I spent three days in London this week with my wife as part of her birthday present. We went to the Novello Theatre to see Mamma Mia! ; went on a Thames River Cruise and visited London Zoo on the last day. In between all that we crammed in loads of stuff, including a visit to St Paul's. This trip was definitely not about photography, though my wife likes to take nice shots to put on facebook, so I compromised by taking my lighter 600D and a budget ultra wide angle (as opposed to my much heavier L spec lens). Lugging my Manfrotto wasn't an option, either, so I made use of my 20 year old Slik mini tripod, which is what I used for this image of St Paul's.
Tags: St Paul's Cathedral Greater London night shot time exposure Slik mini tripod long England UK city urban lighting street Canon dslr 600D Julian Barker
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As can be seen from the lighting, I made this image during the blue hour. In order to make this shot, I rested my Slik mini tripod on the railings of the Millennium Bridge. However, this was the only successful image from a small handful of images. I could tell at the time that dozens of pairs of feet stomping across the bridge were causing it to vibrate significantly. My compromise was to aim for an ISO of 400 and shoot wide open, with the focus on the cathedral. I also managed to shoot at a point when there was a relative lull in the number of people crossing the bridge. I am pleased with the end result as a I believe it captures a snapshot of working London, with the commuters crossing the bridge and the two people working late in the office.
Tags: St Paul's Cathedral Millennium Bridge office commute commuters working late blue hour twilight light shadow camera shake motion blur life time exposure perspective lead-in line Julian Barker Canon dslr 600D Slik mini tripod Greater London city Enland South East UK Great Britain Europe
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Taken on my half term trip to London. This was not a photo outing as I was taking my wife out to dinner. However, I could not help myself from firing a crafty shot of Southwark Bridge using my tiny Slik minipod. I had two bites of the cherry, as they say, with my first image being heavily flared and consequently discarded. This effort proved to be more successful as I shielded the lens by cupping my hands where the light had previously been striking the front element. They rarely mention crude techniques like that in the glossy photo mags.
Tags: Southwark Bridge Greater London South East England UK River Thames Great Britain night time exposure long lights city urban road water bank tidal Julian Barker Canon dslr 600
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I made this image while my wife was taking photos on her mobile of the illuminated Harry Potter wands. The wands were not really that impressive, though I was, of course, looking at it from the perspective of being a mere muggle and not from the perspective of being a fan of Harry Potter.
I found more interest in other subject matter that was within the vicinity. This is the St Mary Somerset Church, which appeared to be squashed in between commercial buildings. I thought it was symbolic of how making money has a greater significance in our lives than following religion.
Tags: St Mary Somerset Church Greater London night time shot long exposure lights commercial buildings money vs religion faith squeezed Canon dslr England South East Europe capital Julian Barker 600
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This is an image that I shot whilst I was actually on the move on one of the Thames river cruises. With just a little crop and some straightening of the verticals, I was able to create an acceptable result. This is probably the last of my London shots, as the rest were just happy snaps. I was pleased with the few good results I managed considering this was not a photo trip. However, I was able to see that London has massive potential for the landscape photographer - it's just that when I do find that rare day to go out at half term I almost always fall for the charms of the coast.
Tags: A B King Henrys Wharf River Thames Greater London urban industry Industrial revolution England UK South East building red crane windows bricks store dock docks docklands Julian Barker Canon dslr 600
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