The Shard at London Bridge

In my free-time, I have taken a few shots of The Shard during its construction, from various local vantage points. 

Here are my favourites, which will benefit from viewing fullscreen.

Timelapse, January 2012

 

6th August 2009, from Guys Walkway

24th April 2010

9th May 2010

5th July 2010

25th July 2010

12th September 2010

28th November 2010

28th November 2010, from under London Bridge

12th December 2010, from Southwark Street

31st January 2011, from roof of One New Change

22nd April 2011

22nd April 2011, from South end of London Bridge

1st May 2011, from London Bridge Rail Platform

May 21st 2011, with Emirates Airbus A380

2nd July 2011

3rd July 2011

8th July 2011, from London Bridge

8th July 2011

9th July 2011, from Tower Bridge

17th September 2011, from Broadgate Tower (through glass)

17th September 2011

25th September 2011

19th November 2011, with Southwark Cathedral

19th November 2011, from outside Borough Underground Station

19th November 2011

17th March 2012

14th April 2012

14th April 2012

(Definitely watch the last video clip at fullscreen - and watch what the guys at the very top get up to!)

Feel free to contact me if you're interested in prints (without watermarks!), or any other creative use for any of these images.

Water Vole at the London Wetlands Centre

I spent today at the inaugural London Wild Bird Watch, at the London Wetlands Centre, Barnes.  To start things off, I enjoyed listening to Simon King talk about the live webcams on two Peregrine Falcons in West London.

I then had the chance to listen to a few wildlife photographers - Ben Osborne, Jules Cox and Luke Massey, courtesy of Amateur Photographer Magazine.

As birds were meant to be the focus for the day, here's a Goldcrest (Regulus regulus), showing clearly where its name comes from (click to zoom in):

I also wanted to try to photograph a water vole (Arvicola amphibius) - a mammal I remember seeing as a kid, but not one I've ever been able to photograph.  Despite some pretty heavy rain later on in the afternoon, I managed to take a few photographs I am relatively happy with, given the conditions (click on photos to see larger).  

Tenerife - The natural world meets some serious horse power

I've just come back from a wonderful week in the Spanish island of Tenerife in the Canaries - and it's shattered any preconceptions that I had about it being full of 'Brits abroad resorts'.  


We spent the majority of our time well above the cloud-line, in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Tiede National Park.  It's a stunning 'lunar landscape' of strange volcanic formations, all centred around the twin peaks of Tiede (3718m) and Vieje (3135m), the latter which we managed to hike up.

The landscape is evidently a great set for filming - a production company were making a promotional film for the (I think?) 2013 Mercedes Benz SL 63 V8 Biturbo AMG and 65 V12 Biturbo AMG - I managed to get some sneaky shots:

I'm yet to process many of my photos, but to give an idea of the variety, here is a photo of Tiede National Park:

  ... and another of a Short-finned Pilot Whales, taken between Tenerife and Gomera:

Canon News: Speedlite 600EX-RT Launched

Canon have launched a new flagship flash, the Speedlite 600EX-RT.

• Built-in wireless radio transmitter, which eliminates the need for accessory radio slave units and their inherent limitations
• Radio-based Wireless E-TTL can be performed with up to 15 Speedlite 600EX-RT "slave units", used off-camera up to 98.4 feet (30m) away
• Fully compatible with Canon's legacy optical-based Wireless E-TTL technology
• Enhanced weather-resistant construction
• Flash head zoom range now reaches from 20mm to 200mm
• Includes gelatin filters and a dedicated filter holder to help photographers match ambient light

Canon News: EOS 5D Mark III DSLR Launched

Another much anticipated launch for both still and video enthusiasts, Canon have launched the 5D Mark III DSLR.  

Replacing the Mark II, it brings a host of specification upgrades, albeit nothing extraordinary (except the price initially, we assume!):

• 22.3 megapixel full-frame sensor
• 61-point AF
• 6 fps continuous shooting
• ISO 100–25,600 sensitivity, expandable to ISO 102,400
• Full-HD video with manual control
• 14-bit DIGIC 5+ processor
• Weather sealing
• 8.11cm (3.2-inch) 1,040,000-dot screen
• HDR mode

It will be £2999.99 in the UK, initially at least.

More info here, with sample images here.

Nikon News: D800/D800E DSLR launched

Nikon have launched the D800, with a whopping 36.3MP full-frame sensor:

Features include improved metering and autofocus and uncompressed HDMI output.

There is also a D800E version, which removes the anti-aliasing properties of the optical low-pass filter.

More details here (D800E here).

Canon News: New wide angle prime lenses with IS launched

Canon have launched a couple of wide-angle prime lenses, with image stabilisation (up to four stops), the EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM and the EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM:

More details here and here, respectively.

Canon News: Updated 24-70 f/2.8L launched

Hot on the heels of the Tamron news, Canon have at last released the much anticipated update to their 24-70 L lens, the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM:

• Versatile 24-70mm zoom range.
• All-new optical design.
• Ultra-low dispersion (UD) and super UD elements.
• Fast f/2.8 max. aperture.
• 0.38m close focus
• Sealed against dust and moisture.
• Fast, quiet autofocus.
• Manual-focus override.
• Nine-bladed circular aperture

It does not have image stabilisation.

More details here.

Tamron News: SP 24-70mm F/2.8 Di VC USD Launched

Tamron have launched a new zoom lens, the SP 24-70mm F/2.8 Di VC USD:

It's first lens of its focal length and maximum aperture to come with stabilisation (Vibration Compensation - VC).


Available for Canon and Nikon, plus Sony, without VC.


More details here.

CAMERA FOUND: Can you help trace the owner??

This morning, I got up very early to do some timelapse photography of St. Paul's Cathedral and the Millennium Bridge, on the South Bank, in London, UK.  As the tide was on its way out, I was able to go down to the shoreline.

I found a compact camera, caked in mud, which had presumably been revealed by the tide going out that morning.  It looked a little something like:

It's a Canon PowerShot SX230 HS, and was inside a 'Go Canada' red bag.  Neither were water/mud proof, I'm afraid. 

After a bit of a clean-up, I was able to open the memory card holder and load-up the photos (well done Sandisk!!), in the hope of identifying the owner.  And success - it seems clear this is who it belongs to:

He also has another shot, helpfully showing him holding-up his Boarding Pass to the camera, so I also know his name: REID JANNSEN.  And that he came in on an Air Canada flight from Toronto on 8th Jan.  From the photos, as the last one is of him near the Millennium Bridge, I can only assume he dropped it there a couple of days ago.

I would be amazed if the camera works again (it's drying out at the moment before I try it), but would be delighted to return it, with the memory card to Reid if we can track him down!

I will e-mail Air Canada to see if they can help out, but otherwise it's over to the power of social media to try and track him down!!!


***UPDATE 1*** - Air Canada have tracked him down and e-mailed, so there's a chance for a reunion... 

***UPDATE 2*** - It turns out the photos of Reid were taken by the camera owner, his Aunt.  She kindly e-mailed me once Air Canada tracked her down and passed my details on.  This evening, I was then able to drop the camera off at their hotel... and have just had an e-mail confirming that they've got the camera back!

Sigma News: APO MACRO 180mm F2.8 launched

Sigma have launched a new telephoto lens for macro photographers, the Sigma APO Macro 180mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM.

Key features are:

• Magnification ratio of 1:1
• Large maximum aperture of F2.8
• Rounded 9 blade diaphragm
• OS (Optical Stabiliser) system, equivalent to four stops
• Focusing distance of 47cm/18.5in for 1:1 magnification (helpfully long for insects)

More details here.

Fujifilm News: X-Pro1 Camera Launched

I wasn't expecting to ever write about a new camera from Fujifilm, but this one is sure to create a few waves - the new Fujifilm X-Pro1, with high-quality retro design and RAW file support.

Here's a copy of their promotional video which should give you an idea about how it looks (hopefully they diverted the money they saved on producing the music to put into the camera R&D):

The redundancy of optical low-pass filters by using their new X-Trans CMOS sensor will allegedly create a step-change improvement in image quality, so we'll no doubt find out soon in real-world tests if that's the case.  Refreshing at least to see some real innovation, rather than incremental tweaks to maintain revenue shares, something which certain other complacent manufacturers have been guilty of...

More details here.

Canon News: Powershot G1 X Launched

Today, Canon launched an upgrade to the Powershot G12, with the G1 X.  Not just an evolution, it's being pitched as more of a revolution, with a significantly increased sensor size. 

Here's a video which describes the camera in some detail:

Features include:

• Large 14.3 MP CMOS, DIGIC 5, HS System
• Compact 4x zoom; Intelligent IS
• 7.5 cm (3.0”) vari-angle LCD; OVF
• Full Manual, RAW, DPP
• Full HD, HDMI
• High-speed Burst HQ
• Smart Auto
• Extensive accessories
• HDR mode and ND filter
• Optional 40m waterproof case 

More details available from here.

Out with my camera... WWT London (Barnes)

To-date, my blog has mainly focused on my (relative lack of) success in microstock photography, as well as updates on significant new gear which has been launched.  Obviously, the most significant part of photography is actually being 'out there' taking shots, so I thought I'd share updates on this.  Even if nobody else reads it, it serves as a bit of a diary for my own use!

Although I'm a member of the Wetlands Trust, I don't often make it down to WWT London (Barnes), but fancied a jaunt yesterday, so gave it a go.  Optimistically, I'd set myself up for a fall by tweeting at @UK_Richard that I'd like to see Bittern and Lesser Redpolls.

For those haven't visited yet, the London Wetlands Centre is well worth a visit, as it's a bit of an oasis, only 19 minutes by train from Waterloo (then a walk from Barnes station).  The site looks a little something like:

It's very well setup for kids and there are loads of areas with wetland species from around the world to which you can get really close.

For seeing wild birds, there are several hides dotted around the site, with the Peacock Tower offering a 'birds-eye view'.

The reality of doing bird photography from the hides is that you're likely to need either a huge amount of luck, and/or a very high magnification telephoto lens in order to get cracking photos.  It's still worthwhile going of course, especially if you see something for the first time - binoculars will help you find something.  (The other top tip is to listen... not just to the birds calling, but others in the hide, who are usually more than happy to share what they've found!)

Yesterday, I was pretty lucky with sightings - two bitterns (one flying, both a long way away), a Jack Snipe (through someone's telescope), a Water Rail (directly below the Peacock Tower), a brief Peregrine Falcon and eventually some Redpolls.  I also got a shot of a Little Grebe.