An Introduction to Instagram Through a 20km Run

Playing in the secret garden at Oxleas Woods

I'm not sure what took me so long to get an application for my phone called Instagram, but I'm glad I did after this weekend.  It's a simple tool that takes your smart phone camera pictures, and allows you to apply some basic filters in order to bring some life into them.  I take a lot of pictures with my phone, but once I had a play after Olive went to a birthday party on Saturday, I was pretty hooked in finding the tools full potential.

 

As you may have learnt, if I do a run, and don't set a great time (I like to run 5 minute kilometres as a training pace), I have my backup excuse being I was taking lots of pictures along the way.

I set off yesterday into my training for the Amsterdam Marathon in October with a 20km objective, and one I wanted to do well in.  As it turned out, the weather changed from sunny to wet, to windy, to... whatever it pleased to sap my morale, as my legs started to feel heavy, and I knew the total time was going to come back slow.  1 hour 46 mins isn't too bad, but I was expecting around 1 hour 40 mins in the end.

Lucky for me, I was ready to start taking pictures, as I knew it would be an interesting route through Greenwich Park, and back along the River Thames, and given the moody weather, it added more potential to trying to get some of that life in the pictures.  Although it heavily attacks whatever pixelation a phone camera may have, I like the noise (grainy effect) this gives, and the results are pretty impressive.

Peter Burke assembly at Woolwich Arsenal

I quite like this different perspective of the o2 arena from above the Blackwall Tunnel, a side to London that you rarely see

The Greenwich Power Station

The newly restored and opened Cutty Sark

Perfect Weather for Picking up the Distance; Another Ride on the Didicar

We had plans to meet up with friends this afternoon, so I got up early, and embarked upon my Sunday run.  This time it was a mere 27.5km, and I decided to take a long route to the River Thames, and follow it through the dockland path south side all the way to Greenwich, through Greenwich Park, and back home.  Again, I wasn't looking for pace, and did it rather comfortably in 2:41:06.  There was a spot of rushing to do once home to make sure we got to our friends on time though.

Again, as it was a lovely day, I thought I'd share some photo's of the route:

The Woolwich Ferry.  Normally it is on the water

Panoramic around the Woolwich side of the river.  Tate & Lyle factory on the opposite side

River Thames flood barrier

In between Thames barrier and Greenwich Peninsular

A random riverside factory of sorts

Ravensbourne College & O2 arena (aka the millennium dome)

Behind the O2 arena looking towards the Isle of Dogs (Canary Wharf etc)

Greenwich Power Station

The above Greenwich Power Station is something I will have to look into at some stage.  It was one of the three main power stations dotted along the River Thames in London, with Battersea, and the one which is now the Tate Modern Art Gallery.  I have been led to believe this one was built to power the underground once upon a time.

Woolwich Common

Woolwich Common has always looked an open unkempt piece of land.  I never really visited it too often, but when I do now, all you get for a focal point are these lumps of white buildings.  A bit of a sour blot on the landscape really, not to mention I'm sure with the long grass, and dense bushes, it houses more than foxes and dog faeces; it can only have an impact on the local habitat.  I will get a closer image one day (because they are very nouveau, and photogenic), they are where the Olympic Archery and Shooting will take place in the summer.

Once we arrived at our friends for lunch, Olive and their son Felix had a lot of fun playing with each others toys.  We then headed out to Dulwich Park, and we took Olive's Didicar once more.  Julia was pushing her along a path, when I pointed out that there was a gentle slope, and there was an opportunity to capture the moment on a video.  So here is a video of Olive getting a driving lesson in Dulwich from her Mummy.  I was running as fast as I could to keep up.

Perfect weather for giving the phone camera a test

We had a friend staying over last night, who will be with us for the week.  It made the timing for the bathroom etc that little more hectic, but we managed to all get away at a good hour, I dropped the ladies off at the station, took Olive to nursery, and then went home to get the bike out for the ride to work.

I'm now going to venture down a particularly English avenue, and discuss the weather, if you'll forgive me.  Personally, I like the colours as nature blossoms in the Spring; the relentless sun and the warmth of the Summer; and the colours in the woodlands that only Autumn can bring.  However, for me, there is nothing like a true Winters day.

The sun was as low as can be when I got home, no blemish tarnished the perfectly clear blue sky up high, there was a nip in the air, with no breeze.  Everything was calm, and your shadow seemed to stretch to infinity before there was an end to it.

Shrewsbury Park

Consequently, I thought this would be a good time to test out the camera on a new phone I got through work just before Christmas.  Some results were good, others were appalling (it certainly cannot handle being pointed anywhere with this sun in front of it), I learnt it could even do 180°.  

So avoiding the urban jungle, and tower flats of South Bermondsey, I thought I'd share some of the images from a cycle that made me late for work.  It was a shame the view from London Bridge didn't work, I must save this for the ride home when the nights get longer.  I did compensate by legging it up Charring Cross Bridge for an alternative view looking further west.  

To start, here's a South London resident up in the tree.  The woodlands south of the river Thames are home to Parakeets.

Shrewsbury Park

Entering Greenwich Park

Greenwich Park

 Riding Beside the Greenwich Park bandstand

Greenwich Park Bandstand

View to the Isle of Dogs... Canary Wharf is the pyramid topped building in the middle.

Isle of Dogs from Greenwich Royal Observatory

Greenwich Royal Observatory, where I like to say, time was invented.  Certainly the home of the Prime Meridian

Greenwich Royal Observatory

180° view from the Greenwich Royal Observatory, L-R... Observatory; London City; National Maritime Museum (foreground); Isle of Dogs and Canary Wharf (background); Greenwich Power Station; O2 arena aka the Millennium Dome (you probably need to know it's there to see it beside the power station). Click photo for larger image.

180° view from Greenwich Royal Observatory

180° view from Charring Cross Bridge, L-R... London Eye; Westminster Bridge and the Palace of Westminster; PS Tattershall Castle (blue boat on the river); Savoy Hotel; Carring Cross Station.  Click photo for larger image.

180° view from Charring Cross Bridge

As a quick aside, the PS Tattershall Castle is an old ferry that was used to cross the River Humber, along with its sisters PS Wingfield Castle and the PS Lincoln Castle.  The ferry service was made redundant after the Humber Bridge was built and opened in 1981.  The PS Tattershall Castle is now a riverside bar moored on the Thames.  The PS Wingfield Castle is now preserved at Hartlepool's Maritime Experience.  The PS Lincoln Castle used to sit on the River Freshney at Grimsby, until it was scrapped in 2010.