Duane Pandorf Photography

My work brought me to the London area this week and I had an idea to try and meetup while I was in the area with some of the other Ricoh camera users here.  I’ve been following Cristian Sorega’s blog for a while now and it was one of his reviews along with some others that helped convince me to purchase my first Ricoh, their GRD III.

I flew into the Luton airport yesterday morning and was able to get a few hours sleep before heading down to the city late yesterday afternoon.  I purchased a one day pass that covered the train and the tube in the city if I needed it for £19.  Cristian and I were able to coordinate our meetup initially by private message via the Serious Compact Forum website and then via private email messages.  We were originally going to meet in Greenwich but it was easier for me, a non city/train/bus rider, to find him at the City stop in downtown London.

He asked whether I wanted to turn right out of the train station for the Starbucks or make a left and go a block to the Black Friar Pub.  Well, I chose the latter!

Please excuse me for the photo heavy post but then I wanted to share a little bit of what I saw on my way there and back.

As I arrived at the Luton train station, it took me a few minutes to get my bearings straight and to figure out which platform to be on, etc. It seems I was not the only one trying to decide.

Enjoying the view and ensuring I didn’t miss my stop.

As I was leaving the platform and coming up the escalator to leave the terminal I caught this gentleman running to catch his ride.

I only had to wait a few minutes for Cristian to arrive.  It was interesting in how we were going to know one another.  Of course he said I’ll be the one with a Ricoh.

Of course this story has to have a camera in the picture.  While conversing I had a chance to work Cristian’s GXR with the new M Module and I was very impressed.  Many want to know how easy it may be to manually focus with this system and I had no problems with just a few seconds using the camera.

Cristian ensured I got back on the right train and we said our goodbyes and talked about another meetup next fall at Photokino in Amsterdam.

A much different crowd, or should I say “lack of”, for the journey back to Luton.

I grabbed this one as I came across the platforms heading to the taxi stand in Luton.