Dec 25

The long drive home…..

Buildings, Cityscapes, Landscape, London, Long Exposure, Night Shots No Comments »

Recently I have been taking more and more long exposure shots and really enjoying the process. I have been wanting to do a lot more of these types of shots in London however I never seem to get the time.

Wednesday night after I completed my work, I decided I would have a drive round to several spots on my way home, I should add I had been working nights so I was leaving the office at around 03:00 in the morning.

On previous walks from the office to various location I had noted a few areas where I might be able to get some good shots of Tower Bridge, so with the camera gear in the boot of the car I headed off to my first chosen spot.

Upon arriving at the location I realised that I would need to cross the safety fencing that prevents people from wandering to near the edge of the dock, no big deal normally however the weather was freezing and the granite sets were covered in ice and frost. “In for a penny – In for a pound ” I thought to my self and gingerly negotiated the obstacle and inch my way forward to the edge of the dock.

Here is the results ice encrusted ledge crawl….

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Once I had safely packed the gear away and removed myself from my precarious location I pack the gear into the car and headed off toward the south side of the river in the vicinity of the O2 arena to find an unobstructed view of Canary Wharf.

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By this time there was a little bit of colour in the sky and some clouds starting to form so I decided to head off to another location on the south of the River in the vicinity of the Thames Barrier to get a shot of the Tate and Lyle factor that sits on the water front.

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By this time I was starting to feel the cold as I only had a shirt and fleece on, not the best of things to be wearing when the temperatures are in negative figures. So I packed up and head for home. About 3 miles from home I noticed that the morning frost had coated the trees and bushes and everything was white, so braving the elements one final time I parked up and set up my gear for the final shot of the night before heading home to the warm for a cup of tea and some sleep.

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During the cold light of day some of the places in these images are just buildings and structures that blend into the hum drum of every day life and we do not take much notice of them as we plod along doing our daily tasks. However when they are wrapped in darkness they come to life with hundreds of lights dancing around.

Merry Christmas to one and all.

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Dec 14

Below the Bridge

Buildings, Landscape, London, Long Exposure, Night Shots No Comments »

Here is a shot taken from beneath the Millennium Bridge on the Southbank

Its a long exposure of about one minute. I was trying to give the feeling of being suspended below the bridge and over the water, which I think I have achieved. I love the colours and star busts that are within the image.

During the exposure one of the many pleasure craft that trundle up and down the Thames passed through the scene adding some interesting light trails in to the mix.

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Prior to this image being taken I had walked along the Thames from the Waterloo area, whilst walking along near the OXO Tower I noticed that the tide was out, so I decided to descend the steps near the Tower to get a low perspective shot of the river towards St Pauls and Blackfriars Bridge. Whilst I was shooting shots from this location I found some foreground interest in the form of some rocks on the waters edge. I lowered my tripod to its lowest height to obtain a very low perspective with the rock in the frame. I took several shots from this location crouched low to the tripod whilst the exposures were being taken.

Whilst these shots were being taken the tide must have just turned as when I finished the last exposure I found I was standing in water where the in coming tide had crept up around me. You can view the second image by clicking the next button when you are viewing large view of the above image in lightbox.


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Dec 10

What to do when they close the Blackwall Tunnel?????

Buildings, Landscape, London, Panoramic No Comments »

Well today traffic was a nightmare and whilst heading out of London I managed to get snarled up in a huge traffic Jam due to the Blackwall Tunnel being shut southbound.

The traffic reports were stating that the A13 and all other routes out of London were congested and delays were going to be long. So instead of having nothing to look at but the car in front I decided to head to the river and sit out the long wait. Since I had the camera in the back of the car I knew I would not be that bored whilst waiting for the workman to repair the manhole in the southbound tunnel.

Here is a pano from the area I ended up at which is a nice quite out of the way place with a cafe.

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So when traffic is against you do the best thing and waiting it out find a road you have never been down before and have a mini adventure in to the unknown.

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Dec 06

Dusk at the Castle…

Buildings, Landscape, Long Exposure 1 Comment »

Today I decided to have a wander round Leeds Castle, since it is very close to where I live and the entry ticket last for a whole year I do tend to visit quite a lot throughout the year.

It is a great place to wander and relax with a great mix of things to see and do.

Here is a long exposure shot of the castle just after the sun had gone down, I like the slight movement in the Sky and the smoothness of the water due to the extended duration of the exposure.

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Nov 07

Leeds Castle Lights Up The Night Sky…..

Buildings, Landscape, Night Shots 9 Comments »

Tonight was the first of the weekend displays at Leeds Castle, the annual display draws thousands of people to the grounds to watch the 30 minute fireworks extravaganza. Once I entered the grounds I wandered off the beaten track and found a dark corner facing the castle and awaited the start of the display.

Here are a series of images from the weekends shows at Leeds Castle..

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Nov 03

Red Roof Of Rye.

Buildings, Coastal, Landscape No Comments »

The shed which is located on the Rye nature reserve has always been known to me as the Red Hut of Rye.

Upon searching around for information of the structure I can across a little more detail with the assistance of www.ryeharbour.net.

According to the site, the shed has always been used by Shrimp Catchers as far back as the owner can remember, the shed was previously owned by the current owners Uncle.

Hense the owners name for the shed is “Uncles Shed” the shed is given a fresh coat of paint twice a year to keep it standing proud again the barren surrounding.

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Nov 02

Grain Tower Battery.

Buildings, Coastal 1 Comment »

On a misty morning I decided to wander round the Isle of Grain waiting for the mist to burn off and see if any wonderful views or details could be found. Whilst wandering the coastal path I could hear a fog horn in the not too distant mist shrouded area, casting my eyes seaward and peering into the mist I could see a causeway disappear into the mist heading out into the estuary.

Well with my interest peeked and my camera over my shoulder I turned right and headed off down the causeway into the mist and the unknown.

Dodging rock pools and damaged sections of the causeway that where still filled with water I wandered further out onto the flats, then I noticed a structure slowly taking shape within the mist bank that was still hanging round the estuary.

When I was finally close enough this is what I found,

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Grain Tower Battery, my first thoughts of the structure was “A modified and updated martello tower for use during the 2nd world war”.

However after some research on the subject I found out that the Tower was built in 1866 as part of the Chatham Maritime Defences, and the design of the Tower was based on the earlier Martello Towers that are dotted along the Kent and Sussex Coastline.

The Tower was built on the Grain Spit which is a sand bank in the Medway Estuary that is exposed at low tide.

This structure was also used as a chain blockade, this was achieved by a massive chain being linked to the Tower and Sheerness which when raised prevented ships from entering the Medway.

In 1910 the original structure was updated to include the accommodation block which was built on the west side. During the 2nd world war this structure was manned by 29 men who were stationed on the battery to operate the antiaircraft battery and other weapons that were in-situ.

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