On Friday I had a little 8 hour walkabout around London covering about 18,000 steps jumping on and off the London Underground. As I arrived in the area around Tower Bridge, I was accosted by a yellow high viz vest wearing minimum wage, badge wearing womble who insisted I couldn't use a "proper" camera only a phone. ( See the post here: @fastchrisuk/being-asked-to-leave-by-security-for-using-a-proper-camera-not-a-phone )
The last post about my little walkabout was shot using my iPhone 14 Pro and I have to say I was impressed. They say the best camera you have is the one you with you and the iPhone certainly proved how good it was albeit with limitations.
This is a post from the same trip using my "proper" camera, a Sony A7iii with a 20mm f1.8 FE lens attached.
Hustle and Bustle
Being from the north of England, it's a bit of an adjustment to make for the hustle and bustle of city life and Canary Wharf certainly seems to be busy. As the blue hour started, I used a wide aperture and slow shutter speed to blur the people rushing home. I often walk around with one lens only but felt myself needing a wider lens; moving further away wasn't possible.
The Delivery Guy
Being an interior designer in my real life, I like angles, lines and composition. This stairway ticked all the boxes for me and I waited like a sniper with a rifle for someone to walk through my sights!
Bikes
From the opposite bank of one of the many docks was this line of bikes available for hire which caught my eye. I'm kicking myself for only taking one lens and needing to use the crop sensor mode to get a bit closer in with 30mm focal length. After this shot, I completely forgot about the crop sensor mode and every shot thereafter was in a way lower resolution! Damn!
Silhouettes
Using a conveniently placed slab of polished marble for a reflection and waiting for the right moment to click the shutter.
Fighting to the Front
On the evening I wandered around Canary Wharf was a Winter Lights Festival which attracted quite a crowd. This particular exhibit was more popular than I was expecting it to be and I had to virtually fight my way through the throng of camera phone wielding humans to grab this. Not sure it was worth the rugby scrum!!
Many many bricks
Maybe slightly out of place in this post. Shot earlier in the day near to Tower Bridge, I spotted this interesting alley between buildings. It just so happened as I shot this it was exactly the right moment with the person walking through the frame.
The Hawksmoor
Maybe not the most inspiring scene for some but I started my night photography hobby shooting exactly this kind of scene. This was more of a test with the 20mm Sony lens. I shot this using several different apertures and pixel peeped the results. I found that shooting at f5.6 or f8 yielded the best results. Anything over f8 with this lens and the points of light in the picture would starburst all over the place!
Street photography, my nemesis
Street photography is hard enough to master and I'm making a rod for my own back shooting after dark! I didn't notice at the time but this lady spotted me! But in London, no-one seems to care so much at being photographed.
Tripod Malfunction
I will never ever, ever buy a Manfrotto tripod again. Period. Just before this shot, one of the feet fell off one of the legs on the Befree tripod I was using. Luckily I managed to retrieve the rubber foot before it disappear down a drain but try as I might, I could get to the leg that had disappeared inside the larger leg!
So here is the best I could get without being to locate my tripod any higher. Next time I'll turn up with the Benro tripod I prefer with proper solid feet!!
Not wide enough?
I kicked myself for not taking a wider lens to shoot this view of Canary Wharf in Cabot Square. But it turned out to be a good exercise to see how sharp the Sony 20mm f1.8 FE lens really is. It past the test!
About me:
I usually specialise in shooting lightpainting images but occasionally dabble in urbex and artistic model photography. I'm always on the lookout for someone to collaborate with; please don't hesitate to get in touch if you'd like to create art.
Social Media
https://www.facebook.com/fastchrisuk
https://www.flickr.com/photos/fastchris/
