London calling

[stigmundfreud]

I hate London, or rather, I hate driving in London!

I've not done a lot of out door photography so went to see a friend today and we took a walk around the city...

[1]

Nice pics.

Never really been that into photography but I can appreciate a nice picture. How do you get the effect in the first and last pic? I assume it is some type of fish eye lens?

[stigmundfreud]

thanks! No fish eye, just wide angle (17mm)

[Byker28i]

Nice use of light in them. If I'm shooting with my wide lens I usually try to straighten the lines (unless I want that effect).

I noticed on the last tunnel run how nice London was when lit up and no-one around.

[toothlessjim]

sweet pics there, particularly like the one with the london eye at the end of the row of tress.

[Mrs Fish]

I love all of those shots, very very nice

[crmcatee]

stigmundfreud said:

I like the contrast in this one between St Pauls and the street leading up to it.

[stigmundfreud]

Thanks all! I wish we had a bit more time with the sky staying a bit lighter. I never venture outdoors so was really pleased with the results. I was shooting with my 17-40L lens and an nd8 gradient filter

This is the first time I could truely see the quality of the L glass, prior to that I hadn't been able to really tell the difference as I had mainly used it in the studio. Also this time I was glad I had checked the sensor for dust PRIOR to going out

I'm very pleased with the St Pauls shots on the street

Edited by stigmundfreud on Sunday 6th January 10:54

[another 3 points]

Bank, the telephone box and the westminister are really nice.

Funny thing living in London and seeing it through someone elses lense. All those empty streets, what a haven for drivers. If only.

[stigmundfreud]

another 3 points said:

Bank, the telephone box and the westminister are really nice.

Funny thing living in London and seeing it through someone elses lense. All those empty streets, what a haven for drivers. If only.

Amazing how dead the banking area is at the weekend

[DanH]

What time of day did you do those, and did you use a tripod? I reckon some of those compositions would look great with HDR to pick out the foreground. I work in the area and keep meaning to take some shots there, but the practical chances of me going up on a weekend evening are pretty slim!

[stigmundfreud]

Started around 4:30 near St Pauls and worked till about 8 before we went back home.

I used to like hdr but I've gone back to basics and used the old noggin + filters instead and I think the results cannot be matched in hdr as its about leading the eye - hdr has a tendancy to remove that

Edited by stigmundfreud on Sunday 6th January 14:22

eta forgot to say, yes used a tripod and the timer as I was too lazy to use thte cable release

Edited by stigmundfreud on Sunday 6th January 14:24

[DanH]

stigmundfreud said:

Started around 4:30 near St Pauls and worked till about 8 before we went back home.

I used to like hdr but I've gone back to basics and used the old noggin + filters instead and I think the results cannot be matched in hdr as its about leading the eye - hdr has a tendancy to remove that

Edited by stigmundfreud on Sunday 6th January 14:22

eta forgot to say, yes used a tripod and the timer as I was too lazy to use thte cable release

Edited by stigmundfreud on Sunday 6th January 14:24

Thanks!

Was only thinking HDR for the first couple of shots to pick out more detail in the foreground, but I appreciate that probably wasn't what you were aiming for! I'm not a huge fan of HDR everything either - especially the artificial looking shots. Keen to see how it can be applied in a more naturalistic fashion though.

[stigmundfreud]

it has its place and it was the unrealistic stuff I fell in love with then quickly grew to hate! I also found it addictive to the level where I was trying hdr everything and forgetting basics. I've stopped with the HDR now and gone back to normal exposure and filtering and I much prefer the results

I now see what you mean on the first ones, the first 2 at bank were hand held as I had left the tripod in the car. If I had the tripod I could have mixed the filter and a bit more exposure to better the result

[DanH]

stigmundfreud said:

it has its place and it was the unrealistic stuff I fell in love with then quickly grew to hate!

Moi aussi! Although I still quite like it on technical shots of engines etc where the illustrative look works. I feel the same about the super saturation that is currently so in vogue too. Can't bear Ken Rockwell's pics!

[another 3 points]

St Pauls looked great on the night of the 31st. Totally shrouded in fog, zero colour, just a huge grey shape. Of course I didnt think to bring a camera. Next time the fog envelopes London Im going up there.

[GiorgioGT]

urban photography is probably my favourite. So much to see thats obscured by people.

[mogul]

crmcatee said:

stigmundfreud said:

I like the contrast in this one between St Pauls and the street leading up to it.

This is also my favourite although all are stunning