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London meet on Jan 16?


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I will be in London for a few days in January and I wonder if there is anyone interested in a meet on Sat 16? My ideas so far include (in order of preference)

 

- Highgate Cemetery

- jazz in a club

- churches walk in the City.

 

I am trying to find a jazz event suitable for taking photos. Visitor feedback for many venues appears to be largely negative so if anyone can recommend a specific place it would be very helpful.

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I will be in London for a few days in January and I wonder if there is anyone interested in a meet on Sat 16? My ideas so far include (in order of preference)

 

- Highgate Cemetery

- jazz in a club

- churches walk in the City.

 

I am trying to find a jazz event suitable for taking photos. Visitor feedback for many venues appears to be largely negative so if anyone can recommend a specific place it would be very helpful.

 

Be careful in the City - see threads both here and the Customer forum. Be prepared to be stopped by the Police. Most City churches are closed on Saturday.

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Wolfgang,

 

I'm interested in meeting up on 16th although I can't help with the jazz club I'm afraid.

 

You've said "churches walk in the City", which to Londoners would mean churches in the City of London, but I suspect that you meant in the City of Westminster as well. As Brian points out, you could expect most churches (and most other things) in the City of London to be closed on a Saturday but there should be plenty open in the City of Westminster. As Brian also mentions, you're likely to be annoyed by well-meaning police and security guards in the City of London when taking photos but I think that it would be a little easier in the City of Westminster so my advice would be to go there.

 

Some suggestions for photogenic churches in the City of Westminster are:

St Clement Dane (on Fleet Street)

St Bride's church (on Fleet Street)

St Dunstan in the West (on Fleet Street)

St Mary le Strand (near Fleet Street)

St Sophia Greek Cathedral (in Bayswater)

Brompton Oratory (in Kensington)

St Botolph's church (in the East End)

Southwark Cathedral (near London Bridge station)

Westminster Cathedral (between Victoria station and Westminster Abbey)

Westminster Abbey (photography by prior arrangement only)

 

 

Highgate Cemetry is well worth a visit and particularly the private side, which charges a small fee but has been resurrected from 30 years of neglect, although the tomb of Carl Marx is in the public side.

 

Pete.

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Brian,

Thank you for the information about the churches.

 

Pete,

Thank you for the additional information and the list of churches. I actually meant churches in the City but another day and/or the churches listed by you seem to make more sense. If we are going to meet on Jan 16, which of the mentioned motifs would be your preference?

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.. I actually meant churches in the City ...

Sorry, Wolgang, my mistake. :o

 

A number of the churches I mentioned (some examples below) are near to each other on Fleet Street so it seems sensible to start there and see how the time goes. Depending on what meeting time you had in mind, might I suggest meeting at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese (pub) or at the Pret A Manger coffee shop next door?

 

Pete.

 

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St Mary le Strand

 

St Dunstan in the West]

 

St Clement Dane

 

Brompton Oratory

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Pete,

great photos! These churches really look exciting! Maybe they can convince some forum members to join us.

 

So I guess it will be churches then :) Let's meet at the pub you mentioned. I am completely flexible re timing. Meet at noon and then use the afternoon for photos? What do you think would be best?

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Thank you, Wolfgang, you're very kind. :o

 

Daylight will be precious in January and I expect it to be dark by about 4 pm so it might be a good idea to start a little earlier if we can. Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese opens at 12 pm on Saturdays so how does 10 or 11 am in the Pret A Manger so we can go back to the pub later on if we choose?

 

We've planned a meeting of London forum members on 30th December (which you would be very welcome to attend if you're here) and I'll see if anybody can be persuaded to join us on 16th.

 

Pete.

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Yes, that's fine, Wolfgang, and I'll see you at 10 am.

 

Are there any other takers out there? If 10 o'clock's a little early for some we could arrange an additional later rendezvous location if anyone's interested?

 

Pete.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Bump.

 

Are there any others interested in joining us? :)

 

Pete.

Hi Pete and Wolfgang :)

 

Yes, Id like to try and join you even if it's only for a short while. I may not be able to make it though.

 

I've had a busy week and today (15 Jan) I'm traveling to London to see the James Cameron film "Avatar" at the IMAX cinema on the Southbank. So that means a trip to London on two consecutive days.

 

If my legs are OK I'll join you at about 10am at Pret A Manger so I'll be another guy with a Leica :D. If I'm not there by 10:30am say, then please don't wait for me. I'll try and update you when I get home later today which is likely to be around 9pm.

 

Bob.

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Apologies for posting this so late, but I would like to join you as well. (I have only recently got my repaired camera back from Solms.) I will aim to get to Pret in Fleet Street for 1000, or 1030 at the latest. The church interiors look great - I don't think that we will be so lucky with the light.

 

Regards,

 

Martin

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Great news, Bob, I hope you can make it! (I'd really like to hear about Avatar too. :))

 

Pete.

 

As far as Avatar is concerned I'm trying to book to see it a second time, it was that much of a cinematic experience :D. There wasn't an empty seat in the auditorium.

 

Coming home tonight I see that First Capital Connect are carrying out engineering work tomorrow. They say services on my branch of the line "may be disrupted". So it's not definite one way or the other :confused:.

 

Anyway I'll try and make the trip, look forward to seeing you all.

 

Pete, thanks for the PM.

 

Bob.

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Pete,

 

I'd like to come along too, but I'm not going to be able to make 10:30, so please don't wait.

 

I'll most likely be around from 12:00 if that's OK - I'll PM you with my mobile number so I can catch up with where you are.

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It was a very pleasant day but a shame that some of the venues were shut although those that were open were worth the visit imho. We managed to introduce Wolfgang to the currently lunacy that goes by the name of 'security' at Somerset House's ice-rink who wanted him to provide personal details and sign a piece of paper promising that he wouldn't publish any pictures he took or make a profit from them. Or look at them himself or let anyone else look at them. (Okay, I lied about the last bit. :p)

 

Many thanks to all who came along for the full day or for part of the day and helped to make it such a pleasant occasion. :) I hope Wolfgang manages to find some open churches in the City of London on Monday. :o

 

Pete.

 

Some shots from the day ...

 

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LCUF Streetshooters

 

Golden Eagle, RAF St Clement Dane

 

Lecturn detail, RAF St Clement Dane

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It was a very pleasant day but a shame that some of the venues were shut although those that were open were worth the visit imho. We managed to introduce Wolfgang to the currently lunacy that goes by the name of 'security' at Somerset House's ice-rink who wanted him to provide personal details and sign a piece of paper promising that he wouldn't publish any pictures he took or make a profit from them. Or look at them himself or let anyone else look at them. (Okay, I lied about the last bit. :p)

 

 

I certainly enjoyed it, even if I was only able to make it for the second half of the day. It was good to meet up with Wolfgang and see some of the regulars again. I also found out that this church photography lark is not as straightforward as it looks! So well done to Pete for his images.

 

To clarify Pete's point, in respect to photography Somerset House is not so much concerned about security as money. The form that Wolfgang was asked to sign committed him to paying them some of the proceeds if he sold any of his images. I am not sure what would have happened if he started taking pictures at the "nursery" end of the ice rink, though. That's a whole different can of lumbricids* ........

 

Regards

 

Mike

 

* worms, if you had not already guessed!

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Hi,

 

Firstly many thanks to Pete for being central to organising the day and introducing us to the interesting possibilities in London churches. As Mike said above, there is more to this than meets the eye - I was certainly down at the "optimistic" end of hand-held shutter speeds, even though I was resting on pews etc. Next time I will take a tripod! Sorry that I needed to leave after lunch - were other churches as friendly as St Clements? I hope that Wolfgang enjoyed the rest of his trip - come and see us again sometime. I think that I have a bit of a way to go to get results as good as Pete's, but here are a few of mine, all from St Clement Danes. (Having got a new sensor in my M9 over Christmas, I am now on to a M9/Lightroom problem so Lightroom fails to work (scream), reported elsewhere on the Forum, so all I have done with these is to convert to JPEGS.)

 

Regards,

 

Martin

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