Abstract view of Midtown Manhattan architecture

I have no idea what this structure is - we were walking across Midtown Manhattan towards Queensboro Bridge and stopped to apply suncream in its shade! There are benches beneath it and it is right in front of an office block. The tall thin tower that you can see in the circle is 432 Park Avenue (which you can pretty much see from anywhere in Manhattan!).

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/500s, 10mm, hand held.

Sunlight catching midtown Manhattan buildings.

I took this one looking straight down from the 'Top of the Rock'. It was early morning and very quiet up there, so I had plenty of opportunities to try out different views and angles. I really like how the sunlight is just catching sections of the buildings and roads on this one.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/8, 1/320s, 55mm, hand held.

432 Park Avenue shrouded in cloud

I'm going to post a few photos from our holiday to New York last summer. This first one's in Midtown Manhattan. It had been raining hard for a while and when the rain stopped a few low clouds were left hanging around - this one was partly shrouding the residential tower of 432 Park Avenue.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/10, 1/250s, 35mm, 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.

Inside the ruins of Heptonstall's original 13th Century church (2)

Here's another shot of the lovely church ruins at Heptonstall, photographed in March this year. I think the bare branches of the tree under the arch fit perfectly with the tones and shapes of the ruins. You can find more information about them in my post of 30th March.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/2.2, 1/500s, 35mm, hand held.

Inside the ruins of Heptonstall's original 13th Century church.

I took this on my Hebden Bridge - Heptonstall - Mytholm walk 2 weeks ago. This was the first time I'd visited Heptonstall's churches and graveyard and I was really impressed with their age, architecture, atmosphere and history. The old church in the photo was damaged by a gale in 1847 and a new church was built next to it in the same graveyard. The American poet Sylvia Plath (once married to locally born poet Ted Hughes) is buried in the newer part of the graveyard.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/2.2, 1/400s, 35mm, hand held.

Pillar-lined passage at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich.

More of the lovely architecture at the Old Royal Naval College, photographed in March this year. This is a crop from a wider scale portrait shot that included the ceiling. Whilst the ceiling was also quite impressive, the composition worked much better when narrowed down to this cross-section of the passage. This way you get to really appreciate the different tones in the pillars and stone floor as well as the lines and light.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/11, 1/80s, 32mm, hand held.

'Face' in Lindisfarne Castle wall

Whilst I was looking up at the castle wall, framing out a photo (on holiday in August 2013), one of my sons spotted this 'face' in the wall. There's a hat, eyes, nose and mouth and, to me, it looks just like Pinocchio, the puppet.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/13, 1/20s, 55mm, hand held.

London's Houses of Parliament at night

Obviously this is a much-photographed scene, but I couldn't resist during my trip to London in March this year. There were quite a few other photographers along the Thames path, between this point and our hotel near Southwark Bridge, all with tripods! The sensible choice at that time of night, but I hadn't taken mine so had to up the ISO and apply lots of noise reduction in Lightroom. I also rested my camera on the top of the wall to help with sharpness.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 1600, f/5.6, 1/50s,  18mm, hand held.

Heron Quays Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station

This one's from my trip to London in March this year. It shows the entrance to Heron Quays DLR station - you can just see the end of a red train carriage stopped at the raised platform. There's a shopping centre underneath and offices above. I just love how the scene is packed with colours, lines, shapes, textures and reflections.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/8, 1/60s, 24mm, hand held.

Domed glass roof of the Greenwich Foot Tunnel entrance

This is the southern entrance to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel, which takes pedestrians underneath the Thames to the Isle of Dogs. I took this photo in March this year - we were visiting Greenwich during our London trip and had gone to find the Cutty Sark. Visually, though, I found this nearby building much more interesting (I think I was probably the only one photographing it, rather than the ship!). This entrance building houses the lift and spiral staircase down to the tunnel, which I really want to walk through one day.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/10, 1/125s, 18mm, hand held.

Office blocks on London's South Bank near Tower Bridge

I took this in March this year on an evening walk along the South Bank. I don't know what these office blocks are, but their lights make great patterns.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 1600, f4.5, 1/80s, 18mm, hand held.

High rise office buildings at Canary Wharf

This one's from my trip to London in March this year - taken standing close to the tube station exit. I love how the buildings are all different shapes and sizes. Somehow this photo makes me think of them as all being miniature models though - like that sketch from The Goodies where the little kitten stomps over a city like a giant monster!!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/160s, 18mm, hand held (wish I'd had a tripod to catch the clouds moving across the sky, but never mind!)

Reflections of the River Thames

I took this one on my visit to London in March this year. I don't know what this grand looking building is (can't find any reference to it online) but it's at the North end of Southwark Bridge. I was particularly drawn to it because of the sparkling reflections of the River Thames on its wall and in the windows along the top of the photo.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11/1/80s, 55mm, hand held.

North Bridge, the Burdock Way flyover and Dean Clough mills, Halifax

I've been wanting to photograph these bridges for some time now, getting my chance on a walk around Halifax a few weeks ago, whilst my car was in the garage. My vantage point is the car park of the local sports centre, where my son attends classes a couple of times a week.

The lower bridge is the Victorian Gothic style North Bridge, opened in 1871 and made of iron and stone. It cost £21,000 to build (17 shillings & sixpence per square foot) and was apparently the cheapest bridge in England at the time (and is still in use today for local traffic). On the day it opened the whole town was given a half day off work and the crowds surged across the bridge before it had been officially opened, needing to be held back by 20 mounted soldiers!

In 1973, the (much less photogenic!) Burdock Way flyover (above it on this photo) was built to carry heavier and through traffic.

In the background, under North Bridge, you can see some of the Dean Clough mills complex. These mills were built in the mid-1800's for carpet manufacturing. They now house many different businesses, including art galleries, restaurants and a radio station.

History lesson over...!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/160s, 18mm, hand held.

Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London

Another one from my London trip in March this year. The old Naval College buildings are spectacular, but I found most of it very hard to compose well on camera. I like this one, though - the lines of the steps and the texture in the sky really help the composition.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/10, 1/125s, 18mm, hand held.

Curved roof at Kings Cross railway station, London

This is one of the first photos I took on my trip to London 2 weeks ago. I knew Kings Cross had a lovely roof so I had my camera ready before I even got off the train. Fortunately the sun was at a low angle, providing the best light to show the structure off.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/80s, 20mm, hand held.