Photography in London

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itsjosh

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Josh
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Just a quick question, i've been seeing a few photos lately of the london eye, and bridges etc.
My friend and I are thinking of going up there one day, maybe venturing into night photography too.
I have my tripod for long exposures however i do only have an 18-55 Lens, do you think this will be sufficent or shall i wait until i can afford a "longer" lens?

I think it should be okay as long as i get good places to tog, just interested in what other people think?
 
whatever you take will be fine
18-55 would cover street scenes and detail work
the night lighting of the bridges would be collossal on a wide angle
 
if you have a tripod that should be sufficient for long exposure shots.. Im after the same shot and will be traveling to london on the 4th of sept with a friend too..

In the mean time if you have any spots that we could visit it'd be great if you could share them!.. and anyone else who have local knowledge of good spots.

I'll be taking my 24-70 f2.8 siggy.

Good luck!
 
You'll be able to get some good shots with an 18-55, though a bit more reach wouldn't hurt.

18mm


24mm


48mm


59mm


72mm


125mm
 
18-55 is absolutely fine. You might want to consider getting a remote release. It will allow you to use bulb mode for exposures longer than 30 seconds. You can get a cable one for a few quid online
 
The Matt said:
18-55 is absolutely fine. You might want to consider getting a remote release. It will allow you to use bulb mode for exposures longer than 30 seconds. You can get a cable one for a few quid online
Click to expand...

forgot to say already have remote release :)
 
Wide angle would actually be my preference. Lots of tightly packed buildings so you can get more stuff in obviously.

How about going wider... 10mm? ;)

 
You'll be fine with that setup. I would recommend you walk all the way along the south bank from Tower Bridge to Westminster Bridge and you will get a LOT of famous sites. Then from Westminster Bridge, walk up to Trafalgar Square.

Be careful (and quick) around Tower Bridge, the London Eye/Westminster Bridge and Trafalgar Square. Watch out for the "Tripod Police". These are wardens that shoo on people with tripods if they do not have a permit. That is not there primary job, apparently :)

This is primarily for revenue purposes. The owners of these places/locations say it is for safety reasons but really it is so that they can get you to buy a permit to shot in those areas.
 
six6six said:
if you have a tripod that should be sufficient for long exposure shots.. Im after the same shot and will be traveling to london on the 4th of sept with a friend too..

In the mean time if you have any spots that we could visit it'd be great if you could share them!.. and anyone else who have local knowledge of good spots.

I'll be taking my 24-70 f2.8 siggy.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

pubs and people



 
that london eye shot is amazing - zoom in\out while the shutter was open? amazing results!
 
I hope it's OK to post this. Don't mean to hijack the thread or anything like that. OK, so if the OP or others would like to try the zoom effect, here you go:

Equipment:
- A VERY sturdy tripod :)
- 3 stop ND filter
- Camera and wide angle lens
- Ability to bulb and keep the shutter "locked": I have a remote release that can be locked
- A stop watch or a watch you can see in the dark
- A decent lens that won't wobble when you zoom it in and out

Method:
- Stop down the lens to F/8
- Set the camera to bulb
- Put the ND filter on the lens
- First of all take a test shot without zooming to get the exposure and timing right. For me it was 207 seconds.
- Next, set the lens to the widest angle: This is important because if you set it to anything greater than the widest setting then as you zoom out, you may cross your initial "burn threshold" and so the zoom effect will start going inwards. Read on further below.
- When you lock the shutter you are going to do five things, four of which you will repeat:
1) Establish your burn in - I call this the "burn threshold" because basically you are going to burn in the buildings and the outline of the London Eye BEFORE you start the zooming. If you started zooming from the offset then everything would be blurry. Make sense? For this, I waited about 1 minute.
2) Zoom in to the extent of the lens
3) Wait 1 second
4) Zoom out to the extent of the lens
5) Wait 1 second
Then rinse and repeat from 2 to 5. Just keep going until you reach your duration.

So a running commentary would be:
Zoom out. Trip the shutter and lock the button on the remote release. Start the stop watch or check the time and seconds. Wait for 1 minute to burn in the background. Zoom the lens VERY slowly to the end. Wait 1 second. Zoom out the lens to the extent. Wait 1 second. Repeat the zoom/wait until you reach your duration. Close the shutter and chimp :)

The "wait 1 second" gives you that outer ring and inner ring.

If you don't use an ND grad then the exposure time will be quicker and you won't get as smooth a streak. It will be kind of jagged. If that makes sense. Plus it reduces the ghosting as you zoom.

Enjoy and have fun experimenting!
 
Great stuff, thanks. I've messed about with this sort of thing in the past to no real effect other than a mess !!
 
thanks for the quick guide - like RobC I have dabbled in the zooming bulb area before, but not getting the desired results.

Once again, its an amazing photograph!
 
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