Hi, Hola, Bonjour , Ciao , مرحبا, 您好, bok, hei and welcome.

My name is James Murray and I live in London, England but love to go exploring in foreign climates. Coming from a design background I look at photography as an extension of this, recording the lifestyles and architecture that make up are world.

My passion for photography started when I first picked up a film camera (wow I miss the darkroom), capturing the moments of my accident filled childhood. I transferred this passion into my studies mixing in all of my design influences to create my own style.

Architecture and photography are the perfect blend each complementing the other. As a HDR (High Dynamic Range) enthuiast, I use this technique to enrich my images.

I have worked as a photographer since 2010, taking photos of the enviroment that I lived in around London, selling images as artworks and to companies. In 2011 I worked for Disney on their cruise ships with the big mouse himself. Onboard I worked as a portrait and wedding photographer, learning new techniques and feeding my travel bug.

Every photo is a memory; there is no better way to capture it then how you see it, not how the camera sees it.

 

Stacky Theme by Andrew

A knight in shining armour

Im am struggling to remember what exactly this building was used for. I want to call it a palace but I know in my head that it wasn’t. A person of high regard lived here in Valetta, Malta. That’s all that I can scratch from the insides of my brain. Perhaps someone out there can help jog my memory.

Happy Christmas Eve Eve everyone!!

Such an occasion merits a christmassy picture and I would say the Christmas decorations at Covent Garden deliver. These are hanging in the famous Apple Market, small niche shops littering the walls. You can see the string bank players at the bottom of the stairs. There is always some band playing there selling their CD but on this occasion I think that they were just singing carols.

I hope you all have a fantastic christmas and drink lots of eggnog (or other alcoholic beverage of your choice) and eats lots as you should at christmas. See you all on Boxing day.

Drawings of the Animators

Animators Palate was my favorite guest restaurant as it is the most interesting. This restaurant alone cost over $5 million if I remember correctly. The whole place, including the waiters, changes colour halfway through the meal and on some nights Sorcerer Mickey comes in parades around the restaurant.

Preludes on the Disney Magic

Deck 4 on the Disney Magic cruise ship was home to many things but one of them was the Walt Disney Theatre. The entrance of this was called Preludes and was home to a large picture of Disney himself.

We set up character lights here nearly every day and was a place the the big Mouse and friends would come and sign autographs and take photos. after setting up here many times you hear enough tours to pick up a bit of trivia, so here it is… There is one thing missing from the photo of Walt Disney……. Can you guess?…… no not mickey…… he always had a cigarette in his hand but it was photoshopped out for this mosaic.

There trivia done and I think that I actually said part of the tour word for word.

This is a photo from inside the Cathedral in Cadiz, Spain. I have no idea what the name of the cathedral is and there was no sign while I was there. Even the trusty Wikipedia didn’t tell me, although I did find this extract below.

One of Cadiz’s most famous landmarks is its cathedral. It sits on the site of an older cathedral, completed in 1260, which burned down in 1596. The reconstruction, which was not started until 1776, was supervised by the architect Vicente Acero. This Baroque-style cathedral was built over a period of 116 years, and, due to this drawn-out period of construction, the cathedral underwent several major changes to its original design. 

Under the red of the world

A few weeks back I posted a few images of an entrance to the Natural history museum and today is another. A globe made from rusted metal guards the escalator up into the main Earth exhibit. It is always lit up in different colours from purples to reds which makes for easy photos.

Its time for the weekend to I hope everyone enjoys it and I’ll be back on Monday.

Entrance of the V & A

I had never been to the Victoria and Albert museum in South Kensington but had heard alot about it. Friends had done a project on it at university and I wanted to see the chandelier in the entrance by myself. Unfortunatly I didn’t have my D700 with me. I always carry a small Canon S95 on me for moments like this.

It is a good camera and can bracket and shoot in RAW. I am used to the Nikon that has amazing noise reduction unlike the Canons. It produced alot of noise that was tough to get rid of but I think I just about managed it. I also missed my wide angle lens that would of allowed me to capture alot more of the area. Perhaps I will go back soon and take photos with my usual gear.

The Empty Church in Cadiz

I spent very little time in Cadiz but it gave me a lasting impression. It is a gorgeous place to visit and has a typical European feel. This was taken inside the cathedral in the centre of the city. The crypt underneath was full of surprises. I posted a photo of that a while back. click here to see that.

I went there with a few people, one of which played Jack Sparrow onboard. He gave me great insight into the city as Jack Sparrow goes there in the new Pirates of the Caribbean film which had just come out. That is only one of my many fond memories of this place. If you get a chance to go there, don’t hesitate.

Up to the cable car.

When we were on the Transatlantic cruise, one of the places we stopped in was Funchal, Maderia. We spent ages walking around the town and came across a cable car up to the yo of the mountain. Once you are up top there is an option to take a toboggan ride down. I say toboggan but they are basically wicker chairs on skis with two men standing on the back steering. No way was I going to intrust my life on something so fragile.

Luckily I had to get back to the ship for work but I did stop in the cable car station to take this photo.