of money. To capture MAD twice in the same frame is the work of a very quick eyed photographer indeed!
I wanted to let him know that I charge way more than £1 but thought better to let it go, plus it’s what punks do best anyway! If people do get upset I usually show them the shot and offer to email it to them which more often than not leads to more shots but as I said, it’s a moody business . . . Hope Columbia Flower Market shot had a happy ending and love to you all in Stokie!
Stoke Newington – a bit off my normal beat Patti or we could have had a quick drink together. Hope you find time and relaxation after all the rushing around 🙂
That would have been so much fun Martin, maybe next time! 🙂
Yes! I like the MadMen photo again!
They were such a cool pair, thank you Gaynor!
An interesting tale. Wonderful interactions (and shots) come when you least expect them. It’s why I can’t really shoot on demand – I just need to feel the moment. All wonderful shots Patti.
And you feel so many great moments Lignum! Thank you so much for your kind words and support!
Quite an interesting and heartfelt experience. I always love how you use your pictures to tell your stories.
Thank you so much Arianna, just passing the stories along!
In regards to Mr. “One Pound!” I find it so interesting that some people flip the bird and ask for money whenever a camera is raised to an eye with 1) the assumption that they’re the intended subject of the photographer which isn’t necessarily true, and 2) the expectation that they’ll ruin the photo with that gesture. They clearly don’t realize that they’re now making themselves a subject to be noticed and photographed, and that the shot will not be ruined but actually be of interest to an observer because of the counterculture behaviour exhibited.
Exactly Allan, you have said it all!
Again, great street shots!
My grateful thanks to you Rabirius!
It seems you always meet interesting people like Eugene…and you manage to connect with them…brava!
robert
I suspect Eugene might meet quite a few people on his travels! Thank you so much Robert!
I so like your portraits of Eugene – full of grit and life and honesty. I think Mr £ is overselling himself; 50p surely.
Eugene was a natural in front of the camera, one of those people for whom you could almost ask “what camera?” Unlike prickly punks but then you have to take the rough with the smooth.
I’m familiar with that sense of rush. London seems somehow different to this time last year. As if it is in a state of limbo. Neither here nor there. Where will the party be this summer?
Travel is so disorientating isn’t it, particularly when returning to the familiar but of course it is never the same . . . . Wishing you happy London summer days Rufus!
Hi Patty, hope this finds you well and still enjoying London and your stay with your son.(yes i can remember our conversation!) You may not recognise me as last time you saw me i was blue! casually leaving the house at 9am with my friends and about to embark on an epic adventure! we met out side my home, where you became a wonderful part of our day. I’ve just found your card in my coat pocket, and wanted to say how lovely it was to meet you, you really did make our day! and just wanted to say our brief encounter really is what life is all about….
all the best,
the 4 blue faced londoners, Lottie, Lucy, Billy and George x
Hello Lottie! I was so thrilled to meet you all – you are so lucky I didn’t run off with you on your epic adventure as you all seemed so destined for good fun ahead. Don’t ever stop! Thank you all so much for making my day and so many best wishes to you, Lucy, Billy and George xxx
Aarrhh Patty you would have been more than welcome to join us, we had a whirl wind day (and alot off sleep after!) took a while to remove the blue off our faces, but only remenance of a good day shared with my most wonderful friends, i will be sure to follow your whereabouts now, and when you are in london again we could show you the fun we had in pictures and a few short videos,and show you a wonderful hidden side to east london ( not for many eyes but know they will bring you as much joy as they bring us!)
All the very best x
would love to see what you saw of us, maybe you could inbox me the pic if its not too much trouble?we should have had one with you 🙂
hi Patti, about the “punk giving to you the finger in London” – it seems on the other hand to be a funny shot (and a funny hair dress) – but photographers often don’t get enough acceptance – difficult, if police attacks photographers… greetings by http://flickrcomments.wordpress.com/2014/05/20/police-politics/
We take our chances, thank you Frizz!
If you don’t find fate, it finds you.
And to hell with the punks of London!
Another day and a better mood I would have shown him the shot . . . perhaps that itself was fated! 🙂
The “Hello beautiful” is so perfect. Grit and humanity. Wonderful.
You wait all day for a bus to come along . . . . thank you so much Karen!
A brilliant post Patti. Yes, you are and we are via your terrific images, somewhere.
And always so lovely to have your company, thank you Elena!
The buses add so much to both images! A delightful portrait Patti, I feel the connection.
That’s so sweet of you to say, thank you Madhu. The red London buses are such dominators aren’t they!
Such a great attitude Patti! When things don’t feel good or go well or people give you the finger, just sit down and take it all in and wait…good things do come! Your conversation with Eugene must have been interesting. The last image, the portrait of Eugene is a nice reminder of your visit. You captured his essence!
Part of the frustration was trying to make the most of my limited time there while longing to stretch it out that little bit more but Patti -Time (slooow time) often doesn’t translate too well into Real Time! So lovely to hear from you Robyn, a big thank you!
My experience is that people that are telling the world how mad they are by showcasing it on their clothes, usually try to portray themselves as more mad and crazy than what they really are.
I like the ‘finger photo’ 😀
The real nut jobs, the ones you should be careful with, are the lone wolves. Those, plus the methamphetamine/drug psychoses people. Mad hipsters are nothing to worry about.
My only regret about the finger shot is that I didn’t get up closer but people walk by so quickly in real time, or others walk into the frame then the shot has gone. Glad you like it, thank you Cardinal. As for the lone wolves, the ones you see coming, well that’s when you cross the road but the one in a crowd can spring some nasty surprises . . .
Glad you rebounded so quickly from the punk-finger to those great portraits of Eugene. Have a great trip!
Variety is the spice of life, thank you so much John!
I can feel your disorientation… I think sometimes you have to find your groove somewhere before you can get to photographing it, and its people. Mood is everything. I like your pictures of Eugene – he looks like a character!
I love the bus banner passing behind with *hello beautiful* … seems to me a few beautiful moments happened right then and here listening to Eugene share his stories Patti …
Whether or not you’re holding the camera, you just never know what’s coming around the next corner. Great shots, as usual, Patti. You always make me miss New York.
The last two photos are full of character and warmth – just the ticket! 🙂 It just takes patience sometimes, doesn’t it?