Torrential rain, sudden calm, roiling skies: The tail end of Hurricane Bertha swept across London this afternoon and the West London lifeboat station was on full alert for any eventuality. These fast boats of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution patrol a large sector of the Thames, from Battersea to Richmond, and have been instrumental in saving many lives over the past fifteen years. With river levels rising and high winds threatening, this is the sort of weather than often brings emergency calls.
However, what passes for a hurricane in London would be be dismissed as a minor flurry in areas with more extreme climates. Indeed, I actually went out to enjoy the unusual activity and took my faithful Leica Monochrom, wearing a 75mm Apo Summicron. As soon as I saw those impressive storm clouds I knew they would be a good subject for a couple of shots. I have to say that he Monochrom never fails to impress. Of all the cameras I own it is by far my favourite, not least because I love black and white. No camera in the world can do B&W like the Monochrom.
