[Leica] Off topic: England vacation plans/ Contax group

[Aubin <aubin@aa.net>]

Greetings,

In response to your question about touring and photographing in England, 
I thought I'd pipe up a bit about my travels over there.

I spent 13 months in the UK, living in the Northwest, up by Preston.  I have to
admit that a great deal of my travelling was north to Edinburgh, as I fell in
love with Scotland.  Since I was on the companies dime, and gas was paid for, 
I managed to log about 37K miles in that year, while shooting about 200 rolls of
print and slide in my trust chrome M6, using the 90, 50, and 28, later replaced
with the 24 Asph.

My favorite photographic areas were the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales, and 
the Trossachs, up in Scotland.  Favorite architectural subjects were castles and 
abbeys, but even the villages and the cities came into my viewfinder often enough.

Few people shots, as I am not comfortable shooting without permission, and that
seemed too intrusive.

I made it as far south as Wales a few times, and love the Snowdonia area, and
particularly Bodnant Gardens, but unfortunately I only made it as far south as 
London on two visits, and both times was shepherding family around, so had little 
time to indulge myself.

I should point out that drivers in the UK are much more polite, tolerant, and 
capable than here in the US, so driving is a test for Americans as they usually
have to raise their skill levels to match, but the Brits are usually patient and
forgiving.

If one can get about by train, so much the better.  They may not always
be on time (Virgin has a 30% late rate last I checked), but there are so many
that one can get most anywhere, and the towns are made for easy walking.

The UK is a land so rife with history, and pre-historic artifacts and sites,
that there is no reason to constrain oneself to the tours.  You should just go out
and immerse yourself in the place.  Get a good tour book or two at 
Barnes and Noble, or visit the library.  Figure out a list of attractions to suit your
own cultural and photographic interests, and indulge.

On almost any Sunday you can go into a pub and get a Traditional Sunday 
Roast, something I miss dearly over here at home!  The place is a wonderful
country to visit, perhaps even to live in.  I say perhaps only because as a spoiled
American I'm not sure if I could adjust to some of the differences in the underlying
social and economic structure.  But the people are simply fantastic, and the
place is absolutely wonderful!

One other piece of advise, bring a 24, a 35 and a 50, or other 'wide' set similar 
in coverage.  A 90 or 75 might be useful, but will probably be ballast!

Films of the 50 to 100 speed range are usually just right, unless you hate 
flash, in which case having some 800 Fuji is very critical for interiors and 
overcast days in the confined places.  I carried but rarely used a small
flash for fill use, and a table top tripod to occasionally brace against the 
wall or pillar of some structure when the exposure times started getting 
slower than 1/8 of a second.

A polarizer, a 2 stop neutral density grad, and maybe a UV filter if you've
a mind to use one.  These were the only filters I ever saw a need for, unless
shooting B&W films, in which case the usual color filters apply. 

Enjoy any time you can get over there, and frankly, and I know this borders 
on heresy, its okay to sometimes leave the camera at home and just go out
and have a good time!

Take care,
Norm

p.s. - If I could have a dream tour, it would be to take my M6, lenses, and my
4x5 with B&W, and spend another year, this time just touring the place to 
photograph.  I spent 40 hours a week working, and that sure got in the way of
enjoying the place!

In fact, if someone would hire me for what I make over here, I'd be willing
to go live there for a few more years!

enjoy it!