Snow!

The first downfall of snow in the London area didn't hit my area that hard. A few miles away people were getting six/seven inches of the stuff. Didn't get enough here to cover the lawn. So not much to photograph. However, on Monday an unforecast snow storm arrived in the early afternoon. I managed to get out to the forest today. OK not deep and crisp and even but a few interesting views.

There were a few people out with dogs so I waited for a dog to run into view before taking this.

Leadenhall Market

Leadenhall Market is on the eastern side of The City. A market existed on the same site during Roman times. When the Romans left London was largely left in ruins so it doesn't have an unbroken record of being a market place though. A market was operating on the site in the 15thC. The current building was constructed in the 1880s. It was restored in 1991, something I remember. I worked in The City from 1980 to 2005 and Leadenhall was a bit run down and tired when I started in the area. After the restoration it was a lot nicer. Also had a decent book shop in it.

The market was used during the filming of one of the Harry Potter films. I can't say I know which one, nor that it would mean anything to me if I knew. Not exactly my favourite films.

This photograph was taken from Gracechurch Street and shows the current Christmas decorations. The pub in the foreground, The New Moon, is a place I spent a few evenings, though its not that close to any of the places I worked in.

Reflections

At the southern end of London Bridge is am interesting building, well from a photographic perspective. One face is angled across and mirrored, but isn't flat all the way up. Right at the top there is a hole. Looking at the mirrored wall there are reflections to the north. St Pauls and Cannon Street Station an be seen. Its a building I've taken quite a few pictures of, I've also been inside for an interview and walked through it a few times as there was a shortcut through to Tooley Street through the building.

For the picture above I have cropped the image to concentrate on the reflection. There wasn't much I could do about the bus though. It seemed determined to stay there and I was on my way to a job so couldn't really hang around waiting for a bus to go.

Rainbow

Leaving the house today I saw bright sunshine out the window. I opened the door to find heavy rain. I went out anyway. A few yards along the road I went to cross a side road and checking for traffic saw why I had sunshine and rain. Dark clouds on the right blue sky on the left. With a nice rainbow going across. Quick shot with the snappy camera.

New View of Lloyds Building

One of the nice things about redevelopment on the City is it opens up new views. Recently the building at the end of Cheapside near to St Pauls was knocked down. This gave a view of St Pauls previously blocked. The new building is largely completed so the views has gone again. Currently a hole has appeared in Bishopsgate, I think it was Standard Chartered office, which opens an angle of view onto the Lloyds building and the new Willis building next door. I like both these buildings and took the opportunity to take a quick shot. The weather was a bit poor, so its not exactly a great picture. Still I hope I'll get a chance to get down there on a sunny day with my proper camera before a new building shoots up. Though a clear morning/evening will be handy.

Somerset House

I was walking along The Strand, I seem to walk along The Strand quite a lot lately, late afternoon and had a look in Somerset House as I walked past. The Christmas tree was up and the sky was was turning pink. So I took a took a picture with the little snappy camera. I'm quite pleased with it, it captured the colour of the sky nicely. Though I'm less pleased with the guy in the high viz jacket!

New Office Block in The City

I had a wander through part of the City. Its going through a lot of changes again. buildings being demolished and new ones being built. What was Barclays head office now has a womens clothes shop in the ground floor. I'm assuming the shop doesn't occupy the rest of the tower though. One of the new buildings is Heron Tower on Bishopsgate just south of Liverpool Street station. This will, apparently, be the tallest building in the UK. It's got a few metres to go yet. I took this picture standing in by what was the NatWest Tower but is now Tower 42 and was the tallest building when it opened.

Running With Cameras

Not running with scissors, something we are all warned against, but running or walking with the camera shutter open. As I mentioned in the previous post I enjoy experimenting with photography. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. With that in mind I wondered what would happen if I dialled in a few seconds shutter and walked along. Pretty colours everywhere, much like one of those paintings by a monkey.

Light Trails

I enjoy night time and early morning photography. The light changes quickly and you get to experiment a bit. Digital photography has the benefit of having no cost when experimenting and instant results which film doesn't.

I had a wander around London from London Bridge to Covent Garden. Took a fair number of photographs. I took a number looking along the Strand. Sometimes I zoomed when the shutter was open. This is one of those. The road bends directly in front of where I set the camera up. This gives light trails crossing from right to left and going off into the distance.

View From a Fountain

I took a few pictures in Trafalgar Square and decided to try something different to the views I had tried before. So I put my camera as close as I could to the surface of the water in one of the fountains. I couldn't see what I was taking, as my head would have to be under water to look through the viewer, so it was a case of lining up as best I could.I did expect to be lectured by one of the wardens there, its the only place I've ever been hassled over photography.

Anyway I got this shot which I quite liked. I've got the whole of Nelsons Column, albeit a bit crooked, the surface of the water and a couple of water jets. A bit of experimentation is worth trying.

New Statue in Trafalgar Square

The empty fourth plinth is now being used for the statue of a war hero, just like two of the other three. It's only temporary though. The statue is of Sir Keith Park who commanded RAF 11 group fighter command, defending London and south east England during the Battle of Britain. He was a New Zealander. The statue was designed by an Australian and manufactured in Wellington, New Zealand. This is a fibre glass version. A permanent bronze statue will be erected in Waterloo Place.

More St Pancras

As I mentioned yesterday I liked the restored brickwork and metal roof supports. I took this photo to get a number of elements in.

The clock and some detail of the roof have been captured, along with the rivets in the supports. The top of the statue by the clock is visible. I'm quite happy with the level of detail captured by the little camera. I do want to go there with the proper gear at some point.

One of the nice things about small cameras is that I can carry it around at all times and take shots when something catches my eye. I can then use these as a base for planning trips with the heavy stuff. As the small digital records the time I can plan for light direction as well.

St Pancras Station

St Pancras Station is somewhere I had been meaning to go for sometime. Following its redevelopment to handle Eurostar people have said how good it looks. I needed some equipment from a photographic store nearby so I decided to kill two birds with one stone, shopping and sight seeing. As I'd be doing some shopping I didn't take my main gear and used my little snappy camera instead.

There were quite a few people taking pictures there. The roof is impressive and the restored brickwork looks good alongside the metal roof supports.

I liked this picture of the statue of Sir John Betjeman I took. Rather than a straight shot I wanted the clock in the background as time is part of the statue and also wanted some of the roofing.

I took several shots before toddling off to Neuhaus to get some chocolates. Well it was my birthday and I've not been to Belgium for ages so I thought I'd treat myself to some excellent chocolates.

Happy Birthday to Me

Today was my birthday and I had to work. It was for head and shoulders shots at a medical centre. The nature of medical practices is that they never have everybody there at the same time so I'll have to make one or two trips back to complete. Its not far from me so its not an issue, though parking is a nightmare.

Walking along I did spot The Saints car! A Volvo 1800. Wonderful looking car so I had to photograph it, though I used my little snappy camera not the bulky professional one.

Wedding Photography Course Part II

More on the Jeff Turnbull course. The length of the course allowed for some experimentation. One of the things about photography is that photographers have different styles. These styles change over time and develop from experimenting during shoots and looking at other photographers work. Now you're not going to develop a distinct style during one course but the encouragement to experiment during the training helps build your confidence when shooting real weddings. I came away with some non-standard shots I preferred over others and now have a clear idea of how to develop that over time.

Obviously when it comes to an actual shoot the client won't always agree with me over what are the best photographs.

Here's a couple more from the shoot. Again a straight shot and one that's not quite a straight shot.

Wedding Photography Course

On Saturday I went on a course to learn wedding photography. Although I've been doing photography for years now, wedding photography is a different skill set so wanted to learn whats involved from a good wedding photographer.

I found Jeff Turnbull's site, liked his work, and booked up on a course. He's based near Braintree in Essex, so a nice easy drive. Its a long day, with 7 other photographers. We got lots of instruction and tips. Jeff uses a real couple as models, got a limo and arranges access to a local church, so its close to the real thing. Definitely worth doing.

I've finished processing the 100's of photos I took and am really pleased with the results. There's a couple of pics here, a nice traditional shot and an arty one.

Contrasts in The City

I was having a wander around the City the other week. It was a nice sunny Saturday so all the City bankers would be at home making it peaceful.

I found this place near London Wall. A classical looking building (its not really that old) with an unimaginative glass box tower over it and two slightly more imaginative glass and concrete buildings next to it. It made an interesting image, I didn't want to get the whole of the modern buildings in as doing it this way exaggerates the crowding in effect.

Low Tide II

Well today has been re-tune freeview, The Sun switching support and reading about Google wave - looks interesting. I'll have to check the Aus v Pak cricket score later. With England losing yesterday looks like it could be Eng v Aus semi.

Yesterday I intended to post two pictures. Manged to only send one. Ah well. This one is the Millennium Bridge viewed from the Thames shoreline at low tide. Nicely different to the usual angle.

Low Tide

Reading the news, X-Factor band kicked out. One of them is too young. Replacements brought in. Didn't they do this last year? Labour make or break conference. Wasn't that last year as well? Maybe as I'm running backups of my laptop I've somehow found a backed up copy of the news.

Looking through the backed up pictures I found some from a walk along the southbank at low tide. Walking along the shore rather than the much higher embankments gives a different perspective. Here's a couple of pictures of the Millennium Bridge ,which is one of my favourite photographic subjects, from the lower angle afforded by low tide.

In the garden

Trying to escape the Gordon Brown on medication stories in the news as well as X-Factor and Strictly Come Dancing - unless they are a cricketer I never know who the slebs are - I did some repair work on the front of the house. Doing so I attracted a robin. So I went and got the camera. Put the 100mm macro lens on, its lighter and smaller than the 300mm which would be better suited.

Still I got this shot of the robin. OK its not going to win any prizes but its nice all the same. I've read that robins in the UK trust people more than robins do in Europe. Something to do with continentals viewing them as foodstuff but Brits not thinking of them as edible. Whether its true or not I don't know.

Guido Fawkes Goes to Parliament

As it was a nice sunny day I had a wander around Westminster. I have hardly really looked at Parliament from up close. Usually lots of people milling about making it difficult so it's an area I avoid. This Saturday it was OK and had look good look round. Then I spotted press photographers and decided to go and have a look at what was happening.

Turns out it was a protest by a small group including two people dressed as Guido Fawkes. They had a pretend barrel of gunpowder and a dragon. Not sure about the dragon but there you go.

I took a few pictures, wondered whether the press outnumbered the demonstrators by 2 or three to one. A TV bloke said it was more like 5 to 1.

The first picture is of one of the protesters lining up with a few police. I took this Angle so I could include the statue of Cromwell in the background. He was someone who knew how to clear Parliament!

The second picture is towards the end of the demonstration. There's a mixture of the Guido Fawkes people and a group from UK Jury Team who were there for different reasons. A party from Socialist Worker and The Christian Party were also milling about, the European elections are due soon.

Dawn at the Millennium Bridge

This is one of my favourite parts of London now. The bridge looks good, St Pauls is visible in places and there are no really ugly buildings. From this angle the sunrise creates silhouettes of the buildings as they get taller without any breaking the line of the bridge.

More Snow

More snow pics, but its a bit of a rarity in London. I was taken by this tree looking a bit overladen with snow. Just needed a few baubles to finish the christmas tree look.

More Snow

This is a stream that feeds into the River Roding, just about where the stream vanishes in this picture. The Roding is a tributary of the Thames.

To get this photo I had to walk past this point and then walk forward to avoid footprints in the snow. To the snow white I overexposed by 1/2 a stop.

Snow

This is a building in Wanstead Park. It's all that's left of the Wanstead Estate, there used to be a mansion and a boat house as well as this summer house. The owner of the land gambled the wealth away and now the grounds and lakes are part of Wanstead Park.

I took this photo during the snow in February. It's close to where I live so I walked there early to get some pristene snow photos.

Epping Forest

Epping Forest is to the north east of London, largely in Essex. The southern end of the forest is in east London. It's easy for me to get to any part of it and it's a nice place to spend some time.

It can be busy in places on the main paths, some of which allow horse riding and cycling. Wandering off the paths it is very quiet. It can also be very muddy!

I spotted this scene when I happened to look over my shoulder. The sun was streaming through some gaps in the trees. I'm pleased with the results, I've captured some detail in the strongly lit area and the greens and reds in the shaded parts

Sundial on Thames

This large silver sun dial is in front of the hotel by Tower Bridge. I like it as a subject. Often I've taken it with Tower Bridge in the background. Here I was going for the sun reflecting off the dial.

Parliament Sunset

This photo was taken close to where the one in the previous post was taken. Just a lot later in the day. At this point the Thames runs roughly north/south and the sun sets behind the Houses of Parliament.

Albert Embankment

This was taken on a cold morning opposite the Houses of Parliament. It's not the most colourful place during winter but it's pleasant enough with a good view across the river. Being a grey area the photo lends itself to being converted to black and white.

A couple of minutes after taking this photo a man jumped into the Thames right in front of me. A bit of a shock, but the police and an ambulance were on the scene within five minutes of me calling the police, handy things mobile phones. The guy was pulled from the river still alive, must have been freezing cold though, the temperature was just above freezing.

Barnes

Outside central London the banks of the Thames are totally different. Here I am walking from Hammersmith to Barnes Bridge. Instead of tall buildings and traffic there's housing and trees and a lot quieter. There are fewer boats on the Thames at this point as well. Teams of rowers go past at times. Yet it is still in London. This is getting close to sun set, as can be seen by the orange sky on the horizon.

Colour versions

I've done some work on the previous image but in colour. I think I was right when I was taking the photo to view it as a balck and white image. Though the skies a good colour.

The flyer for The Southerner pub (sells a nice Speights) shows up more in the colour picture as well.

Atmospheric Stairs

This is another place I had been wanting to photograph for a while. Its a stairway that runs underneath a building connecting the Strand with Victoria Embankment. The brickwork and lights give it an atmosphere ideal for balck and white.

I was a bit later getting here than I intended so didn't get all the shots I wanted. Will have to wait for the next decent weather forecast to coincide with when I can back there.

Colour or Black and White

This view of the along the Stand of the Royal Courts of Justice is one I've been meaning to photograph for some time. It's difficult to do during the day to a continual stream of traffic and lots of pedestrians.

The entrance to the court is very brightly lit so it's difficult to get the exposure right. It can be seen on the left of the picture how it differs from the rest of the building in lighting. Left of centre is a statue. It is a dragon which represents the boundary of the City of London.

Having taken the photo I thought I'd compare the straight colour shot with a contrasty black and white one. The lack of traffic avoids any dating of the image so the BW one looks old and moody, which I like. Though the cycle lane gives a clue to it being a new photo, suppose I could photoshop that out.

St Clement Danes

This is St Clement Danes, the RAF church. It's on the Strand just by the Royal Courts of Justice. There is a bus stop to the left and the light trails of a bus can be seen in the picture.

The exposure for this picture was around 15 seconds. A couple of tourists did decide to stand in front of the camera for a couple of seconds but don't show up. Never sure why people decide that have to stand directly in front of the lens, ut there you go.

Ugly Buildings and Pretty Lamp Posts

A few yards on from the previous picture. I'm now between London Bridge and Cannon Street Rail Bridge, in front of what was Ebbgate House. Ebbgate was an ugly building a grey hulk of a building sitting where a decent looking building (or park) ought to. On the plus side you could get between the building and the river and get some nice views. Southwark Cathedral can be seen and the lampposts are more interesting than the standard street ones. There's also a floating pub on the left of the picture.

I fired the flash gun once for this image. Held it off camera and fired it at about 1/4 to add some definition and highlights to what is a black post.

London Bridge - Early Morning

This is a part of London I know very well. I worked in an office close to where I took this picture. It used to be the case you couldn't walk along the path here. There were a set of steps to the river under the bridge but there was no way of crossing the inlet they were in. Now a little bridge has been built so you don't have to take a diversion.

I'm not sure when the lights along the bridge were changed to red. Looks nice though.

Driving and Taking Pictures

Bit of experimentation going on here. Taking photos from inside the car while driving. Now clearly you can't use a camera and drive at the same time so it needs a bit of work.

First set the lens to manual focus and choose a focal distance. Second enter a shutter time and an aperture. The program the camera with the remote release to take a number of pictures at set time intervals with a ten second self timer for the first picture. I then put my tripod in the front passenger seat and fixed it in place, absolute must that it cannot move. Then fix camera to the tripod and take a test shot to ensure it is pointing through the windscreen. Last stage is get ready to drive off and start the self timer before pulling away. Ten seconds into the drive the first picture is taken. Drive around at random and see what happens. I pulled over at one point and changed a couple of settings. This test was done near my house. Having got the hang of it I'll give it a go in the City in a few days time. The buildings are more interesting and lit up so should be interesting.

A clean windscreen helps.

Morning Bus

Walking through the City one morning I decided to try something I hadn't done before. Normally for low light shots I use a tripod and leave the camera still. Traffic appears as light trails, buildings are visable. This time I decided to pan the camera with a moving bus. Here's the result. I quite like it. The bus is recognisable as a bus, which is what counts.

Westminster Bridge

Between Westminster and Lambeth Bridges the Thames Path only runs on one side of the river. The Houses of Parliament sit right on the river bank on the north London side. Westminster Bridge has been undergoing some renovation recently, the lights are being restored. I like the lights on the bridge I find they are good subjects for photography.

For this shot I waited until there was just one person in shot and they were past the London Eye (the big wheel). The was cloudy but the clouds were broken with the concrete part of the bridge dominating the lower right of the photo I went for 'moody'. Using Lightroom I converted the image to a cynotype. This is an effect I like. Seems to work well with textures and buildings.

Early Morning

Still on the Thames Path, this time in the City. This picture of Southwark Bridge was taken early morning. I fired the flash gun during the exposure to lighten the darker areas.

The Beginning

Still on the Thames Path. I started at Hampton Court Bridge, the first crossing in London (or last if you're going in the other direction). It was a nice day, fairly unusual in the UK last year. The pathway is only on one side at this point and runs longside Hampton Court Palace for part of the way.

Here's the picture, a nice quiet still morning. Good for reflections in the water. Not the most exciting image but pleasing and easy on the eye.

Battersea Power Station

At some points the Thames Path leaves the Thames as buildings are right on the river bank. As one of these parts rejoins the river side I spotted this view. A traditional red phone box with the power station behind. In isn't the most colourful view in winter and the red stood out. I thought straight away that this would work being converted to B&W but leaving the box in colour, colour popping. This isn't something I tend to do, like a lot of effects it gets done to death and used where it doesn't add to the image and the effect lessens. This is only the second time I've used this effect and I think it works here.

Back - Thames path

I've been walking along the London parts of the Thames Path recently. The pathway runds from it's source in the Cotswolds to the Thames Barrier in Greenwich. The London section is easy for me to get to using public transport. In some sections it's on both banks in others just one. I'll be posting photo's from my walks, not in any particular order though.

This one was taken at sunrise. Looking south east near the Millennium Bridge. I noticed the way a shaft of light caused a distinct split in the orange sky next to the plume of steam coming from the tallest building.