The O2 Dome entertainment complex on the Greenwich peninsula in London was initially known as the Millennium Dome since it was built to celebrate and coincide with the year 2000. It was initially seen as something of a vanity project of the politicians who supported its construction, was reviled by many Londoners as the wrong building in the wrong place, and seen by the regions as yet another enormous sum spent on the capital at the expense of the provinces. However, over time it has come to have something of a purpose as a large arena for music concerts and other events, and the subsidiary buildings and subsequent construction nearby have made it seem less of a stranded white elephant. The scale of the building and the method of construction has ensured it is a visible structure that people look at and visit.
I was recently looking at the dome from near the Isle of Dogs on the north bank of the Thames. We were exploring a part of London by the river with which we are not very familiar. I took a few shots from the arts centre that is Trinity Buoy Wharf and while doing so saw some people undertaking the walk on the roof of the dome. I've seen people doing this before. However, on this occasion, from this vantage point, I got a very good impression of the size of the dome as the ant-like people carefully made their way down the structure. They appear to have been clipped on to the wire alongside which they were making their way - a wise precaution on a wet and intermittently windy day.
photograph and text © Tony Boughen
Photo Title: Walking On the O2 Dome, London Camera: Olympus E-M10
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 150mm (300mm - 35mm equiv.) crop
F No: f6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/500 sec
ISO:200
Exposure Compensation: 0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On
