click photo to enlarge
It's probably a bit rich to describe this as an update on the progress of the Shard - the low cloud hid the "working" section at the top for much of the time I was in a position to get a shot. However, I did manage to incorporate into my main image some of a lower building that shares the same address as the Shard and together with the taller building comprises "The London Bridge Quarter". The hunk of concrete surrounded by cranes will become "The Place", a name that the workings already carry as it slowly rises above its neighours. It too will be a glass faced structure as its website shows.
It strikes me that "The Place" is an incredibly uninspiring name. It reminds me of "the hub" that is now "nccd" in Sleaford, Lincolnshire. It's a generic name, in some ways redolent of the 1960s (it conjures up a hang-out such as a coffee bar or small music venue), and is one which is unlikely to last very long.The River Thames view is equally unrevealing of the Shard, and much less so than my earlier photograph from downstream taken in August. Even the night time shots that I took on my last visit show the building partially obscured by cloud. I suppose this is something the workers, visitors and residents of the Shard will have to get used to. Mind you, I bet the view is amazing when there's a temperature inversion.
photograph and text (c) T. Boughen
Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 28mm
F No: f6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/160
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On
