London Streets

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Dinge. London, England. November 2024.
Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 S at 120 mm, 1/90 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1600.

We did a lot of walking in London, frequently over 8 miles a day. During these walks, I would grab lots of quick compositions along the way. Since I was working quickly, not everything turned out the way I wanted, but I ended up with plenty of images that I am happy with. (Some of them take a little more effort than others after the fact, certainly, but that’s all right.)

The image above raises an obvious question: What happened to that wall? I have no idea how old the building is, but judging from the condition of the window frame, the brickwork was repaired a long time ago. Bomb damage from the Blitz that was repaired with random bricks from the rubble? I have no idea. It is also funny how the exterior of the building perfectly matches the icky, fluorescently-lit interior. This is definitely a building in need of a makeover.

This next image is actually about one-half of a frame both vertically and horizontally. I liked the whole scene, but found three separate crops within the frame that I liked more, and I think this one is the best. (At least I do today.) In the full frame crop, the fire escapeโ€”my favorite featureโ€”tended to devolve into a formless black mass. I couldn’t come up with a crop where it actually worked as the subject, but it works well here in a secondary role. Although, in fairness, although the nominal subject is the barred window, the lines all lead to the fire escape and I think it is natural to spend most of the time looking at it instead.

Avenue of Escape. London, England. November 2024.
Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 S at 24 mm, 1/10 sec, f/9.5, ISO 500.

The alley below is a nice little scene. I am glad that the first floor of the building at the far end happened to be white: this makes it bright enough to provide a destination for the eye after following the curve of the street, despite the fact that it is not overtly lit. The brightly illuminated window on the right is obviously inviting, too, so I tend to initially look at the yellow window, then follow the street down to the far end. There are lots of other nice little details to explore: the spill of light on the cobbles from the window, the column of red lights on the very right, the little strings of lights hanging above the street, and plenty of signs.

Distraction. London, England. November 2024.
Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 S at 53 mm, 1/45 sec, f/4, ISO 500.

I am very happy with this next image, and especially grateful that most of the windows were dark! I always feel that the combination of warm artificial lighting makes a great contrast with cool evening light, and this image is no exception. I agonized a bit over the branches, but there were way too many to remove. In the end, I decided that the nearly leafless branches added to the dreary late fall/early winter atmosphere, making the rooms inside seem that much more cozy. (Part of the tree was, however, getting hit by the glow of a street-lamp which I had to mitigate with some careful post-processing.) I think the curtain being pulled aside is wonderful, especially since it exposes the leaning lampshade.

Cozywampus. London, England. December 2024.
Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 Sย at 120 mm, 1/6 sec, f/8.0, ISO 1600.

We did spend some time one day on the south bank of the Thames. It was obviously clear and sunny for part of the day, at least, which was definitely a rarity on this trip. The staircase below led up to Waterloo Bridge. It is a very utilitarian urban structure, but I like all of the railings, especially the two handrails that are reflecting the blue sky.

Ascent. London, England. November 2024.
Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 S at 24 mm, 1/350 sec, f/9.5, ISO 500.

This final image is of a very unusual office building on Queen Street. The structure around the building is geometrically striking, but so is the blue-green color. Using a bright window reflection like this to provide a focus point for the image is a common trick of mine, and here it is visually balanced by the interesting structure in the lower right. A little detail that I enjoy, too, is the row of five oblong holes right in the center of the image. While I only grabbed a few frames, I am sure that I could have made a hundred images of this structure and its various smaller details.

Patina. London, England. November 2024.
Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 S at 58 mm, 1/60 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1600.

I am certain that months wandering the streets of London would be time photographically well-spent. You will get foot-sore, though: despite eating in restaurants for over two weeks straight, I lost about six pounds on the trip.

So next time I am feeling a little plump, I know what to do. (And if I get really fat, a few weeks in Rome should cure it.)

Next week will be our last post from London. After that, Belgium!

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4 responses to “London Streets”

  1. Thanks for sharingโ€”the alley of “Distraction” is fascinating! Suddenly, my wife’s talk of revisiting her old London stomping grounds sounds very appealing. ๐Ÿ˜‰

  2. Good to read you have some new followers of your blog!

    I like this set of images especially the one with the fire escape and Ascent. There are almost too many aspects to notice in the final image but it’s fun to look at!

    May all your wanderings be happy!

    • Thank you, Rob! There is definitely a lot going on in that fire escape image, but as you know, I tend to like complex images when I can get away with it. (Or when I think I can!)

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