In between my weddings I managed to squeeze in a short break to visit my good friends Dorota and Michal in Warsaw, who are also known as Whitesmoke

There is some amazing photography coming out of Poland and these 2 are at the cutting edge. The style is different to what we see here in the UK and USA – a bit more grittier, more real life, not as fluffed up.

Although I do like some fluffy photography (I’m a romantic at heart !) its good to see alternatives.

These were all shot on the D700 with one lens, the 50mm. I would have liked wider at times particularly when I was shooting the demo but when traveling I like to be as light as possible. Besides its good to practise with one lens and makes you work and look more.

Warsaw is an interesting city and not as bad as I was lead to believe. Lots of interesting buildings and architecture (some of the Soviet stuff was interesting in particular the Cultural Palace) as well as excellent restaurants and bars. And of course friendly, welcoming people. I couldn’t have had a better welcome, so thanks again Dorota and Michal and hope to see you in London next !

Below are some favourites

Team Whitesmoke – Yo !

Michal with one of his great images

Anyone who is seriously into photography and portraiture in particular must visit the Irving Penn exhibition at The National Portrait Gallery in Trafalgar square. I paid a visit yesterday with my colleagues from The Britpack and was not disappointed.

Penn has to be one of my favourite portrait photographers and has been a huge influence on me in the way he creates such graphic compositions (the Marlene Dietrich portrait springs to mind) and the strong use of directional light.Unlike many portrait photographers he did not necessarily have to flatter the subject which he quite often broad lit and shot from a low angle with a wide lens. A perfect recipe to make you look 3 stone heavier ! Anyhow the techniques and presentation he used are still very much relevant 40, 50 years on, even more so in an age of endemic digital mediocrity and gimmickry.

On my way home I noticed a busker under Waterloo Bridge and I took a few shots which are in some way, a nice reminder of what I had just seen.

documentary photographer London

I thought I’d show some images from a recent skiing trip to Austria. This will be my last break now until the late autumn as the wedding season for me starts in the 2nd half of April through to November more or less flat out. So it was great to fit in a short break and at the same time enjoy the most glorious weather (one day reached 26c !). It was also a chance to keep my eyes fresh by shooting some images on my i phone (hipstamatic again !) Below are some favourites, feel free to add any comments

Neil Palmer photographer in berkshire

I’ve always loved the retro look so I was really pleased when a colleague told me about this really cool i phone application – hipstamatic

So I tried this out on a recent trip to London and I love the results and unpredictability of it. Even the most boring looking scene can look interesting. In the 70′s as a child I owned a few crappy soviet, eastern block style cameras and loved to play around with them often processing the film in weird ways. That was the joy of photography and I guess today it has become more and more predictable with camera technology improving at an alarming rate. Its why I see now a lot of professionals (mainly American) who process their images this way as well as the increasing popularity of Lomo and Holga cameras.

Anyway this is a great application which costs a few pounds. In particular I like the square format which in many ways is easier to work with and reminds me of my early days in photography when we used Hasselblads. Below are some more favourites, let me know what you think.

London documentary photographer

Everyone has been moaning about the weather recently. But it does provide all photographers, from keen hobbyists to full time pros, excellent subject matter.

Here are a handful I took during my walk to the studio each day. I’m not one of those photographers who has a camera in their hands 24/7. But I always have my i phone readily to hand which often surprises me by producing some decent images. Don’t worry though – I won’t be using it on a wedding for the time being. Some more can be seen below.

Neil Palmer wedding photographer london

I’m often asked which photographers have had the biggest influence on the way I shoot and my answer is always Cartier Bresson, Doisneau and Erwitt. So whenever possible I try to work in a similar style. Not only is this an enjoyable challenge but to stay top of my game it is essential to practice timing, anticipation and finding interesting images in the most unlikely situations. In other words – learning how to see.

Here are some images taken on a recent business trip to Bologna in Italy. I love everything about Italy, it has to be my favourite country. With Christmas in the air and some unexpected snow showers the mood and atmosphere of the place gave me plenty of interesting opportunities. Below are some favourites. Most were taken on the Lumix G1 with a the Summilux 25mm 1.4. For the wider work I used the Lumix 20mm, 1.7 pancake lens. These were essential because of the low light.

What better way to spend a cold, grey November afternoon than doing some street photography. I recently purchased  the Leica Summilux 25mm 1.4 lens with an adapter to fit my Lumix G1. Below are some shots I recently took on a visit to London’s Science museum with the kids.

I love the Lumix camera in particular its small size and Leica fast lenses. So the 2 together is a match made in heaven. Some have said the AF is slow but I found it perfectly OK. I did not need to go higher than 800 iso which is just as well as it gets quite noisy at 1600 (I guess as a Canon 5d mark ll user I’ve become spoilt). and the Leica Lens is pin sharp even at 1.4.

Most of these were taken on this lens apart from the last few which I took on the Lumix 20mm 1.7. Again a great fast lens and also being very small it fitted very well into my jacket pocketeven when attached to the body.

Most of these shots below were shot around waist/chest height so I can remain as unobtrusive as possible which is important for street photography and photographing strangers.

Neil Palmer Leica street photography London

These were taken in November 2007 and as you can see it was bitterly cold with a thin covering of snow which added to the bleakness of the place. It is an eerily silent place where people say the birds don’t sing. This is particularly true on the edge of the forest where the gas chambers were.

These were all shot on the Canon 5d with the 35m, 1.4 lens. Not only is this my favourite story telling lens but it was absolutely necessary for the low light.

Neil Palmer documentary photographer berkshire

It was also an opportunity to try out my new camera – the Lumix G1. This is very small and light and is therefore excellent for travel and documentary photography. With this type of photography you have to be ideally ‘invisible’. With a wedding or any commissioned shoot people expect you to be there shooting images.

Anyhow the camera performed superbly although it took a little getting used to. Most shots were taken at waist level or just slightly above and my general rule of thumb is get in close and keep as wide as possible. I always try and avoid eye contact as well and look away at the moment I press the shutter.

I’ve processed some to give the effect of the old polaroid film SX 70, which was common in the 70′s. I really like this effect and it seems to work well here. Perhaps its also a reminder of my childhood when I used this film alot and also experienced many beach holidays.

I do not know any of the people in these images and the aim was therefore to remain as ‘invisible’ as possible. Most of these were taken with the camera around waist/chest level with zone focusing.

This was a very useful exercise and makes me realise, as photographers, how spoilt we are with zoom lenses and Auto Focus. Below are some of my favourites

neil palmer documentary wedding photographer berkshire oxfordshire