A series celebrating the talent of our friends over in the Londonist Flickr pool. Here, they introduce themselves and share their favourite London shots. Today, meet bltphoto, AKA Chris Gittner.
I'm part of London's Northern diaspora having stumbled off the coach from Yorkshire on the hottest day of summer, shivering with measles all the way down the M1. I then wandered weakly round the corner to the Victoria station and onto a train down to South London, where, bar a brief sojourn to Holborn, I've lived ever since.
Not sure however when I started taking pictures exactly but it’s been a while (I have the Cub badges to prove it!) I started with blurry 110mm shots of kids’ parties heading though various brightly coloured 80’s Zoom cameras and beyond.
Not long after moving to London I borrowed a friend’s Cine camera and spent a several years making “Super 8” films of everything from the “Wobbly Bridge” to nights out at the dogs. Just as “Super 8” got a bit too fiddly and tiresome (all that sending off films to Switzerland!) I got hold of a Lumix Fx500 (and in some ways as importantly) a decent camera on my Nokia N95 and got a bit obsessed with stills.
As to what I like snapping one of the joys of London is you can find something interesting on the way to the shops. In the time it takes to get a pint of milk you can see anything from an abandoned stuffed panda to perplexing handwritten signs to a cold war Trabant. I'm interested in textures and minutiae, the way signs and words interact with the street and well just things that catch my eye. I also have a liking for edgelands from the wilder bits of the Thames to over looked parks and open spaces you stumble upon. I also sometimes like to add to the scenes I find with the odd toy robot etc, partly to play with scale but also to see old sights through new (tiny) eyes.
Visit bltphoto's Flickrstream for more. Add your photos to the Londonist Flickrpool.
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