Photography: Carnaby Street & Not-So-Festive Feelings

After Tuesday's short film screening I decided to roam the streets of Soho a little before going home. It was around the time that people get off work, the streets pile up with people and the underground becomes near unbearable to deal with.

The streets were a lot busier than I expected them to be, which certainly caught me by surprise. Each corner I walked around seemingly felt busier than the last, more dense and harder to navigate through.

England this time of year is particularly starved of natural light, so we're essentially in total darkness around 4pm, meaning the artificial lights were already on and showing their colours -- this also means that the large amount of festive lights were also turning on, decorating the views above Soho's small streets. The one that had the most decorating was Soho's Carnaby Street.

The positive to having a camera out in public is that the average person purposely keeps their space from you, they don't want to be in the shots mostly, but also people tend to be quite polite and avoid ruining your shots by casually walking in front of you all the time.

Despite the wondering around and the views or various lights and colours illuminating the streets below, I have to admit I just wasn't feeling it. Something felt off. I realised that I just can't get into the festivity this year.

I'm not sure what it is. Perhaps it's the fact that the decorations didn't feel all that festive, or the endless crowds, or the few things that have been on my mind lately. But regardless of the cause, I'm just not feeling ready for Christmas. I simply don't care. It doesn't really feel like it's the end of the year, it doesn't feel like it's time to wind down and relax.

It certainly feels like the last few weeks have been passing by a lot faster, and Christmas is approaching rapidly. Perhaps that's one cause: the fact that I just can't seem to catch up with it and get into the mood. Perhaps it's the fact that I've stumbled into a faster-paced routine and actually don't want to slow down. I have to admit I haven't been so active before, and that want to create and keep going feels more like a need.

I still hope that I can manage to get into the mood for Christmas, but I am beginning to doubt whether that will actually happen or not. All I know is that I seem to be content as long as I have a camera in my hands.

Speaking of which, these quick snaps were taken with a Sony a7 II and a Sony FE 85mm 1.8 lens.