Night Shots of London Landmarks

Lately I have been trying to practice night time photography, and experimenting with long exposure and other night-time effects.  So a few nights ago I headed down to Westminster Bridge in an attempt to capture the stunning beauty of London and the River Thames by night. From that spot, there are so many world-famous landmarks to capture, from the London Eye to the Houses of Parliament that I was really spoilt for choice in terms of what to shoot.

The files here have been compressed to significantly lower quality than the originals, but I hope you enjoy them anyway. As always, please don't copy them without asking me first!

More Street Art in South East London - Baroque the Streets

A couple of weeks ago I was walking down Bellenden Road in Peckham when I came across some beautiful street art on the Victoria Inn.

Closer investigation revealed this artwork to be connected to the Conor Harrington street art featured in my previous post  - they are both part of 'Baroque the Streets', which is Dulwich Street Art festival 2013.  You can read more about the festival here.

This particular piece is by Belgian artist ROA, a big name in the international street art community. There is a great collection of his work on this tumblr, but if you're looking to see it for real, he recently did another similar work (May 2013) on the wall of Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre. Check it out!

Wedding photography

I am looking for a couple getting married in the South-East London area who are willing to allow myself and my assistant to come along and take some photographs of their wedding. 

As this is a practice for us to build our portfolio and advance our techniques, on this occasion we won't charge you anything, but in return we ask for open access to your special day and the rights to all photographs we take. 

Please contact me if you would be interested or know someone who might be.

Opening day of Burgess Park BMX track

On Tuesday 6th August I headed down to Burgess Park to see the opening of the new BMX track, which is part of the council's revitalisation of the park. 

The track is fantastic, national standard, and - as at the Southbank skate park last week - I managed to catch some intense action shots and stunts.  There were some amazing riders of all ages and I was really impressed by the skills I saw out there. 

Brixton Splash 2013

I went down to check out Brixton Splash earlier and managed to take a few photos of the crowd from the top of the railway station.  You can zoom in and tag yourself on the photo on my Facebook page.

 

Street Art in South East London

I love street art. On a recent trip to Lordship Lane, East Dulwich, I saw that a new mural of two men fighting had appeared on the wall of a house opposite the East Dulwich Tavern. 

A search online revealed this edgy period piece to be the work of Irish artist Conor Harrington.  You can check out more of his work on his blog.

The Big Blue Cock of Trafalgar Square

Last week, a new bird landed on Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth - a 4.7m high blue cockerel called Hahn/Cock.  It was created by German artist Katharina Fritsch.

While passing through, I couldn't resist taking a few shots of the fibreglass sculpture to capture it from every angle. 

For anyone as curious as I was to find out what the artwork stands for, I recommend you check out the Wikipedia page.

Long Live Southbank

Last night we walked down London's Southbank and stopped to take a few shots of the skateboarders in action. 

The existence of the undercroft skatepark is currently under threat as the Southbank Centre above are planning a major refurbishment of the area.  Understandably, this plan is very unpopular with the community and 'Long Live Southbank' signs can be found all around the graffiti-filled walls of this space, as well as on the undersides of the skateboards of everyone we saw.  A huge petition to keep the skatepark open is currently underway and you can read more about it here.

In the meantime, however, I hope you enjoy my photos of this vibrant and dynamic space.

 

Behind the Glass: Photographing the Animals of London Zoo

I have always been interested in taking photographs of animals, so a day trip to London Zoo provided a great opportunity to practice my technique on a range of creatures in a variety of habitats. 

The artificial environment of the zoo posed a number of challenges, including glass screens, wire frames and changing light conditions.  It was also one of the hottest days of the year, so many of the animals were grumpy or hiding in dark corners.

I decided to start my new blog by sharing a selection of my favourite photos taken on the day below.