Balmy October, Part 1 (Saturday 1 October, 2011)

Brighton Beach

(Leica M9, Zeiss 25mm Biogon f2.8 ZM)

Balmy October 2011 (part 1)

Saturday 1 October was one of the hottest known in the UK. The sun was out, temperatures hit 29c, and like half of London, I headed to Brighton and Hove with my camera.

Overheating in the traffic

(Leica M9, Voigtlander 35mm Nokton f1.2 vII)

My old Mercedes overheats at the best of times. I knew the traffic approaching Brighton would be risky, and so it was. But hey, it was worth the hassle to drive topless.

Family on the beach

(Leica M9, Voigtlander 35mm Nokton f1.2 vII)

It could have been the middle of summer, with bathers soaking up the sun of swimming in the sea. Although largely silhouetted by the sun behind them, I love the orderly chaos of this family scene, with smoke blazing from their beach bar-b-q, and the woman covering her face from my prying camera. On a technical note, it was one of many examples from the day of just how flare resistant the 35mm Nokton f1.2 vII is.

Skater girls on the Promenade

(Leica M9, Jupiter-3 50mm f1.5)

Summer is always sexy. These girls had it, so they flaunted it in style with wheels along the long promenade.

Girl with an orange bag

(Leica M9, Voigtlander 35mm Nokton f1.2 vII)

I love "street photography". Capturing ordinary people doing ordinary, or extraordinary things. The seaside is a great place for such photography, and Brighton has the hustle and bustle of the Lanes as well. Unlike most of my shots from the day, this shot was taken at f2.

Legs of a bather

(Leica M9, Voigtlander 35mm Nokton f1.2 vII)

This was how I first saw this scene, from above, and I liked it.

Basketball boys

(Leica M9, Jupiter-3 50mm f1.5)

I like the sense of movement and dynamism, as well as the coolness and attitude, of this shot.

Bandstand

(Leica M9, Jupiter-3 50mm f1.5)

A popular spot for romantic and wedding photographs, I love the detail of the architecture of the stand, and the small figures posing on it, breeze in their hair.

Man with a White T-Shirt

(Leica M9, Voigtlander 35mm Nokton f1.2 vII)

It was the geometry of this shot that attracted me.

Kensington Gardens

(Leica M9, Voigtlander 35mm Nokton f1.2 vII)

My own favourite from the day, in Kensington Gardens. She looked like Amy Winehouse, and had a similar attitude to cameras - but the clocking of her face makes the photo for me.

The Sun Goes down

(Leica M9, Voigtlander 35mm Nokton f1.2 vII)

The sunset was beautiful. It was time to go back.

In addition to my Leica M9. I also took a couple of rolls of 120 colour film in my Rolleiflex 2.8F TLR, and some Hipstamatic black and white on the iPhone. Once the film is developed and scanned I shall upload them in a new entry, Balmy October, Part 2 - hopefully later this week so watch this space.

Regular followers of my blog will realise I have jumped 3 months in time. I was about to edit and upload 1 July 2011, but the balmy weather came to me. The blog will go back to July soon...

You can see my whole set from 1 October 2011 on flickr, here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickdemarcofoto/sets/72157627796149694/with/6204152535/

Please feel free to leave a comment there, or here.