Cloudburst Over London | Weekly Photo #79
I hope those of you that follow my blog are enjoying the mix of urban cityscapes, landscapes and woodland photos I have been posting lately. I hear a lot about how photographers should have a level of consistency in what they photograph to build an identity and to a certain extent, I do, as I only shoot landscapes (both urban or natural), but I feel as a photographer, its far more important I take photos for me first and if others enjoy the work I share, then that’s a rather significant bonus. That’s why I try to split my time between the city and the natural landscape as for the time being at least, I love to shoot them both.
Fujifilm XT2 | XF10-24mm | 21mm | 1/15th Second | f/6.4 | ISO320
This week I want to share a pic I took just a few weeks ago from the 36th floor roof terrace atop London’s Sky Garden. I try to pop by once or twice a year and capture some new views of the city as it’s a fantastic vantage point to photograph London and once again, I was not disappointed.
Check out these two photos I took from the same spot during a previous visit to the Sky Garden:
While up there, I could see a curtain of rain over to the south-west, resembling a cloudburst with the rain visibly falling from the sky and it was coming my way. Getting closer and closer by the minute, it worked its way across the city and with the dark moody clouds stretching out towards me, I knew there was a photo available to me, but that was only half the battle won. This was a technically tricky photo to capture!
Like most rooftop locations in London, when you visit the Sky Garden you have to be prepared to shoot through the rather grubby glass so to avoid dirt and spots showing up, I had to keep the aperture on the wider side at f/6.4 which also helped let in more light as the glass and dull moody weather meant the scene was a bit dark and the wider aperture allowed me to keep the ISO down at 320 which in turn helped keep the photo a little cleaner while still shooting handheld due to the restrictions on using tripods.
I composed the photo the best I could with the River Thames sweeping around the frame towards the rain and moody black clouds but being careful to avoid the building stricture from encroaching into the frame. It was tricky because I had to avoid the window frames and reflective light from between the panes of glass which, even a lens hood couldn’t resolve but once I had everything aligned, I took the shot.
I spent a few minutes taking some more photos, including a front facing photo of The Shard across the river which I really like and will share soon but within just a few minutes, the rains came and the winds increased so the viewing platform was closed for the evening and I had to make my way back inside.
Taking photos of London is usually all about the city streets, river and architecture so when the weather itself can play a part in my cityscapes like this, the story changes and the city steps back into a supporting role to allow mother nature to take the lead in an otherwise man-made, urban setting.
Until next time.
Trevor
This post is featured in my Weekly Photo series where I post a new photo every Monday. To have this delivered directly to your inbox, you can subscribe to the mailing list here.