Mill Bank Tower
This was one of my first bracketed shots with my #NikonD8010, as I walked past it was the stillness of the #Thames that bought me down to the edge. What I liked...
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This was one of my first bracketed shots with my #NikonD8010, as I walked past it was the stillness of the #Thames that bought me down to the edge. What I liked about this was the exposure gave me reflections that were almost like paint running, rather than being the usual mirror sharp images. As I say this was an experiment, I think the result is better than had I simply captured the sharper mirrored images?
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Feb, 2016Views
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Top 10 rank week 1Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I took this from down at river level on the Thames in London at Vauxhall bridge as when the tide is low there are many places you can sneak down to along the river.. For the last 6 months I have been working on a project to capture blue hour reflections along the great River Thames. This one is of the MillBank Tower in the borough of Westminster. I love the low tide as the water is so still and offers the most amazing reflections and with all the lighting in London there is a spectrum of colour added to the photograph to.Time
I love nothing more in the evening than a wander along the Thames to clear my mind and see what I can find to capture with the camera. This one was taken during nautical Blue hour when it is this lovely deep colour, this was about 7pm around an hour and half after sunset which for 18th February, when this was taken, was 5:22pm. However, don't just think that you can stumble on these pictures, oh no. These do take some planning as you need to know the tides of the river and the light hours. I have two apps on my tablet that I use to plan the evenings that I will have low tide and at blue hour so I can get these shots. You also have to be lucky with the weather to, you don't need to much wind blowing as this really distorts the reflection. A little cloud is good to but not an overcast night. This shot took 5 separate visits before I got a clear sky and little wind along with the tide and blue hour all coming together!!!Lighting
Any river in most cities is going to offer great lighting. London has so many street, bridge, construction site and general building lights, it is just amazing as this picture shows.Equipment
Took this with my amazing Nikon D810 with a Tamron 18-50mm F/2.8 on the front, set with an ISO of 125 and a 3 bracket shot with a +2 -2 exposure setting. Taken on my old trusty Hama Traveler Compact Pro tripod, of course no flash. I also recommend to anyone taking these shots make sure the tripos if firmly planted, either remove or tie the camera strap up so it does not move even in the slightest breeze, turn the lenses optical stabilization off as this is definitely not your friend for long exposure shots. Also pre-focus and then turn your auto focus off and absolutely without question for these kind of shots, cable release shutter, (And again make sure that the last part of the cable release to the camera is tied off round the tripod so this does not waggle any in the wind either).Inspiration
I have always loved reflections as it is like you are looking at an unreal copy of the world, a view that is not actually real. It is an almost fictional thing, it is hard to explain. The other thing is there are millions of pictures of buildings in London, as a photographer you want to try and find a unique view of these things to make your pictures different, to stand out but also that draw the viewer in to them. I guess I was not just inspired by my love of reflections but also my desire for my pictures to make me stand out.Editing
When I take photos like this, I think a good photographer should work hard to set the camera up to reduce post processing. This is what I consider a core skill of a good photographer should include. I see so many lazy photographers not set their cameras up properly with the attitude, "I will correct it on my post processing software" These are not photographers but more graphic artists which is not the same thing. I only adjusted the exposure very slightly on this image, which then meant a very very small highlight and shadows tweak, that was it, the rest was done through working the camera.In my camera bag
Ahh that depends on the shoot, as I cover sports and events, some indoors So my kit bag will vary depending on where I am off to. For night shoots its pretty straight forward. My Nikon D810, the tripod, Tamron 18-50 F/2.8 and a Tamron 70-200 F/2.8, cable release. Then the bits not to be forgotten, spare battery, spare SD/CF cards and probably the most valuable item a small led torch, oh yes, its hard to see to do things in the dark, never ever go night shooting with out one. Mine is actually multi coloured to, so I use it to light paint darker areas, cannot recommend this item enough! And all this carried in my Lowepro 500 AW camera backpack.Feedback
Oh I think I may have covered this in the previous items, teach me not to read ahead! If you want to capture shots like this then yes, like many types of photography, "Do your research, be prepared" Location, tide & light times, (When is sunset, blue hour etc.), you need to work a little to get the rewards. I have a saying, pinched from a Steven Segal film, modified a little, from "Under Seige II". "Great photos favour the prepared mind" Equipment, do not get sucked into the hype, I may shoot with a D810 but you can take great night time shots with entry level DSLR camera's just get a decent lens rather than the kit. I still love going out with my D3200, amazing camera for the money and the shots are incredible quality. Just work to set the camera up for the shot, don't rely on post processing and yes tripod and cable release an absolute must! Lastly without out a doubt, patience is required. You must understand that you may have to go out several nights just to get that one shot, sometimes you can get it first time. Also it may be two weeks before the tide timing is right for the shot you want, again patience. I cannot over use my saying enough, "Great photos favour the prepared mind" Lastly, what he has more to say, yes I do. Enjoy your photography, we do it because we are passionate about it, we love what we do and I can tell you if you ever shoot for clients this above all else shows through in the pictures you deliver, it really does. Lamo www.lamothelion.photography
