Reflections at Canary Wharf

This one's from our few days in London in June last year - taken at Canary Wharf, just below the DLR bridge.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/4.5, 1/80s, 35mm, hand held.

Big Ben / Elizabeth Tower against a grey sky.

I googled Big Ben before writing this post, as I knew that was really the name of the bell rather than the tower itself. What I didn't know, was that the tower (previously just referred to as The Clock Tower) was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012, for the Queen's diamond jubilee.

I took the photo in June last year - I love how the gold seems to glow against the backdrop of grey clouds.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/8, 1/200s, 35mm, hand held.

St Pancras railway station, London.

I took this one in March last year. I love the architecture in this building.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/11, 1/80s, 32mm, hand held.

Southwark Cathedral and the Shard - London.

Another view of the Shard today. This is a great (and, no doubt, much-photographed) juxtaposition of architectural styles from London's South Bank. I took the photo in March last year.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/6.3, 1/80s, 24mm, hand held.

Seagull on a Thames launch passing the Shard.

I was photographing the buildings beside the Thames as we passed them on this tour boat in June this year, when I noticed the seagull land just above us. I realised how close we were to the Shard, so waited for the right moment to take the photo, hoping it didn't fly off before we passed it.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f.7.1, 1/200s, 35mm, hand held.

Up a London underground escalator.

This is from my trip to London in March last year. I love the lights and lines in the underground and always try to get a few pictures on each trip.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/8, 1/60s, 24mm (and lots of exposure increase and noise reduction post-production - should've increased ISO!)

Beneath a Thames bridge.

I took this whilst on a Thames river launch in June this year. I can't remember which bridge it was, but I love the colours and patterns on the stone.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/1.8, 1/200s, 35mm, hand held.

London skyline reflected in office windows.

I took this one on London's south bank in March 2015. The windows are part of the Financial Times offices next to Southwark Bridge. The golden hue of the reflected buildings on the opposite side of the river was created by the setting sun.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/6.3, 1/40s, 42mm, hand held.

Section of arched ceiling at the Natural History Museum, London.

I took this on the way out of the main hall of the Natural History Museum in March last year. The whole of the main hall is spectacular and would be fantastic fun to photograph if it wasn't always packed full of people!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/8, 1/50s, 18mm, hand held.

Shadows and pedestrians crossing Southwark Bridge, London.

I'm always drawn to photograph this bridge when in London. In this image, from March last year, my main focus was the contrasting lines of the cranes, buildings and shadows, but I also really like the silhouetted pedestrians against the bridge wall.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/80s, 32mm, hand held.

Inside the Thames foot tunnel.

This was my favourite place to photograph on our trip to London in June this year. The tunnel runs from Greenwich across to Island Gardens on the Isle of Dogs - I had planned to walk through it after seeing the entrance steps on a previous visit. I had a feeling it might be fun to photograph and I was right. We walked through around tea time one day on our way back to our hotel in Greenwich, when the tunnel was quite busy with cyclists on their way home. I decided to return a couple of hours later in the hope of catching it empty and getting a different type of photo - this is one of them. (You also get quite different photos depending which section of the tunnel you photograph.)

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/2.8, 1/30s, 35mm, hand held.

Pillar-lined passage at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich (2)

This is the same passage as the one in the photo I posted on the 16th Nov last year (although looking down it from the opposite direction). We stayed in Greenwich again this year and I made a detour this particular evening, just as it was going dark, to see what the passage would be like with the lighting on. Glad I did, because it gives it a totally different effect.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/2.2, 1/25s, 35mm, hand held.

Pelican at London Zoo.

Another one from our recent trip to London. We spent a good few hours at the zoo - I never get bored with seeing the different animals. These pelicans were such a bunch of posers! They were standing in a group really close to the path, hardly moving. Their beaks are a beautiful mixture of colours when you look closely.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/5, 1/400s, 35mm, hand held.

Dusty glass light fitting at London Zoo.

These little glass bulbs (and many more of them) are suspended over the staircase down to the nocturnal animals section of London Zoo, where we visited last week. I didn't have time to get a really sharp picture as we were keen to move on and see the animals, but I think this photo still represents how lovely they all looked. It was only when zooming in to check sharpness that I realised how dirty the bulbs are (there's a brown layer of dust clinging to each one). I wonder if anyone considered what a nightmare they'd be to clean before installing them!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/1.8, 1/15s, 35mm, hand held.

Spiral staircase at Elephant & Castle tube station.

Just back from a few days in London with another collection of photographic souvenirs. The weather was a bit grim this time (flat, grey skies and finger-numbing temperatures) so I think the best pictures will be the indoor ones. This was one of the last ones I took, on the way down the steps into Elephant & Castle tube station. I could take a lot more photos in the underground stations, but it's usually either too busy or too dangerous. This one was nice and quiet because everyone else was using the lift!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/2.2, 1/15s, 35mm, hand held.

Sunlight and shadows on Canary Wharf office blocks.

Another picture of the dramatic buildings at Canary Wharf, London, from March last year. I'd love to photograph them on a long exposure with a tripod, to get the motion of the clouds above them, but I can't see me ever taking my tripod to London!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/100s, 18mm, hand held.

Artificial lighting in Clink Street Tunnel on London's south bank.

If you search the internet for Clink Street Tunnel you'll find much more dramatic photos of the lighting under this tunnel (an old railway tunnel between Southwark Bridge and London Bridge). There is an installation of LED lights in the tunnel roof that is programmed to change according to the flow of pedestrians beneath it. When the flow is light, white LEDs twinkle like stars; when heavier there's a colourful firework-like display. It was the twinkling effect when we walked beneath it, but I chose in this photo to isolate one of the purple side-lights and the shape of the arch instead.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/6.3, 1/80s, 18mm, hand held.

Southwark Bridge in early evening Spring sunshine.

I took this almost exactly a year ago on a short break to London. I love this bridge and everything around it - the cranes (which seem to be a fixture!), the towers, the mixture of new & old buildings lining the Thames... They all look even better in golden hour light too.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/9, 1/80s, 44mm, hand held.

Abstract shot of a bridge structure and lighting on the Thames south bank.

I can't remember which bridge this is, but I'm sure many Londoners will recognise it! I took the photo on an evening walk along the South Bank in March last year. Not having my tripod, I had to use a high ISO and wide aperture. I leaned on some railings for balance as I took the shot, which was directly above me.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 1600, f/5.6, 1/60s, 22mm, hand held.

Illuminated staircases on London's south bank.

This one's from March last year, taken whilst walking along the south bank of the River Thames one evening. I can't remember exactly where this was, but I do remember waiting for someone to walk past one of the doorways to give some scale and motion to the otherwise graphic simplicity of the scene. I've converted to black and white to add to the simplicity.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 1600, f/5.6, 1/60s, 28mm, hand held.