Urban Snapshots with the Samsung Galaxy S5

I’ve done a few walking tours in London and it’s one of my favorite ways to explore this city via food, transport, history, or photography.  The tour guides are eager to expose you to things you may not otherwise have noticed.  I always learn so much.  A few weeks ago, I was invited to join a Street Art London Tour of East London by Three Mobile.  This one had a twist.  They wanted me to try out and review the Samsung Galaxy S5, particularly the camera capabilities.  We posted throughout the tour to instagram and twitter using #urbanS5snapshots.  

The tour was terrific and, pardon the expression, very “hip & young.”  Obviously, the fact that I just used that phrase reinforces the fact that I'm neither.  I was the oldest in the group by several years, but was happy to keep up.  I even found myself climbing under a fence at one point.   

The guide was extremely knowledgeable in the street art scene.  (In fact, he was so cool that he asked me not to mention him in any of my social media shout outs.  I’m sure I would have been detrimental to his street cred.)  But he knew his stuff.  In just a few hours he managed to show us loads of pieces by about forty different artists, some commissioned and some rogue street art.  We saw a few of the more well-knowns, Banksy and Roa and some really interesting and beautiful stuff.

I, unfortunately, don’t know a lot about the various artists.  But, I do love the art.  Here are some of the many photos that I took with the Samsung Galaxy S5.  I did tweak them using Picasa, as I do with all of my photos, but no more than usual.  I think they turned out great, what do you think?  I’ve pointed out a few of my favorites. 

This was amazing. It was done in relief with the wall painted white and then the color removed to expose the image.

Roa is a Belgium artist from Ghent and leaves the most amazing animals all over London.

More from Roa.  His work is very distinctive.

Another favorite, I believe by a Spanish artist. 

You know I have a love affair with my Nikon D90, but it can be cumbersome to carry around a DSLR.  There are some times when I choose to leave it at home and just use my camera phone.  I was curious to see if the Galaxy offered me a better option than my current iPhone.   

I found the Samsung light and easy to use.  I really loved the large screen, much bigger than my iPhone.  I was also pretty impressed with the camera.  I’ll definitely consider changing over when my next upgrade is due.  Obviously, it will never replace my DSLR, but it’s nice to have an easier option that I can trust to give me decent photos. 

Which piece of street art is your favorite?

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I was a guest of Three Mobile for the walking tour and returned the phone afterwards.

All photos, writing and opinions are my own.   
As always, I promise to be open, honest and transparent with my readers. 
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.  

London Street Photography Walk

I've been limping around in pain for the past few weeks.

Matt thinks that I'm just trying to one-up his dislocated knee.

But, according to Dr. Google, I'm suffering from Retrocalcaneal Bursitis.

It's also known as "pump bump" which I find pretty ironic

as I haven't worn heels since I moved to London.

All I know is that it hurts and makes me hobble like an old lady.

I'm pretty much over it.

A few weekends ago, I hobbled my way through a  

London Street Photography Walk with Fox & Squirrel.

Our guide for the day was Stuart Beesley who is an incredible photographer

as well as a great teacher and encourager.

(Not to mention 2010 Travel Photographer of the year.)

We didn't focus on the technical stuff or the camera settings.

The six of us all had different cameras and often people just use their cell phones on the tour.

Instead, we focused on expanding our eye, finding inspiration

and stretching our comfort zones when shooting out on the street.

As we walked through Camden Market and Primrose Hill,

Stu gave us simple assignments and then 15-20 minutes to see what we could come up with.

He was always close by with a suggestion or feedback.

The first assignment was pretty easy.

I'll see if you can figure out what my instructions were.

A bustling place like Camden Market can be very overwhelming.

Sometimes you just get into Point & Click Mode.  This assignment trained us to focus on the details.

 This next assignment was my favorite and it's definitely something that I want to explore further.

As we walked up and down the High Street, we were told to pay attention to the reflections.

Lighting, architecture, color and people.  Everything seemed to suddenly pop

when viewing it through a pane of glass.  Pretty cool, huh?

There were several assignments that were extremely challenging for me.

But, I'm so glad that I did them.  I really struggle with taking photographs of people.

I feel very conspicuous and naughty.   And I ALWAYS get caught and often yelled at.

Stu said I should just relax, act confident and calm.  Like I might actually know what I'm doing.

This was extremely challenging for me (because I don't actually know what I'm doing.)

I'm sure I had this crazed, stalker smile on my face.

And, to make matters worse, my Nikon has a loud, satisfying CLICK whenever I take a picture.

So just imagine.  The limp.  The crazy smile.  And the loud clicking noise.

Not very stealth like, I can assure you.

I did get a few sneaky shots, usually of people's backsides.  (Cuz that's not creepy at all.)

But, mostly I just got caught, so then I'd bolt away.

(Well, not actually bolt, because remember?  The limp.)

 You know this guy is thinking "Why the hell is that lady limping around,

taking pictures of us with that weird, frightened smile on her face? Stalker much?"

We ended up back at Camden Market for our final project.

I'm convinced that I was being trailed by two security guys because of my suspicious behavior. 

I'm proud to say that I completed each and every assignment.

I now have some tricks up my sleeve for finding inspiration and interesting shots.

More importantly, I spent some time outside of my Camera Comfort Zone

 and gained some much needed experience in getting more people in my shots. 

Which is a really good thing, because let's face it,

as beautiful as places are, the best stories are always in the people.

Fox & Squirrel offer a variety of London Walks including

Art Walks, Architecture Walks, as well as Fashion, Film and Food Walks.

The Street Photography Walk starts at 12 noon and ends at 3:30pm and costs £50.

How do you feel about photographing people out on the streets?

 Any tips and tricks to getting great shots without offending?

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  *I was a guest of Fox & Squirrel for the purposes of review.  All photos, writing and opinions are my own.
As always, I promise to be open, honest and transparent with my readers.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

 You can find this review and many others in my
London Attraction Guide.