Alpha Photography Blog

London - where to start? There is so much to see and do in and around London. This city is full of character. There is one main challenge, and that’s the weather. It doesn’t matter what season you travel in, the weather is bound to be your predominant photographic concern.

Join me as I take you on a brief photographic journey of Ole London Town…

Buckingham Palace

It’s a cliche, yet one of the worlds most famous (and infamous) palaces is a photography must. This photo was taken in summer, and as you can see, the gardens are lovely.

There is that pesky thing called weather though, which brings with it cloud cover.   To use what ‘equipment’ you have though, you could have a play with the image and create something artistic:

This is a fun technique that can easily be done in Photoshop.  A later post will give you the steps for achieving this effect.

Houses of Parliament

This somewhat aerial view, was taken from the London Eye - which moves at such a slow pace that it’s easy to take photos.  The only problem is the glass, but it doesn’t seem to have a problem with reflections from most angles. 

The Houses of Parliament are probably my favourite building (photographically) in London.  Big Ben on its own is a subject, and then there are so many different angles to take the actual building at.  Change the time of day and the entire image is changed.  There is a great deal of history in this building, which adds to its character charm.

National Gallery

This building is stunning on the outside, as well as the inside (which, you’re not supposed to photograph - though some people were).  The ‘piazza’ out front, with the fountain and open spaces takes you back in time and is a great place to just sit and people-watch.

Even if you’re not a fan of art galleries, this one is worth a visit - just for the ambience alone.  The architecture is magnificent and much of the art is beautiful (especially the Impressionist section).

British Museum

This place took a little bit of planning to get to.  It’s not amongst the thick of tourist attractions.  It also isn’t air conditioned, which on a warm summer’s day (yes, they do actually have those types of days in London - I was surprised) made it a little stuffy, but this atrium was stunning.

Should you happen to have a fish-eye lens, it would be perfect for this photo - you’d likely get the entire room in the frame - curves and all!  Taking people in the shot provides some perspective - it’s a pretty large area.

The artefacts are also pretty interesting, and the library is enormous and full of character.

Piccadilly Circus

A hive of activity, Piccadilly Circus is always buzzing.  A great place to view this spot is to go into the Virgin Megastore, sit near a window and just gaze out and people-watch.

A somewhat dreary picture, in terms of color - be sure to nab a colorful red double decker bus, or the tourist bus that zooms around - it’ll make the photo more interesting.  From this spot you can choose any number of directions - down to Convent Garden, or up Regent Street to Oxford Street.

Millenium Bridge

This infamous bridge is somewhat out of place in London’s beautifully historical architecture, yet it’s become a well recognised part of London.  Standing by the Thames in this scene, you can see the bridge leading to the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral.

At the opposite end of the bridge to St Paul’s is the Tate Modern - take a wander in there, up a few levels into the modern art gallery - look out the window and you’ll see the Millenium Bridge perfectly lined up with the cathedral’s dome.  Not only is it a nice photo, but you also get to explore Tate Modern, which is a great excursion in itself.

This was a brief tour around London, with some of the more interesting sites I found to photograph.  It’s a somewhat difficult city to capture, as the sights are quite spread out, and when you get to the sights themselves, the weather really needs to cooperate in order to make it a nice photo.  Still, it’s fun to explore and be creative!

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