DavidCBaker
7th of December 2008 (Sun), 15:31
Because I can't bring myself to take pictures of all the traditional things, I'd make the world's worst traveling tourist photographer. You'd likely have no idea what the typical countryside looks like. Judging simply from what interests me, anyway.
I'm in London on business, but I had some time to kill while adjusting to +6 time zones, and then two more days between engagements. So here are a few shots from each of those three days in Oxford, London itself, and then Dover.
This was one of the most glorious trees I'd ever seen. It was a "pinus nigra," or European black pine tree (also called Corsican pine). These things grow to 175' and live for 500 years. Looking nearly straight up from the base, with the lens stopped way down for a very full depth of field, here you go:
http://www.recourses.net/images/oxford/oxford08.jpg
But the highlight of the day, with very sore feet and shivering in the wet cold, had to have been these two shots. These came into view--with the falling light absolutely perfect--as I wandered what looked like a barren alley. This is the Magdalen (pronounced "maud-lin") bridge over the River Cherwell, just before it empties into the Thames River. It runs through Magdalen College, where Oscar Wilde studied. Here's the shot I saw first. I especially like the "highlight" where the sun shines through a tree onto the rightmost arch, as well as the nearly invisible batch of darkly colored "punts" in the foreground. I like the complexity of the picture: the more you look, the more there is.
http://www.recourses.net/images/oxford/oxford09.jpg
I left the camera set up and wandered a little, wondering if there was another interesting angle to capture. I tried this shot, which had to be taken between posts of a fence near a dumpster. The colors, both of the boats and the arch, are an interesting pastel combination in this light.
http://www.recourses.net/images/oxford/oxford10.jpg
The second photo outing was London by night, mostly distinguished by being a lot colder than London by day! This particular night brought cold winds and a drizzling rain. I wore all I brought to stay warm, and had to keep gloves on my fingers between changing settings on the camera.
I was drawn to capture London by night, especially in bad weather, because I figured the crowds were thinned from all the smart people staying home. Since I took public transportation everywhere, too, that made it easier (forgetting that I tried to take the wrong "tube" home, which added another 45 mins to the trip, as I'm staying in Paddington). There are just three pictures, here.
The first is a westward view along the Thames River, running through central London. The pink bridge in the center is London Bridge (notice the pink reflection in the water). The ship to the left is the HMS Belfast, a very large light cruiser that played a role in the Normandy landings.
http://www.recourses.net/images/london/london01.jpg
The second is a non-traditional view of the Tower Bridge (from which the first shot was taken). Here the trick was to lock the mirror up, and then time the exposure so that no large trucks hit the bump in the bridge surface right where I was standing, since the camera always shook at that moment. I like this perspective of the bridge, with the shining steel and white stone.
http://www.recourses.net/images/london/london02.jpg
The third shot--since you really HAVE to get a shot of the entire Tower Bridge--is taken from the vantage point of a little outcrop down the river, where it was too tempting to not hop over the "No Trespassing" sign. What an amazing structure.
http://www.recourses.net/images/london/london03.jpg
My final photo day was to Dover, on the far eastern coast of England. It's a 2.5 hour trip by train, with one transfer at the Victoria station, but still a pleasant trip. I wanted to see the white cliffs of Dover, look over the English Channel toward France, and walk within the fortress that is Dover Castle.
My favorite shot, probably, is this one taken of musket slits in tunnel dug in medieval times (built in 1216, to shoot downwards onto enemies in the moat).
http://www.recourses.net/images/dover/dover03.jpg
Finally, this sea of bicycles was captured in Paddington Station, where workers ride to the train stop and lock their bikes up before taking the train or underground to work. Can you imagine finding your bike in this mess?
http://www.recourses.net/images/dover/bicycles.jpg
This was tough to capture. To get the depth of field I wanted, I needed to expose the shot for 13 seconds.
There you go. It's been a nice trip.
I'm in London on business, but I had some time to kill while adjusting to +6 time zones, and then two more days between engagements. So here are a few shots from each of those three days in Oxford, London itself, and then Dover.
This was one of the most glorious trees I'd ever seen. It was a "pinus nigra," or European black pine tree (also called Corsican pine). These things grow to 175' and live for 500 years. Looking nearly straight up from the base, with the lens stopped way down for a very full depth of field, here you go:
http://www.recourses.net/images/oxford/oxford08.jpg
But the highlight of the day, with very sore feet and shivering in the wet cold, had to have been these two shots. These came into view--with the falling light absolutely perfect--as I wandered what looked like a barren alley. This is the Magdalen (pronounced "maud-lin") bridge over the River Cherwell, just before it empties into the Thames River. It runs through Magdalen College, where Oscar Wilde studied. Here's the shot I saw first. I especially like the "highlight" where the sun shines through a tree onto the rightmost arch, as well as the nearly invisible batch of darkly colored "punts" in the foreground. I like the complexity of the picture: the more you look, the more there is.
http://www.recourses.net/images/oxford/oxford09.jpg
I left the camera set up and wandered a little, wondering if there was another interesting angle to capture. I tried this shot, which had to be taken between posts of a fence near a dumpster. The colors, both of the boats and the arch, are an interesting pastel combination in this light.
http://www.recourses.net/images/oxford/oxford10.jpg
The second photo outing was London by night, mostly distinguished by being a lot colder than London by day! This particular night brought cold winds and a drizzling rain. I wore all I brought to stay warm, and had to keep gloves on my fingers between changing settings on the camera.
I was drawn to capture London by night, especially in bad weather, because I figured the crowds were thinned from all the smart people staying home. Since I took public transportation everywhere, too, that made it easier (forgetting that I tried to take the wrong "tube" home, which added another 45 mins to the trip, as I'm staying in Paddington). There are just three pictures, here.
The first is a westward view along the Thames River, running through central London. The pink bridge in the center is London Bridge (notice the pink reflection in the water). The ship to the left is the HMS Belfast, a very large light cruiser that played a role in the Normandy landings.
http://www.recourses.net/images/london/london01.jpg
The second is a non-traditional view of the Tower Bridge (from which the first shot was taken). Here the trick was to lock the mirror up, and then time the exposure so that no large trucks hit the bump in the bridge surface right where I was standing, since the camera always shook at that moment. I like this perspective of the bridge, with the shining steel and white stone.
http://www.recourses.net/images/london/london02.jpg
The third shot--since you really HAVE to get a shot of the entire Tower Bridge--is taken from the vantage point of a little outcrop down the river, where it was too tempting to not hop over the "No Trespassing" sign. What an amazing structure.
http://www.recourses.net/images/london/london03.jpg
My final photo day was to Dover, on the far eastern coast of England. It's a 2.5 hour trip by train, with one transfer at the Victoria station, but still a pleasant trip. I wanted to see the white cliffs of Dover, look over the English Channel toward France, and walk within the fortress that is Dover Castle.
My favorite shot, probably, is this one taken of musket slits in tunnel dug in medieval times (built in 1216, to shoot downwards onto enemies in the moat).
http://www.recourses.net/images/dover/dover03.jpg
Finally, this sea of bicycles was captured in Paddington Station, where workers ride to the train stop and lock their bikes up before taking the train or underground to work. Can you imagine finding your bike in this mess?
http://www.recourses.net/images/dover/bicycles.jpg
This was tough to capture. To get the depth of field I wanted, I needed to expose the shot for 13 seconds.
There you go. It's been a nice trip.