London by night

without a tripod!

Part 2 of my all too brief adventure in London, England with the fabulous Ana Pogacar.

Arriving in London Wednesday evening, after four days of a busy tradeshow, we really didn't have much of an itinerary planned. We made a feeble attempt to look through guide books Wednesday night, but ended up winging it Thursday anyway. And it turned out wonderfully.

We left our hotel without tripods on Thursday. The decision was not to carry the extra weight since the weather forecast was for rain, feeling we could always return for them if need be. We scouted our evening shoot location before noon, and found there was a nice almost flat perimeter wall that we could set cameras on so the decision to go tripodless stood. The rain let up in the afternoon so the fight against raindrops on lenses ended.

We arrived back on the south side of the Thames near the London Eye around 5 p.m., and a thick fog was rolling in.

The streets were busy with tourists, buskers and business people alike.

As the skies darkened we took up our positions along the wall, and got our shots of Westminster Bridge, Big Ben and the Parliament buildings.

And then we tried a new sport - long exposures (hand held, remember) including moving objects.

Ana at work (that's her on the right hand edge):

We spent quite a lot of time trying for the perfect panning shot, all the while being repeatedly approached by the creepiest panhandlers ever!

And once we were each satisfied with our result, we moved on, walking back toward Trafalgar Square in search of our evening meal, which was derailed by a spontaneous decision to take in a play! A late, very (very) good meal at Cafe Fiori, and one last stop for shots at the National Gallery.

I am pleasantly surprised by how many 'good' shots I got, in such a short time and in such poor shooting conditions. It really is amazing how much better photography is with another photographer, and I can't wait for another opportunity to do this kind of thing! Day 2 and 3 yet to come!

Happy Easter!

Umbrellas Everywhere. Thursday Morning London Town

I've had an adventure. A short, sweet, soggy adventure. I cannot wait for another opportunity like this.

I travelled to the UK for the tradeshow Focus on Imaging, the largest UK photography tradeshow of the year. Tradeshows sound exciting, but the reality is that you work hard and don't really get to see the sights. How could I go all that way and not explore? So, I asked a colleague if she'd consider spending a couple days in London with me and (yay!) she agreed.

The very talented travel and landscape photographer, Ana Pogacar, and I spent less than 72 hours in London and were able to cover an amazing amount of the sites, sounds and smells of the city; walking, talking, eating and shooting. Here's a small look at our first morning.

It rained softly all morning. Not enough to soak through our clothes (we saved that experience for day 2) but enough to cause havoc from rain drops on our lenses, and awkward stances trying to balance camera and umbrella.

Grey skies and rain certainly take care of the problem of harsh daylight and provide washed out skies and soft, dreary colors. Umbrellas were one of the few things adding a pop of color to the scenery.

Hyde Park:

Pink and Purple:

Saint James Park Lake:

Westminster Bridge:

Busy People Everywhere:

The River Thames:

And my fantastic travel companion, Ana: