On 5/28/05, Cotty <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Today (Saturday) there was a small gathering in Oxford (England). Under > sunny skies with a brisk wind (relief from the record temps of 32 deg C > yesterday!) were: Amita and Nate, Cotty and Alma, Godfrey and his > acquaintance from the Pentax forum at DPR, Richard and his wife Pat. > > We met up in Oxford itself and walked the streets a while before some > lunch at the cafe in St Mary's Church, right next to the Radcliffe > Camera. Amita had an *ist D, Nate was using his 20D, Godders had his *ist > Ds, Richard ditto (I believe - it might have been a D). > > Plenty of snapping going on with the usual hilarity where photographers > end up taking photographs of other photographers. Lots of architectural > shooting going on also, as anyone who has walked these streets will > affirm. I was concentrating on people and did some shooting from the hip > with my 1D/K15mm 3.5 combo. I did bring my Sigma 14mm 2.8 in EOS for Nate > to play with and in true Victor Kiam style he liked it so much he made me > an offer I couldn't refuse :-) > > After a wholesome lunch of organic sustenance, we strolled some more, > taking in such essential venues as the High Street, the Covered Market, > and of course Morris Photographic where there was some serious self- > enablement going on. Richard was eyeing up a new bag for his tripod, and > my dear Mrs was very taken with a small Crumpler - but not for anything > photographic - rather as a new handbag! > > She was having a conversation with Godders that went something like this: > > Alma: "You'll like it in this shop Godfrey, they have more camera bags in > here than my husband has" (I only have half a dozen but she thinks that's > a lot, bless her) > > Godders: " Well, I have 18 bags, let's have a look...." > > Alma: "Aaah, er...." > > I waited outside mostly, catching a few passers-by with a grab or two. > Quite enjoying it, I was. They were in there for the best part of half an > hour. > > We ended up at the Eagle and Child in St. Giles, famed for its patronage > of J R R Tolkien and his beer-swilling Inkling compatriots. We sampled a > few beers and the conversation turned more lively :-) > > Alas, our time ran out and Alma and I had to scarper off and avoid a > parking fine. Nate and Amita were heading back off to London, Godders and > his party back to Gloucester for a spell before he heads off to the Isle > of Man for the TT races (motorbikes). > > It was a very pleasant day and great to finally meet Amita (and Nate!) > after all these years. She's a bright young lady in a pint-pot size ;-) > and we're hoping to get out to NY in a year or so, and meet up there > maybe. Godders is a hearty soul with a good sense of humour and it was > good to put a face to a name that has fast become a regular on this list. > > I'm going through my pics and will have a short essay up sometime > tomorrow for your enjoyment.... > > best to all,
Thanks for the report, Cotty. Can't wait to see some pix! cheers, frank -- "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson
