Chinese New year

Just before all the snow, I was in Chinatown to see the New year celebrations. It was really great to see all the streets full of red lanterns. In the middle of winter in all the cold weather it brought a real sense of cheer to London.


There were stalls outside the shops selling loads of kitch ox animals, it being the year of the ox, paper dragons, small hand drums, fortune cookies and loads more. It was very cold and I was glad of the crowds at some points that kept the wind off me. At one point I was next to the drummer at the start of one of the lion dances, but as it started I was left behind as the huge crowd surged forward.
I could just see the dragons head pop up and down from time to time, as it made it's way down the street paying visits to the shops and restaurants.

Islington Chapel market and Epping Forest

With two of my themes and interests in mind I was in Islington for one of them, taking photos of street scenes and the market there. It's interesting seeing the effects on me of a lot of recent publicity about photographers being stopped from taking photographs outside in everyday life. I don't find it easy sometimes taking photos in the street, but I do believe that we should be able to do so as artists as well as tourists etc.
It is the increasing money to be made from the ownership of copyright that is causing the problems I think.

Later in the week a friend of mine took me with her to Epping Forest again. It was a lovely day to be in the trees and to see the young ducks and geese on the pond. Taking pictures of trees can be really surprising, when looking at their trunks and branches at first they appear ordinary, yet sometimes in the photograph a spirit type face is looking back at us.