Bright Lights, Big City

I want to avoid posting typical tourist shots of famous landmarks although there are plenty of great landmarks all around this amazing city. Instead I wanted to find some more unusual sites and at night the illuminations in the shops and offices can be pretty interesting and that is what we have here.
It's a pretty wet and miserable evening here to be honest and I'm feeling the effects of a cold so probably shouldn't have ventured out. But instead of stopping in my hotel room with the TV and room service snacks I set out for a brisk walk in the rain. On my way out to get some tea I had spotted these illuminations and determined that I would photograph them on my return journey.

The first four images are of the same lighting structure above the doorway to some offices and every few seconds they changed colour, I can't decide which colour I like best so posted all four and you can pick your own favourite.

The final image is of a light fixture in the atrium to another large glass fronted office/apartment building, it has a cold sparkle which I rather like and I like the contrasting straight lines and angles behind the ball of light.

London Nights

So as I said yesterday I am in London for the week and as this is a work trip I decided to leave my camera at home since there will be limited opportunity to do any serious photography. That being said I can't pass up the chance to get a few shots even if they're not the best on my somewhat limited phone's camera.

The second image is of the building where I am working this week, can you work out where it is?

The second is a panoramic shot taken from the Victoria Embankment. I like the colours of the winter evening sky and the lights reflected in the Thames.

By the time I leave work it is already dark so it is likely that the majority of pictures I will share this week will be night time images unless I get out a bit early and snap a few on my walk to... work (Leave a comment if you think you know where it is, and don't say London)

Light Fantastic

Hopefully yesterday you saw the first of my light painting efforts where I had tried to create specific shapes. I thought they looked ok but apart from the rainbow fan they were a bit clumsy.

I have looked through the other images I shot and I am pretty happy with the results, in particular the more abstract ones like these two in today's offering.

I love wildlife photography and landscape photography but every now and then I like to experiment with something else and this little experiment has been really satisfying.

Bright Lights, Big City

On Friday night I had one of the best night's ever as I camped out in a field in Cumbria. It was a cold night but the sky was clear and I sat transfixed by the mass of stars. Of course I took loads of photos and sooner or later I will get around to sorting through them and posting them here in my blog.

By contrast tonight I am in London and for the next three days I will be here for work.  Having got here in the early evening I went for a walk and I snapped a couple of photos.

Picture one is of the lights inside the foyer of an office building on Long Acre just round the corner from Drury Lane.

Picture two is of an old street lamp in Aldwych opposite The Royal Courts of Justice on The Strand.

Picture three is of the market stalls at Covent Garden as the traders are packing away.

I love the city and I'm sure over the next few days I'll have some more great pictures to share. But I'm also sure that I will be ready to get back to the quiet life when this job is over.