Category: London

Posted on

Westminster Bridge at night

Night time view of a road bridge with large arches lit up in green with the palace and clock tower behind. In the foreground is the blurred waters of the River Thames.


This is my favourite shot I took in my short time in London this year. It was great to see the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben without scaffolding. The restoration has made the building look amazing. I wasn’t expecting the bright green lights under Westminster Bridge. It takes something away from the incredible and iconic architecture behind it. Maybe the lights could be turned down? When I captured this photograph it was a little later in the evening than I had hoped to be there, so dusk was almost over. Still a work in progress photograph and another where I wonder if it might look better at dawn rather than dusk.

Posted on

London Eye from Jubilee Gardens

Huge ferris wheel with park in the foreground. A large path in the middle with grass and large trees on either side of the path.

Jubilee Gardens was one of the nicest surprises I came across in London. It was a lovely spot. Given that thousands of tourists visit this area every day you can hardly tell in this photograph. This was taken on a warm, sunny Sunday afternoon in July. The wide footpath in the foreground leads the eye towards the massive and iconic London Eye ferries wheel in the background. The big trees on the edges of the photograph also help frame this composition. It was a challenging capture due to the sun being behind the London Eye rather than over my shoulder which would have made this an easier photograph. I’ve only been on the London Eye once when I was young and never with my digital camera. Another thing to add to my growing list of things to photograph in the capital. 

Posted on

Inside the Globe Theatre

Open air theatre stage with two large columns. On the right are crowds of people on the ground floor and three levels under cover.

London has no shortage of theatres or entertainment but the Globe Theatre is one of the most special. Discovering tickets were available to The Taming of the Shrew I knew I had to book. After all I was only in London for 36 hours this time. I waited until after the performance to capture this photograph as a record for a magical evening. I hadn’t seen this particular Shakespeare play before but this was a modern (in some ways) interpretation which worked well. On the night this was taken it was pouring with rain for most of the performance. I’m glad to have paid for covered seats rather than standing tickets. My photographs of the outside of the Globe Theatre in 2007 and then again in 2010 have been some of the most popular photographs on the website. As I’ve said previously I do plan to take more photographs inside and do the guided tour to learn more about this amazing building.

Posted on

Big Ben from bridge arch

Large clock tower with bridge on the right and river on the left. At the top of the image is an arch in the foreground.


This photograph was a test and I’m sharing it as an example of a work in progress. Bridge Arch is literally marked on Google Maps. It is just south of Westminster Bridge which you can see on the right of the photograph creating a great leading line towards Big Ben. I love the composition and framing with the arch above. It’s work in progress as I want to capture this at dawn or dusk. Probably both. There’s two problems with this location that don’t come across in this image. During the day you literally have to join a queue to take this photograph. Most people are getting their photo taken with this in the background. It’s why you can’t see the wall at the bottom of the shot – there were people there. The second thing that doesn’t come across is the smell. I’ve never been anywhere that smells so strongly of urine. And it was worse at night for some reason. It was so bad I didn’t want to get my tripod out. I wonder if it smells less in winter?