Tall things and The Shard

click photo to enlarge
It was wind turbines that first prompted the realisation that tall things - I mean very tall things - look tallest when seen from afar. There's a wind farm not too far from where I live, and, though I know that the ground to blade tip height is 100m regardless of where I'm standing, they still appear to be bigger when I'm two miles distant, and bigger still when I'm 5 or more miles away. It must be something to do with the fact that at those sorts of distances the real difference between a house or a tree and the turbine is always clear. However, when I'm closer a nearby tree looks relatively tall when viewed with a distant turbine.

The same is true of the the Shard, currently the tallest building in London. When seen from my car on the M11 where it passes over the hills north of London the Shard appears to tower over most of the tall buildings of the city, its distinctive, pointed shape catching the eye. However, from within the city its relative height seems less - at least to my eye. With the Shard I think there is another factor at work: the tapering shape makes it less massive in fact and in appearance when you are nearby. I photographed this building at reasonably regular intervals as it was being built, and took a few shots from the location of today's image (the ludicrously named More London). This recent shot was prompted by the silhouettes of people in the canyon-like cleft that frames the Shard, and also the bright red crane stretched across it. Building in London never stops and a recent news article pointed out that there are currently 436 tall buildings (over 20 storeys) in the pipeline for the capital of which 233 have planning approval.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Photo Title:  The Shard Seen From More London, London
Camera: Olympus E-M10
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 14mm (28mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec
ISO:200
Exposure Compensation: -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

More on the public/private issue

click photo to enlarge

I've visited London a few times in recent weeks. It's a trip I always enjoy, not only for seeing the members of my family who live there, but also for the photographic opportunities that it brings. Yesterday's post notwithstanding, photography in London is largely a pleasure for a number of reasons. Firstly, photographic subjects abound - everywhere. Secondly, people in a busy capital city are used to people walking around with cameras and taking shots of whatever takes their fancy: unlike in country areas they often don't give you a second glance. And thirdly, the big city is a great contrast to my area of rural Lincolnshire, so I welcome the opportunity to snap away at "different" subjects.

My stays in London are based on the south bank of the Thames a little upstream and across the river from Canary Wharf (the biggest area of "private public space" in London), so a short morning walk often takes me to locations across the river from its gleaming towers. Of course, photographing this private area from the public footpath on the opposite side of the river presents no problems. I've most enjoyed shooting this financial district in fog, and have produced several images that I've been pleased with (see here, here and here), but I've also captured it in the early evening and in full sun. Only on a couple of occasions have I ventured into its precincts, and thus far I've not been bothered by anyone objecting to my camera.

Today's photograph was taken on a sunny June morning with a deep blue sky dotted with "cotton wool" clouds. Even though the sun was pretty much behind me and there was little modelling by shadows, the scene looked quite three-dimensional due to those clouds, and so I took my shot.

Incidentally, for anyone following yesterday's post, I received a very prompt, courteous and detailed response to my letter to More London regarding photography. When I've digested it and discussed it further I'll write to them again. Then I'll turn my attention to the owners of the building I was prevented from photographing and also to the London mayor's office.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 35mm
F No: f8
Shutter Speed: 1/640
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Privatising public space

click photo to enlarge

The insidious spread of private space into what was formerly, or should be, public space continues. Whether it be shopping malls, new developer-created streets, gated communities, or public-private partnerships that trade space for council-owned facilities, the result is the same: areas that would, in the past, have been publicly owned and would have offered unfettered access to everyone, are now often places in which we have restricted rights, and what we can or cannot do is limited in order that the owners can sell more effectively to the public or to their tenants. So, watch out if you're taking photographs, collecting for charity, skateboarding, or doing anything that offends the delicate sensibilities of the owners or their private security guards: if they don't like it they have the power to tell you to "clear off".

On a recent visit to London it was pointed out to me that one of the largest redevelopments of the river front is privately owned. The area upstream of Tower Bridge on the South Bank, a location that has a riverside path, green space, benches, multiple office blocks, open-air amphitheatre and is known by the ridiculous name of "More London" is not the public space that it seems to be. If one looks carefully you can see discreet metal plates fixed to walls that proclaim its private status. This is all the more remarkable because the space includes the new City Hall from where the London Assembly governs the metropolis. One of the architectural features of this Norman Foster-designed building is its openness, designed to bring transparency to the democratic process. Yet it is located in a privately owned part of the city. As they say in the United States - "go figure".

All that being so, I did wonder whether I might be stopped as I pointed my new camera at the orange coloured acers in front of the offices with their blue-tinted glass. However, anyone trying to restrict my photography would, in fairness, have to do the same with the thousands of tourists snapping away at Tower Bridge, HMS Belfast, the city skyline and the "Glass Gonad" itself, so I felt fairly safe.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 27mm
F No: f6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/60
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On