May 2024 Top 3 Picks
As we start a new month it’s time to look back and for me to pick my top 3 photos from last month.
This time it’s May 2024 and I headed back to my home town of Peterborough for the month to dog sit for my parents. May’s weather has been awful, grey and cold, so I didn’t head out with the camera much as the light was just a bit rubbish. But in the short windows of beautiful light, I got out to roam Peterborough’s city centre and visit the nearby town of Stamford.
May 2024 Winner - Model Fish Bar & Restaurant
Model Fish Bar & Restaurant - Olympus E-M10 Mark II, Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 25mm f/1.4 ASPH, ƒ4, 1/800, ISO200
My winner for May is this image of Model Fish Bar & Restaurant in Stamford, Lincolnshire I took on a Saturday morning trip to visit the market and grab some brunch. After brunch with Millie, I headed off to grab some shots of the beautiful market town and the first designated Conservation Area in England and Wales with over 600 listed buildings. This makes it a stunning location for street shots with beautiful buildings everywhere.
This shot was taken from the middle of the road to capture the charming Model Fish Bar & Restaurant. It is a little bit of a landmark in Stamford and catches the eye easily with its white front and red writing. Luckily I caught a couple walking by in the same red and white colours. The building sits at the end of Broad Street which was once a square in front of the restaurant, with two roads leading down either side of the building, giving the building its squareness. Because of this I decided to crop the image to a 1x1 format to accentuate this squareness. This balances the image nicely and is the main reason I have picked this as my favourite shot of May 2024.
May 2024 Runner-Up - Curved Lines
Curved Lines - Olympus E-M10 Mark II, Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 25mm f/1.4 ASPH, ƒ2.5, 1/2000, ISO200
May’s runner-up is a bit of a surprise this month as at the time I shot this it wasn’t my favourite of the day. However over the month and when compared to the rest of my favourite shots from May Curved Lines jumped out at me. It was taken on one of the few sunny evenings of May in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. It was the first time I’d been back to my hometown for a while and decided to take a wander with my camera in the evening light to see what I could capture.
This was the very last shot I took that evening as I walked back to the car. I’d spent the morning writing a blog about leading lines, so I think I was on the lookout for lines everywhere. I noticed this curve of the double yellow lines and curb leading to a focal point between two lamposts. I wanted to get the subject to stop on this point and luckily this woman in the big coat walked the perfect line to catch this shot.
May 2024 Third Place - Reflections on Dining
Reflections on Dining - Olympus E-M10 Mark II, Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 25mm f/1.4 ASPH, ƒ2.5, 1/80, ISO200
May’s third place is from the same eveing as Curved Lines and is a shot through the window of Wagamama’s in Peterborough with the reflection of Cathedral Square. The restaurant windows sits perfectly in the setting sun and creates a massive reflective surface which caught my eye. I have been experiementing with reflections on my walks and I tried to create an abstraction showing both the inside and outside of the restaurant.
I really like this image as it shows not only the whole of a restaurant scene, with chefs cooking and diners eating, but the reflection also captures one of Peterborough’s most recognisable landmarks, The Guildhall. Each time I look at this photo I notice a new detail.