London, Eye Level

From most of the trainers I've talked to, England has the best trained guide
dogs anywhere. And, after skulking around London, Southampton, Newcastle,
etc, I can appreciate why. Indeed, it took quite a while to get used to how
traffic flows, not to mention the sheer volume.

Still, I have to say that Mich met the UK challenge quite well.

When trying to capture the shot below, Mich and I worked our way through
some of the busiest areas of London, aiming for a spot on the Westminster
Bridge where we could shoot the London Eye.

There were so many people, Mich couldn't see 6 inches in front of his nose,
through a nearly solid wall of pedestrians. Even following my son was
tough, as people kept cutting in between, so Mich couldn't keep a bead on
him.

Eventually, though, we fought our way to a vantage spot, and I managed to
squeeze off a few shots.

http://www.blind-apertures.ca/images/LondonEye.jpg

Take Care,
Dudley






--
"The balance between staying positive and being realistic lies somewhere in
the area of remaining hopeful."
-- Irwin Barker

"When you're blind, each day is as sunny as you can imagine."
-- Dudley Hanks

http://www.blind-apertures.ca/index.php

On 2012-08-05 17:08:37 -0700, "Dudley Hanks" said:

From most of the trainers I've talked to, England has the best trained guide
dogs anywhere. And, after skulking around London, Southampton, Newcastle,
etc, I can appreciate why. Indeed, it took quite a while to get used to how
traffic flows, not to mention the sheer volume.

Still, I have to say that Mich met the UK challenge quite well.

When trying to capture the shot below, Mich and I worked our way through
some of the busiest areas of London, aiming for a spot on the Westminster
Bridge where we could shoot the London Eye.

There were so many people, Mich couldn't see 6 inches in front of his nose,
through a nearly solid wall of pedestrians. Even following my son was
tough, as people kept cutting in between, so Mich couldn't keep a bead on
him.

Eventually, though, we fought our way to a vantage spot, and I managed to
squeeze off a few shots.

http://www.blind-apertures.ca/images/LondonEye.jpg

Take Care,
Dudley

Hey! You guys did good!

--
Regards,

Savageduck

On 2012-08-05 18:11:23 -0700, Savageduck said:

On 2012-08-05 17:08:37 -0700, "Dudley Hanks" said:

From most of the trainers I've talked to, England has the best trained guide
dogs anywhere. And, after skulking around London, Southampton, Newcastle,
etc, I can appreciate why. Indeed, it took quite a while to get used to how
traffic flows, not to mention the sheer volume.

Still, I have to say that Mich met the UK challenge quite well.

When trying to capture the shot below, Mich and I worked our way through
some of the busiest areas of London, aiming for a spot on the Westminster
Bridge where we could shoot the London Eye.

There were so many people, Mich couldn't see 6 inches in front of his nose,
through a nearly solid wall of pedestrians. Even following my son was
tough, as people kept cutting in between, so Mich couldn't keep a bead on
him.

Eventually, though, we fought our way to a vantage spot, and I managed to
squeeze off a few shots.

http://www.blind-apertures.ca/images/LondonEye.jpg

Take Care,
Dudley

Hey! You guys did good!

BTW: When you flew, did Mich ride up front, sipping champagne with you
in First Class?
....or was he relegated to steerage?


--
Regards,

Savageduck

On Sun, 5 Aug 2012 18:08:37 -0600, "Dudley Hanks"
wrote:
: From most of the trainers I've talked to, England has the best trained guide
: dogs anywhere. And, after skulking around London, Southampton, Newcastle,
: etc, I can appreciate why. Indeed, it took quite a while to get used to how
: traffic flows, not to mention the sheer volume.
:
: Still, I have to say that Mich met the UK challenge quite well.
:
: When trying to capture the shot below, Mich and I worked our way through
: some of the busiest areas of London, aiming for a spot on the Westminster
: Bridge where we could shoot the London Eye.
:
: There were so many people, Mich couldn't see 6 inches in front of his nose,
: through a nearly solid wall of pedestrians. Even following my son was
: tough, as people kept cutting in between, so Mich couldn't keep a bead on
: him.
:
: Eventually, though, we fought our way to a vantage spot, and I managed to
: squeeze off a few shots.
:
: http://www.blind-apertures.ca/images/LondonEye.jpg

Nice shot. Good composition, perfect alignment (I assume your son helped you
set up a tripod), and a muted color palette that's a good match for the scene.

Bob

"Savageduck" wrote in message
news:2012080518325991745-savageduck1@REMOVESPAMmecom...
On 2012-08-05 18:11:23 -0700, Savageduck
said:

On 2012-08-05 17:08:37 -0700, "Dudley Hanks"
said:

From most of the trainers I've talked to, England has the best trained
guide
dogs anywhere. And, after skulking around London, Southampton,
Newcastle,
etc, I can appreciate why. Indeed, it took quite a while to get used to
how
traffic flows, not to mention the sheer volume.

Still, I have to say that Mich met the UK challenge quite well.

When trying to capture the shot below, Mich and I worked our way through
some of the busiest areas of London, aiming for a spot on the
Westminster
Bridge where we could shoot the London Eye.

There were so many people, Mich couldn't see 6 inches in front of his
nose,
through a nearly solid wall of pedestrians. Even following my son was
tough, as people kept cutting in between, so Mich couldn't keep a bead
on
him.

Eventually, though, we fought our way to a vantage spot, and I managed
to
squeeze off a few shots.

http://www.blind-apertures.ca/images/LondonEye.jpg

Take Care,
Dudley

Hey! You guys did good!

BTW: When you flew, did Mich ride up front, sipping champagne with you in
First Class?
...or was he relegated to steerage?


--
Regards,

Savageduck


I know a few dog users who've been bumped up to first class because of their
guides. I've never been that lucky, though...

Mich had to make due with a bulkhead spot, for the 8 and 9 hour flights.

I was a bit worried about the extended bathroomless break time, 12 hours
from when we passed through security till we got through Customs, but he
handled it with ease.

He's a joy to travel with.

Take Care,
Dudley

"Robert Coe" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 5 Aug 2012 18:08:37 -0600, "Dudley Hanks"

wrote:
: From most of the trainers I've talked to, England has the best trained
guide
: dogs anywhere. And, after skulking around London, Southampton,
Newcastle,
: etc, I can appreciate why. Indeed, it took quite a while to get used to
how
: traffic flows, not to mention the sheer volume.
:
: Still, I have to say that Mich met the UK challenge quite well.
:
: When trying to capture the shot below, Mich and I worked our way through
: some of the busiest areas of London, aiming for a spot on the
Westminster
: Bridge where we could shoot the London Eye.
:
: There were so many people, Mich couldn't see 6 inches in front of his
nose,
: through a nearly solid wall of pedestrians. Even following my son was
: tough, as people kept cutting in between, so Mich couldn't keep a bead
on
: him.
:
: Eventually, though, we fought our way to a vantage spot, and I managed
to
: squeeze off a few shots.
:
: http://www.blind-apertures.ca/images/LondonEye.jpg

Nice shot. Good composition, perfect alignment (I assume your son helped
you
set up a tripod), and a muted color palette that's a good match for the
scene.

Bob

Unfortunately, there wasn't enough room for a tripod in my suitcase, so all
shots were handheld. But, when I go back in a couple of years, that's a
must -- just have to figure out how to do it.

But, you're right, my son did help with the composition.

He explained what we were looking at, and I told him what I wanted in the
pic and how I wanted it framed. Then, we shot several pics until we got it
right, with him telling me whether I was "too high," "too low," "too far
left," "tilted too much up on the left," etc.

It was a rather tedious process, but he was patient, and it sounds like we
ended up with what I was looking for.

As for the colour palette, my daughter helped me set things up in Photoshop
after we got back.

Take Care,
Dudley

"Dudley Hanks" wrote in message
...
From most of the trainers I've talked to, England has the best trained
guide dogs anywhere. And, after skulking around London, Southampton,
Newcastle, etc, I can appreciate why. Indeed, it took quite a while to
get used to how traffic flows, not to mention the sheer volume.

Still, I have to say that Mich met the UK challenge quite well.

When trying to capture the shot below, Mich and I worked our way through
some of the busiest areas of London, aiming for a spot on the Westminster
Bridge where we could shoot the London Eye.

There were so many people, Mich couldn't see 6 inches in front of his
nose, through a nearly solid wall of pedestrians. Even following my son
was tough, as people kept cutting in between, so Mich couldn't keep a bead
on him.

Eventually, though, we fought our way to a vantage spot, and I managed to
squeeze off a few shots.

http://www.blind-apertures.ca/images/LondonEye.jpg

wow! definitely not your average ferris wheel. good shot!

"Tim Conway" wrote in message
...

"Dudley Hanks" wrote in message
...
From most of the trainers I've talked to, England has the best trained
guide dogs anywhere. And, after skulking around London, Southampton,
Newcastle, etc, I can appreciate why. Indeed, it took quite a while to
get used to how traffic flows, not to mention the sheer volume.

Still, I have to say that Mich met the UK challenge quite well.

When trying to capture the shot below, Mich and I worked our way through
some of the busiest areas of London, aiming for a spot on the Westminster
Bridge where we could shoot the London Eye.

There were so many people, Mich couldn't see 6 inches in front of his
nose, through a nearly solid wall of pedestrians. Even following my son
was tough, as people kept cutting in between, so Mich couldn't keep a
bead on him.

Eventually, though, we fought our way to a vantage spot, and I managed to
squeeze off a few shots.

http://www.blind-apertures.ca/images/LondonEye.jpg

wow! definitely not your average ferris wheel. good shot!


Yeah, it's huge.

I forget the exact specs, but I seem to remember it's over 400 feet high and
takes about a half hour per revolution.

Apparently, the thing runs non-stop during business hours, not even stopping
when folks get on and off.

At the top, you have a view that extends over 25 miles. Even on a
moderately cloudy day, you can see all of London.

Take Care,
Dudley

On Mon, 6 Aug 2012 12:22:24 -0400, "Tim Conway"
wrote:


"Dudley Hanks" wrote in message
...
From most of the trainers I've talked to, England has the best trained
guide dogs anywhere. And, after skulking around London, Southampton,
Newcastle, etc, I can appreciate why. Indeed, it took quite a while to
get used to how traffic flows, not to mention the sheer volume.

Still, I have to say that Mich met the UK challenge quite well.

When trying to capture the shot below, Mich and I worked our way through
some of the busiest areas of London, aiming for a spot on the Westminster
Bridge where we could shoot the London Eye.

There were so many people, Mich couldn't see 6 inches in front of his
nose, through a nearly solid wall of pedestrians. Even following my son
was tough, as people kept cutting in between, so Mich couldn't keep a bead
on him.

Eventually, though, we fought our way to a vantage spot, and I managed to
squeeze off a few shots.

http://www.blind-apertures.ca/images/LondonEye.jpg

wow! definitely not your average ferris wheel. good shot!

Here is a photograph my wife took from the even bigger wheel in
Singapore https://dl.dropbox.com/u/31088803/JMG_2040.jpg
--

Regards,

Eric Stevens

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/31088803/JMG_2040.jpg

Yeah, but the one in London actually goes all the way to the top! ;-)