We had a HUGE to-do list for our two and a half days in London, so the words hustle and bustle don’t even begin to describe our time in the land of William and Kate, but we’re so excited to share our experience in merry old England with you!
It was, to use a local expression, absolutely brilliant
If you haven’t yet, we’d love to have you join us on our trip in real time on Instagram! Our handles are @amy_demos and @jordan_demos.Â
Our tourist adventures didn’t stop at real castles, we visited imaginary ones, too, at the Harry Potter behind-the-scenes tour in the Warner Brothers studio and back lot just outside London. Some highlights from our time at Hogwarts? There are too many to count! We saw Harry’s room under the cupboard, boarded the infamous night train, entered the Gryffindor common room, walked Diagon Alley, and stood on the steps of Number 4 Privet Drive. We viewed thousands of props and costumes, and learned hundreds of magical movie-making secrets. The best part, though? Well, for Jordan, anyways. Watching Amy open the doors to the Great Hall. Because he volunteered her. In front of everybody.
But even with Harry Potter, big buses, floppy hats, Downton Abbey and a plethora of fish and chips, our absolute favorite experience from England was seeing Les Miserables live in London’s West End. It was nearly impossible for us to get tickets. Anywhere. It was sold out. And we were crushed. We know the story by heart. The thick Victor Hugo book is all too familiar with our nightstands, we’ve seen the movie version of Les Mis umpteen times and God knows we listened to the soundtrack for months – and months – on end. And still do. We had to get seats in that theater. Sold out, or not! So, Jordan (being Jordan) walked down to the hotel concierge a few hours before the opening curtain was drawn, charmed the person behind the desk, who charmed someone on the other end of the phone, who charmed someone on the other end of another phone, who secured us the last two seats in the house. The very last two.
And the performance didn’t disappoint. It was, to use a local expression, absolutely brilliant. We’ve never seen anything like it in our entire life, and we’re not sure if we will again. Amy cried. Jordan got chills. We called our moms at intermission just to tell them how moved we felt. And when Jean Valjean went to heaven, after a lifetime of redemption and sacrifice, we were reminded, once again, that God’s imprint is everywhere, and that his love and grace are for everyone. It was absolutely beautiful.
Yes, London was quite the buzz, and after zipping around for two full days like Energizer Bunnies, we were — to use another English phrase that just seems to fit here – knackered.
We were ready for a slower, Parisian pace. Stay tuned for that, but until then, here are some photos of our time in the UK!
We l-o-v-e traveling! Wanna catch up with our adventures around the world? You can do that here!
International: Ireland • England • France • Spain • Italy • Greece & Turkey • Anniversary Photos: Venice
Domestic: Nashville • Denver • Phoenix • Vancouver • Seattle • Vegas • Atlanta • Santa Barbara • Florida • Virginia • New England/New York • Sedona • San Diego • Nantucket • Boston • San Diego • Virginia • Arizona
For those who’ve asked, we been photographing our trip with the Canon 5D Mark III camera and Canon 50mm 1.2 L-Series lens. In hindsight, a wider lens would’ve been helpful! The European streets are tight, the buildings are tall, and the tourists are plentiful! If you need gear recommendations, you can view what’s in our bag by clicking here.
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"I always look forward to your emails! I get excited every time I get an email notification that says 'Amy & Jordan!' Even though we've never formally met, you guys have pretty much become the photography mentor I've never had!"
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"Best year of my life! (Photography-wise!)"
"I always look forward to your emails! I get excited every time I get an email notification that says 'Amy & Jordan!' Even though we've never formally met, you guys have pretty much become the photography mentor I've never had!"
"I LOVEEE the Monday Minute and I look forward to it every week!"
"The Monday Minute has seriously changed the way I look at my business! In the last year, my business has completely changed and evolved and I know that it's greatly due to my time 'spent' with the two of you!"
"Best year of my life! (Photography-wise!)"
great photos! I’ve become a big #demosinvasion fan! 🙂 Love your work and hope I get to meet and learn from you in the future! I was going to ask you what camera/lens you took around with you because me and my husband are planning a Europe trip for next year. I have Canon 5d Mark III and the 50mm 1.2L lens. I also have the 24-70mm L lens, would that be helpful? Also with the 50mm, how do you get the sharp photos all around? – Manisha Moments Photography
Hi Manisha! We’ve been carrying around our 5DIII and 50mm 1.2 and it’s been great MOST of the time. The European streets are narrow, so sometimes it’s not wide enough. I think the 24-70 would be awesome, but too heavy. I’m hindsight, a 24 or 35 would’ve probably been better, but the 50 has been just fine. We’ve been shooting everything with us and monuments that we want to see at about f/8 to have us and the architecture in focus and everything else between f/2 and f/4. Hope that helps!
Omg, you two are awesome! I wasn’t expecting a response until you guys got back from your trip. Thank you for such promptness (and honesty). Really appreciate it. I trust firsthand experience the most, rather then the millions of articles/videos/bla bla 🙂 I have a 28mm but it’s not an L series so it wouldn’t give as nice of a bokeh as the 1.2L so I think I like the idea of the 50mm. Since this camera body doesn’t come with a small flash, did you carry your speedlite? Or just adjusted your exposure? Last question, promise, who and who did you trust to take pictures of you two together??
Hi, Manisha! No problem! We didn’t bring a flash with us to Europe, actually. We just used natural light all the time. We use the ExpoDisc to get accurate color and exposure every time and we brought that, too 🙂 To be honest, we only really handed off our DSLR in Ireland because we were with friends. Other than that, we mostly just trusted tourists with our iPhones unless they were English-speakers and we could set our DSLRs on automatic and then explain what to do. Even when we did that, though, we didn’t usually love them DSLR photos others took because they were cropped REALLY weird! Lol! You can find a link to the ExpoDisc in our gear bag under the For Photographers section 🙂
That’s really good insight about giving your DSLR to someone else, I think I’d feel the same. ha! If only we could take our clones with us eh. 🙂 Thanks for the ExpoDisc tip; that’s brilliant, I will have to check it out! Hope you enjoyed the rest of your trip and hopefully I’ll get a chance to come out to AZ for one of your future classes. Til then, you’ve got a fan/follower/fellow photographer in me! Appreciate all of your honest and prompt feedback. Love your work and your passion, it really shows in your work.
Aw! Thanks so much, Manisha! We look forward to the time when our paths cross in person! Until then, keeping rockin’ out and doing a great job, friend!