Tower Bridge
20 January 2022
Most of the photos of Tower Bridge that I’ve seen are taken from the south bank of the river looking north-east probably because its easy to get to and there’s plenty of space to stand.
Then I saw a photo by Mara Leite who taken her shot from the north side that captured the bridge together with the Shard, juxtaposing the old with the new. I thought I’d try something similar.
I spent some time wandering around St Katharine’s Dock try to find a spot where the Shard would be aligned with the centre of the bridge and eventually concluded that there was only one place - a terrace of Devon Court which faced the river. Security staff quickly informed me that no photography was allowed and that I would need permission form the St Katharine’s Docks management team. Well the management team were extremely helpful and arranged for me to visit early one morning - I just had to hope the weather would good.
Blue hour 07:28
The arranged morning in January was cold but clear. Really a little bit too clear as it needed some clouds to bring the sky alive and to reflect some warm colours back over the scene. But I really like the composition and each photograph has an amazing amount of detail. Its interesting to see how the image changes as the capture time moves from the blue hour to the golden hour.
I think my favourite is the first, I like how the brightness of the natural light and the man-made lights are well balanced, you can see all the detail and nothing is burnt out.
Start of golden hour 07:56
Golden hour 08:15