City Glow | Weekly Photo #40
For those that don’t know the city well, this view of London might be less recognisable but I suspect that won’t be the case for too much longer. When crossing Westminster Bridge, most people will be on the other side, checking out the view of the London Eye but this is the view looking in the opposite direction and judging by how fast this part of the city is being developed, it wouldn’t surprise me if this area of the city starts to get a bit more attention soon enough.
Fujifilm X-T30 | XF55-200mm | 67mm | 9 Seconds | f/7.1 | ISO160
During an early morning stroll in London, I crossed Westminster Bridge at the start of the blue hour on the hunt for new views of the city and as I looked towards the west, down the River Thames, I was drawn to how the buildings in the distance were lit. It had a kind of futuristic, sci-fi city feel, specifically how the lights are designed on the St George Tower (that’s the tall, round building that looks a bit like a battery).
The inevitable consequence of having these areas of development are all of the cranes creating these red dots all over the frame. When I first started to photograph London a few years ago, I would be quick to Photoshop as many of these out as possible as these temporary structures offered nothing and distracted from the main subject but more recently, I tend to leave them in. Yes, it means the photo has these distractions around the photo but they tell their own story about these areas of London and a time of significant change from the traditional, industrial architecture to these modern, striking developments. Some oppose this change, some embrace it but whatever you think, this is the inevitable change needed to keep London firmly on the global stage so there is no stopping it.
While out on this early morning photo walk, I had with me my Fujifilm X-T30 and the impressive XF55-200mm. I love this lens as it is small (compared to similar focal length models) and super sharp. When I spotted the composition, I knew I had the right kit with me as I would have to zoom right in, close to 70mm to isolate the best composition and to ensure the buildings are prominent in the frame.
It was very windy in London and I had to hide next to one of the street lamps to shield myself from the gusts but still, the longer lens was wobbling and with the lens OIS (optical image stabilisation) switched on, it still took me around 8 or 9 attempts to get a sharp 9-second exposure. I could have shortened the exposure by raising the ISO or opening up the aperture further but I was deliberately trying to get a longer exposure as it helps smooth out the river a little, making the already busy composition a little less so. Thankfully, my perseverance paid off and the wind died down for long enough for me to eventually capture the shot.
Until next week.
Trevor
This post is featured in my Weekly Photo series where I post a new photo every Monday. To have this delivered directly to your inbox, you can subscribe to the mailing list here.