One of my new year resolutions was to get out more at the weekend and explore new parts of London. It’s super easy to be worn out by the end of the week and never venture out, but this year I am determined to do more! Our first day of exploring took us on a visit south of the river, to Crystal Palace Park.
I was super excited just to be out and about with my camera again. It was in for repair over December, so I had been using my FUJI XT2 instead for the past few weeks. The Fuji has its benefits, but I don’t think it will beat my Canon 5d as my preference. As well as having my camera back, I also had a new Christmas present to try out! A crystal lens ball for creative photography. Pinterest markets these to me all the time, and I’ve always thought they were very cool. It was a fab surprise gift from my other half 🙂
It works by mirroring the surroundings, warping them into a wide view. Crystal Palace Park was it’s first outing and I was super impressed with it. I now really want to take it to more dramatic scenery as I bet it would create some really interesting images of larger scale nature.
The park sits on the location of the original Crystal Palace exhibition centre, organised by Prince Albert. We took a stroll through, with the highlight being the life size dinosaurs around the lake, built by the Victorians.
There was also a small maze which we had a go at. It did end up taking us a bit of a while as I think we took all the wrong routes! Once we got to the middle we spent a while playing around with the lens balls – it made for some fab images against the trees.
I really loved trying out the crystal lens ball. It totally refreshed my creative spirit as it’s requires you to shoot in an entirely different way, and look for the best subjects that will work. I can’t wait to take it out again, so expect to see it more often. From my first attempt, I can safely say I need to work on my focus in it!
It was a damp, cold day, so after about an hour of wandering through the park and testing out the lens ball, we headed to the nearest pub, Westow House. I warmed up with their delicious parsnip soup and a mulled cider, yum!
Drop me a comment below with other places we should go and explore, or where my lens ball would work a treat.
On a work note, my January has started really well, and I am getting booked up for summer weddings. Take a look at my new packages, and drop me a message to save your date!
Caroline x
