I went out today but it was just as windy as yesterday, if not windier.
Unfortunately my temperament was similarly perturbed and I found it difficult to "see" or want to see much in my dull, office surroundings.
I did find a colourful flowerpot which I think is best converted to something slightly surreal.

Dreams in a flowerpot.

As soon as there's hope of slightly warmer weather, the wind chill and rain seem to offset that again.
I went for a bit of a walk during my lunch break but we soon headed indoors to shelter from the wind.
It was actually quite hard to hold the camera steady and perhaps this is one of those situations where a heavier dSLR could have been less affected.
Still it was bright enough to get decent shutter speeds so I had no real problems.

Stubnitz ROS 701.

The Stubnitz ROS 701 is an old, East German former fishing vessel converted to an "entertainment" ship.

Although my new role, on my new project (whilst still moonlighting for my old team) is keeping me quite busy, I found time to visit Borough Market with Borek, where we met old colleagues Minesh and Vinoth for lunch at Applebee's fish restaurant.
The service is very friendly, atmosphere cosy and the fish was great (or as good as it can be without being sushi or sashimi) ;-)
We all shared 2 starters, consisting of sardines and mackerel. The mackerel was fantastic. We then moved onto Skate, which was also very impressive. I will definitely return. Eating fish with knives and forks is ok but I might sneak in my chopsticks next time. Chopsticks have the dual benefit of not crushing the flesh as well as being better suited to removing bones. As a result, today I ate many bones.

Afterwards we wandered around the market stalls before heading back to work.
Winter is a tough time to remain creative, with short daylight hours, low contrast, poor weather and a general lack of motivation. Hopefully the last few days have seen me bottom out. I'm feeling the urge to take photos returning. Perhaps this is partly due to getting to grips with my new role, reducing the psychological pressures that stifle my photography.
I found these colourful vegetables in one stall particularly appealing.

Spellbound by vegetables.

The Ricoh GRDiv does a great job of capturing hues in daylight, despite its small 1/1.7" sensor.

Today is the first day since upgrading the firmware to v2.2.1, although I have to admit the changes seem fairly minor and I didn't detect any difference compared to before.

Canary Wharf tries to be an artificial Utopia.

It may succeed in convincing fleeting visitors but to the regular realists, it provides only cheap visual thrills.

A bit like the Matrix. An amusement park of the financial district.

Distant relations.

It's been a while since things have been aligned for me to resume photography again.
I've been a bit ill, busy at work, held back by the weather and not feeling too creative.
After a break I feel I'm in the right health and state of mind again, so here goes.

Twisted frames.

Today I also updated the firmware on my GRDiv to V2.2.1.
I don't think it gives me anything too useful for my day-to-day photography but then again the camera software is quite refined by now.

Yesterday I visited the SWPP trade show over at the Edgware Hilton together with Cristian.
It's geared more towards portrait and wedding photographers but with my recent interest in fashion, the lighting exhibits and demonstrations were quite interesting.
I also got to play with a beta Fuji X100s and a Fuji X20.
More interestingly I finally got to handle a production Sony RX1 and minor gripes aside, it seems to be an amazing camera.

Here's a capture I made after the show, during the photo walk with Cristian, heading towards Little Venice.

Little red, crossing blue.

The GRDiv never ceases to surprise me.
In good light the quality can be fantastic, though low light capabilities mean that I have to rest the camera on some sort of support (or tripod) or use black and white mode.
It gets a lot more use than my Nikon D700 - which is itself a great tool but due to my back problems, bulk and sheer presence make it less suitable for day-to-day use.

Halo energy sword. (+1)

Yesterday was just another Sunday.
Today? Alien abduction!

Alien Infection. (+1)

Our street.

Cat's eye view. (+1)

Juicy. (+1)

Always glad to make it to the weekend. I feel like a poor swimmer extending his arms and barely touching the edge of the pool.
I need to start publishing my blog posts before midnight. Currently I'm lagging by one day.

Pins and needles. (+1)

I went out to get lunch (and a bit of shopping) with Borek, my longtime friend and colleague.
My job sometimes stresses me but I also wonder whether I would enjoy serving stressed people? Maybe I do that already. Do city workers appreciate the little things in life?

Window into a slightly different world.

Zorro came into our house again.
He was frightened by the vacuum cleaner so decided to take refuge in the kitchen.

Zorro

First day of 2013 and I'm a bit tired and hungover from the NYE celebrations.
I have many things I want to do this year, including becoming more productive with my photography.

Happy new year!