# London by Night, a personal project



## SBerlyn (Nov 9, 2008)

For a change I actually got to do some photography that I could put a bit of artistic flair into that wasn't seriously rushed!

For some time my 'signature' photograph has been this image of a London bus on Tower Bridge:








which comes from my own project 'London by Night' which has been a work in progress for around three years. Here are some of the more recent additions, shot over the last six months.

1. Prospect of Whitby - London's oldest Riverside Inn. Selective colour, vignette








2. My father, a pianist, playing one of London's 'Street Pianos' outside the Bank of England. Vignette.








3. A London bus at the Bank crossroad. Selective colour, vignette. 








4. Lloyds of London with a UK postbox. Selective colour (obviously ), Lightroom'd Graduated Filter over the top half (+ve exposure)








5. London's Gherkin taken from St Mary Axe, with another of London's 'Street Pianos' in the foreground. HDR, 5 shots.








6. The London Eye from the Embankment. Selective colour again.








These were all shot in RAW with a D300, 18-55 kit lens & a Manfrotto tripod. ISO640, apertures ranging from F8 to F22, and shutter speeds ranging from 1/4sec to 13secs.

Personally #4 is my favourite, but I'd be interested to know which, if any, you lot like!

Cheers 

S


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Sam. Wow, staggering! I'm speechless! Wow.


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## Lump (Nov 6, 2008)

fantastic, really gorgeous :thumb:


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## Modmedia (Jul 25, 2008)

Superb mate. Really love them all!


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## NickTB (Feb 4, 2007)

Great shots. Love the Lloyds building, even though I'm not a fan of selective colouring. (normally!)


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## Brazo (Oct 27, 2005)

Sam superb images:thumb: Really great!

My only criticism would be the horizon doesn't seem straight in image 2 which does seem odd given the overall excellent quality of your work or are my eyes playing me up!


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## SBerlyn (Nov 9, 2008)

Thanks for the comments everyone 

Nick; I know what you mean RE: selective colouring. I hardly ever do it, but ever since my first TB shot (first image in this thread) I felt compelled to do it when a bus came into shot  It's a definite theme that links the images. I've got the set on my office wall at 30x20" each and it definitely stands out!

Brazo; I'm not entirely sure with #2 as the horizon isn't really visible. You're right, the bus does seem to be going slightly uphill. I'm aware that #3 is also slightly skewed however after about 30mins of going back and forth in Lightroom, I couldn't work out which rotation looked best, so went back to it later to sort it out. It would seem I exported these Jpegs in between these two sessions. Oops!

S


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## dps1973 (Dec 18, 2008)

:thumb::thumb::thumb:


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## james_RScos (Mar 13, 2006)

2 & 4, outstanding, thanks for sharing.

Really like the one of your Dad!!!


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## Brazo (Oct 27, 2005)

sberlyn said:


> Thanks for the comments everyone
> 
> Nick; I know what you mean RE: selective colouring. I hardly ever do it, but ever since my first TB shot (first image in this thread) I felt compelled to do it when a bus came into shot  It's a definite theme that links the images. I've got the set on my office wall at 30x20" each and it definitely stands out!
> 
> ...


It was more the windows of the building you see more window on the left than the right if that makes sense:thumb:


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## RP Stevie (Jan 24, 2007)

Stunning pictures Sam, just excellant.


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## SBerlyn (Nov 9, 2008)

Brazo said:


> It was more the windows of the building you see more window on the left than the right if that makes sense:thumb:


Yeah, but due to the perspective of where I was standing (two foot above the pavement) and the fact that I wasn't standing perpendicular to the building, it all starts getting a bit hazy 

S


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## Brazo (Oct 27, 2005)

sberlyn said:


> Yeah, but due to the perspective of where I was standing (two foot above the pavement) and the fact that I wasn't standing perpendicular to the building, it all starts getting a bit hazy
> 
> S


Fair point hadn't considered that:thumb:


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## pooma (Apr 12, 2008)

Very nice photos :thumb: thanks for sharing.


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## andye (Apr 15, 2007)

Very impressive :thumb:


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## WHIZZER (Oct 25, 2005)

Some cracking pictures


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## MeganeChick (Apr 9, 2009)

wow those images are fantastic - love no.5 especially

how long have you been doing photography, how did you start off - did you do courses or just picking things up as you went along at first?


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## SBerlyn (Nov 9, 2008)

Thanks again all 

MeganeChick, I've been shooting for around ten years now when I was just a nipper. I've never had any formal teaching, and I think my work is better for it. I cut my teeth online in 2002 on PhotoSIG, but I migrated to ePhotozine (a UK site, whereas PSig is US based) and have been on there a good few years.

I think you're much better off posting photos online and getting critique from people who actually are into photography rather than those that are into teaching it; two vastly different things. Remember; those who can, do, those who can't, teach 

I've had a look through your Flickr and you certainly seem to be getting on well with your motorsport shots. What equipment are you using, and are you using manual mode?

S


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## MeganeChick (Apr 9, 2009)

sberlyn said:


> Thanks again all
> 
> MeganeChick, I've been shooting for around ten years now when I was just a nipper. I've never had any formal teaching, and I think my work is better for it. I cut my teeth online in 2002 on PhotoSIG, but I migrated to ePhotozine (a UK site, whereas PSig is US based) and have been on there a good few years.
> 
> ...


wow thats a lot of years of practice then!

thanks thats a good idea, i shall get to grips with some of the basics and post up pics for critique - its nice that this forum has a section for it

yeah have been practising with motorsport at a couple of events, im using an entry level DSLR, Sony A300 with the standard 18 - 75mm lense.

i took the track shots in the thread with the sports mode as the last time i practiced panning i had set it up in manual, wasnt too clear on how to do it, a friend helped, and the pics were lacking colour


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## SBerlyn (Nov 9, 2008)

I'd try to get to grips with Manual mode; it should yield better results when you know what you're doing. You could of course migrate from "sports" to Shutter speed priority (you set the shutter speed, camera will meter and set the aperture) - aim for around 1/200th of a second and go up or down depending your panning competence.
A monopod will definitely help for panning as it should eliminate camera shake in one plane of movement.

Other than that, perhaps get a telephoto lens for your camera which will allow a shallower depth of field, meaning the objects can be more isolated from the background for greater impact.

There are a number of different 70-300 lenses around for your camera; the Sigma version is particularly good and shouldn't be more than about £100 used off eBay.

HTH

S


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## MeganeChick (Apr 9, 2009)

thanks thats some excellent advise - i shall get practicing with the shutter speed as my next goal then  did have a practice with cars on the road a while back, but would be good to have a proper go

yes im looking into getting myself a longer lense at some point, wanted to do so in readiness for the track days this summer but time seems to be flying past lol

i have updated my pics thread here: http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=1637286#post1637286


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## Thomas-182 (Mar 5, 2006)

wow, they're amazing. Excellent photo's.


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