London photography outing - suggestions

[Nigel_O]

My two sons and I are keen amateurs and are always looking for something new to try out our modest skills.

All three of us have a few days off in a couple of weeks and we're looking for new stuff to try. All three of us like motorsport, airshows, landscapes and architecture. We're thinking of three cheap train tickets from the Midlands to London to try our hand at some architecture stuff, and maybe even some people-snapping if we're feeling brave. Yes, we could probably do the same in Birmingham, but I fancy going somewhere different to our usual haunts (plus the fact that the rivers in Birmingham aren't particularly photogenic, although the canals sometimes can be...)

However, I don't want to fall into the cliché'd touristy stuff like the Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Nelson's column and Buck House. So, I'm after some suggestions and ideas for something just a little bit different from those that have done it before.

Bear in mind that we'll be on foot and trying to keep it relatively inexpensive, so everything needs to be within a reasonable walking distance of a tube station.

Also - we all have decent FF kit, although I don't want to be lugging it all around the capital if I can help it, so any suggestion on what to carry would also be welcome. My first thoughts are a mid-range zoom (28-300) on the body and an ultra-wide 16-35 in a small bag.

Finally - for three Midlanders, are there any places that we should avoid, especially when you consider we'll be carrying a few quid's worth of kit?

[Nigel_O]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far - all will be considered (apart from 'Brickistan' - sound like a bit of useful local knowledge - care to expand?)

I'm pretty conscious of the fact that we'll look and sound like three "out-of-towners", so we'll be rich pickings for the less salubrious side of London, but we'll take extra care. We'll be arriving by 8:00am and leaving by 8:00pm, so won't be around after dark. We probably won't be exploring dark alleys and murky tunnels - I expect we'll be sticking to the streets.

Keep the suggestions coming....

[Nigel_O]

OGR4M said:

Careful, "exercise" is a four-letter-word when my father is around...

Damn right too - why expend valuable energy when you can get a cab? The internal combustion engine was invented to make our lives easier and it would be rude not to take advantage. If you think otherwise, I'd suggest you're on the wrong forum.....

Anyway, get back to work.....

[Nigel_O]

Right - the three of us are on the slow train from the Midlands tomorrow morning - arriving at 10:30am. We'll probably concentrate on buildings / bridges, architecture and a few people shots in some places. A fair bit of prior planning has gone into a rather ambitious itinerary, which looks something like:-

Bank of England
Gherkin
Lloyds of London
Sky Garden
Shard
Secret location that I've managed to arrange as a bit of a treat for the two lads
St Paul's
Millennium Bridge
HMS Belfast (from the north bank)
Tower Bridge
Canary Wharf
O2 (from the north bank at East India wharf)
Oxford Circus
St Pancras / Kings Cross
Back to Euston for a 20:30 departure for a 22:30 arrival at home

Several of the above may fall by the wayside, depending on how long we spend at each location.

Although I said I wanted to stay away from the clichéd areas, that's what we've ended up going for. Depending on the weather, we might just hop on a river cruise and get a few of the sights from the water

I'll see if I can get a few shots posted later in the week

[Nigel_O]

z4RRSchris said:

if your still about I can get you up very high for free.

That's what the surprise was for the lads - View from the Shard - very enjoyable.

Could you have got us any higher? Would have been cheaper for sure...

[Nigel_O]

Back on topic please gents....

A few samples from the day out yesterday - rest are on my FlickR account

I think I've over-processed a couple, as the conditions got gradually worse during the day. Lovely and sunny first thing, clouded over for the trip up the Shard, then got more and more grey during the afternoon

I've decided that I rather like upward-facing "vanishing point" shots of tall buildings. Probably because living in Staffordshire, we don't have a lot of tall buildings (at least not photography-worthy ones)

Also, despite my aim of avoiding all the London clichés, that's pretty much what we did all day....

As always, constructive criticism is very welcome

DSC_5543 by Nigel Ogram, on Flickr

DSC_5563 by Nigel Ogram, on Flickr

DSC_5655 by Nigel Ogram, on Flickr

DSC_5735 by Nigel Ogram, on Flickr

DSC_5656 by Nigel Ogram, on Flickr

[Nigel_O]

The Millenium Bridge shot was hurried in post-processing. I need to spend longer setting the mask to process just the sky. I've also over-processed the sky - needs toning back a bit. I'll have another play over the weekend

Sadly, the people on the bridge wouldn't walk where I wanted them to - very inconsiderate...

Yes, #1 was to the side of the Cheese grater - didn't know what the other building was - the "quarters" effect only became apparent later, so it was a bit of a fluke - pleasing though....

[Nigel_O]

K12beano said:

I don't care for your processing treatment, but like the composition (especially Wobbly Bridge, although some different arrangement of people might have been more appealing). Others might disagree. I especially don't like how the skyline ends in such a rough transition - very distracting.

I've had a play - is this any better, or still a bit overdone on the sky?

Millenium bridge and St Pauls by Nigel Ogram, on Flickr

[Nigel_O]

Ah - direct sunlight - sadly lacking after lunch on Tuesday....

You're right - it was very flat - the skies were grey and the light was poor, so I was never going to be able to get much from some of the images

All good for learning though....