You know the week between Christmas and New Year, the one where every day feels like a Sunday and they all may as well be because you have no idea what day it actually is! Well, every year I use that time to catch up on work, personal projects & the dreaded Tax Return! However, this year, I promised myself a day to myself, where I would go and take pictures just for the sheer enjoyment of it.  

I wanted to get out of Birmingham. 2017 had been great for me but I started to feel like I had walked every square inch of my favourite city and wanted to get out to somewhere not so familiar. So I picked a day, booked a 5.15am train (yes, that's AM!) and with absolutely no plan, other than to take pictures/shoot video, I set off to the capital. 

I know London well enough so had already decided to stay pretty central, maybe head over to Canary Wharf but basically, 'be a bit of a tourist'. When I got there, I was blessed with a great sunrise and pretty much didn't see a cloud in the sky all day, so I was already onto a winner. I strolled around for a few hours, hopping on & off the underground and surfacing in different spots, taking pictures and then heading back below ground.

As for London, I have always loved the place and very similar to Birmingham, I can't believe the rate of change down there. It was almost eerie how quiet it was in the morning, but it didn't take long to wake up! It was also nice just to be a bit of a tourist, and not be affraid to shoot the landmarks. However, I would strongly advise any visitors to go to the top of Monument, if you can handle the huge spiral staircase, the views are incredibly rewarding! 

It was really enjoyable to shoot new scenes, explore new streets (that aren't New Street! Brummie jokes!) and shoot without any emphasis on what 'style' or 'content' I thought people would want to see. I was just doing it for the love of taking pictures. Oh, and also shooting video whilst I had the chance because, you know, that's something I do now as well. 

Whilst we're on the subject and for all you photographers out there, pretty much everything you see, photos and video, were all shot on the incredible little Sony RX100V, I rarely took the 'big camera' out of my bag and in many ways, wish I had only taken the little Sony. I absolutely love the images and footage I got, the slow-mo from the Sony is awesome and I love some of the images. In fact, the image shot through a window in Soho of the guy drinking is possibly one of my favourite images I have ever shot! 

All-in-all, it was a hugely enjoyable day and I loved looking back through the video and putting together the short film. I think I will be doing more of this kind of thing in 2018 and strongly suggest to everyone that you take the occasional day out for yourself, to do something that you enjoy, you've earnt it! 

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