Palace of Westminster
Had to persevere in the deceptively cold evening to get this shot with the right amount of color streaks. I'm quite pleased with the result. ...
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Had to persevere in the deceptively cold evening to get this shot with the right amount of color streaks. I'm quite pleased with the result.
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Jun, 2016Views
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Awards
Top Shot Award 21
Legendary Award
Member Selection Award
People's Choice in Double Exposure Cityscape/Landscape Photography Photo Challenge
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken on the Westminster Bridge in LondonTime
It must have been a few minutes, 3 maybe 4 past 9 pm. I and my best buddy had been out all day around London just trying to capture as many images of this amazing city. The sun had gone down and we began to make our way home. I got on the bridge and was walking towards the tube station when I saw how beautifully lit the Palace of Westminster (Big Ben) had got under the clear blue sky.Lighting
The almost gold color of this majestic structure when the lights came on, against the blue sky, was just a sight to behold - not just for a few minutes but for an entire life. I already had my gear packed away, I was tired and making my way home.. got on the Westminster bridge and wooowza! best scenery of my entire day. My tripod and 5D Mark III came out with the quickness!Equipment
Canon 5D Mark III, remote and a tripod.Inspiration
I have seen so many images with the same composition - most visually compelling images. I thought to myself I'd like to take a picture like this someday (this was how my interest in photography came to life). I had spent so much time learning and watching tutorials about long exposures and began practicing by just shooting in my street. As time went by I got better and more confident. I shot quite a few of these but I just felt something was missing (I wanted to get as much colors in the image as possible). This particular image was the last and my most preferred of all the shot I took simply because it had all the colors (Red, Green, Blue) I was hoping to get in the streak. Just when I was packing to leave (temperature had dropped and it began to feel cold), I spotted an ambulance a few meters away. I immediately recognized this was my chance to get the elusive "blue streak" in the image. I had to quickly set up as fast as I could so I don't miss it (This explains why the clock tower looks slightly slanted). At this point capturing the moment was all that mattered - and that, I believe, is the beauty of photography. Overall I loved how the image turned out.Editing
All the post-processing I did on this image was just to boost the individual colors especially the blues. I had to reduce the highlight to restore detail back in the clock and finally I used the curve adjustment layer to give a bit more contrast and make the colors pop!In my camera bag
I have my Canon 5D Mark III and lenses - 40mm macro, 18 - 35mm 2.8 wide angle lens (my go to baby for all those amazing land and city scape photography. This beauty never lets me down), 70 - 200mm 4.0 ultrasonic zoom lens. I also have my ND filters (I am a sucker for long exposures - ), my remote, Speedlite 600EX-RT flash and spare battery.Feedback
Patience is key especially with land and city scape photography. With my image, the clock tower appears a bit slanted. This happened because I didn't think I would get any better shot than I already have and began to pack my gear away. And when the moment came I had to quickly unpack to get my shot. At this point, composition was secondary. If only I had been a bit patient, my composition would have been better and the clock tower would be bang-on vertical. I also suggest to play with the white balance of the camera while on location because you get a different perspective on an intended scenery.
