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, Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=====| http://www.cottysnaps.com _____________________________
