This isn't the first night time photograph I've taken of the financial district of London called Canary Wharf. And it probably won't be the last. However, if you live in the Lincolnshire countryside, where the brightest light around is probably a security light on the side of a farm, then the opportunity to photograph night views with plenty of lights is one not to be missed.
There was a time when I used a tripod quite regularly, particularly when I photographed more interior church architecture than I do now. These days I reserve that kind of camera support for macro photography. I've always thought one of the best developments in camera technology in recent years has been image stabilisation (or vibration control or whatever term your manufacturer uses). A close second has been the improvement in the high ISO abilities of sensors. Put those two together and the tripod is no longer quite the necessity that it was. Even a pocket camera with a relatively small 1 inch sensor like the Sony RX100 is capable of producing pretty good images after the last light of the day has disappeared.
I had the ISO on Auto for today's shot and it chose ISO 5000 to keep the shutter speed up to 1/60 second, a necessarily high speed given the focal length was 56mm (35mm equivalent). Nonetheless, old habits die hard and I rested the camera on a handy lifebelt point for my photograph and I braced it firmly. The result is a shot that I wouldn't have thought of taking this way with this kind of camera only five years ago, and it's one that is, I think, technically pretty good.
photograph and text © Tony Boughen
Camera: Sony RX100
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 20.6mm (56mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f3.5
Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec
ISO:5000
Exposure Compensation: -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On
