The north face of the O2

click photo to enlarge
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

Dipping into the "maybes"

click photo to enlarge
Every now and again I come to the end of my backlog of "postable" photographs. That is to say, those images that I consider good enough to feature in the blog and which I prepare in advance, often well in advance, of the day on which they appear. One of the problems with my self-imposed task of posting on alternate days is that I need to collect, process and prepare, a steady supply of photographs that I deem "good enough" for public display: an activity that I sometimes refer to as "feeding the blog."

But, my well has run dry and so for today's offering I've pulled out a shot that I took on 8th December on my last visit to London. I'd prepared it for posting, but then, as is sometimes the case, decided that it wasn't quite up to par, and put it in my folder that I've titled "Maybes". Well, today a "maybe" has become a "postable". What I liked about this photograph is the viewpoint that embraces the Thames Clipper jetty with a catamaran waiting for its load of passengers before it turns up-river to the City, the O2 Arena (formerly the Millennium Dome), the neighbouring and distinctive Ravensbourne College and the office towers of Canary Wharf beyond the curve in the river. Oh, and the wonderful sky and the late afternoon light coming in from the left. What I wasn't so keen on, and what led to its eventual rejection is the darkness of the foreground relative to the background. Had some direct sunlight got through to the jetty or boat I'd have been much happier, but having the bottom half of the frame darker than the top half doesn't work as well as I'd like. However, needs must, and unless I break my schedule then this shot or one of my other "maybes" has to appear.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Camera: Sony RX100
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 10.4mm (28mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f5
Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec
ISO:125
Exposure Compensation: -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On