#LNDNWLK 2.0

September 13th 2014. In the bus from Paddington to Stephen Bartels Gallery. Excited!
Rebecca and Johnny Patience, Heather and Mathieu from Mirrorlessons had organized this second edition of #LNDNWLK and I couldn't resist. Had to be there.

Many names and nicknames I used to relate to an avatar will be a few steps from me and they'll have actual faces from then on. That's fun. Not that I haven't done this before. I'm lucky I've met and had a great time chatting with Wouter in Amsterdam, Markus and Maria in Berlin, my dear Spanish fellows from Fujistas community, ... But this is different. A lot of old/new fellows to meet to whom I've engaged before. This is by far the best from this photowalks.

"Hi there! Rafa from Spain". Arrived. The gallery is packed already. Some goodies from Kodak Alaris waiting for me in the table: Two Tri-X 400 and three Portra 400 rolls. A discount voucher from Richard Photolab (thank you so much!!!). A nice starting point for the workshop. Not that I shoot film much, but it'll help to make me want more.

In the workshop Johnny Patience gave us a glimpse of what shooting film is like, exposure techniques and some tips to guess the exposure speed. Good stuff.

Time then for a coffe and to make new friends.

Finding people passionate on their work is always inspiring. Stephen Bartels belongs to that category, no doubt. His gallery displays photography both in digital (hi-def screens) and traditional (framed prints) formats. Stephen presented us the work from photographers he represents. We also had the chance to have a conversation with him on his decision criteria to pick a photographer and many other topics around the gallery work.

It was great knowing the project from Chris Mann shooting backstage dancer Johnny Ollivier. Chris work is exhibited in this gallery.

And now ... It's time for a walk...
To Vincent Square first.

I didn't use much gear. Just my Fujifilm X-Pro1 with the XF35mm f/1.4R and that was it. Brought more lenses with me but in the end they slept in my bag.

Then crossing Lambeth bridge to walk South Bank.

Blackfriars bridge. Time for a group shot. Heather handed me the XF10-24mm f/4 R OIS and a passer by was kind enough to take the picture. A handsome pack, huh? ;)

I kept the wide-angle zoom glued to my camera for the rest of the walk till we arrived to the restaurant (thanks Heather!). Used to be a 28mm kind of guy till I jumped to the X-System wagon with the XF35mm. I enjoyed the lens and the chance to play with a 15mm focal length equivalent, but I guess wide lenses are not my thing anymore.

A long day came to an end with a dinner in Shoreditch. Time to share beer, wine and a paused conversation around the table.

Everything comes to an end to let new stuff begin.

I jumped to the bus back to my hotel in Paddington with a bitter-sweet feeling. A great day with a pack of really nice fellow photographers. Beautiful camaraderie. Such a big group I didn't have the chance to enjoy quality time with many of you.

I treasure this chance to bring you to my offline life and share this passion for photography.

Specially happy to meet and chat during photowalk and dinner Thomas Menk (a big supporter of Fujifilm X Series community and beyond that a great guy), Robert-Paul Jansen whom I really admire, Matt Wilkinson, Sam Burton and Andy Spencer (the three of you are part of my TwittSphere long ago and I appreciate more an more your work).

Thanks Rebecca and Johnny Patience, Heather and Mathieu for organizing this. I felt invited to join this from the very beginning and I'm glad I made it to #LNDNWLK 2.0. This was not just any other meeting. Soul and joy.

Looking forward meeting you all soon.




All pics shot with Fujifilm X-Pro1 | XF35mm f/1.4 R | XF10-24mm f/4 R OIS
Processed in LR with VSCO Film 01 using Kodak Portra 400 and Kodak Tri-X 400 presets, those who recreate the look of the film rolls Kodak Alaris kindly gave us as a gift.