A Moody Weather Photography Walk in London - 02/01/22


The other weekend I met my talented Instagram friend Otto, for a photo walk around the city. It had been in the diary for weeks, which meant taking whatever the weather threw at us on the day. As it turned out, it was dull and grey, with rain forecast to move in as the afternoon progressed (what a surprise!).

Here are some images from the day, starting with my favourite.



The Walkie Talkie Building

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This was the final location of our walk, on the top of a roof garden on Fenchurch St. The weather had become more unsettled, the wind had picked up, with squally showers blowing in. It felt wild and exposed. We were shooting through glass barriers, and had to deal with rain drops sticking to the surface of the glass. I was juggling a lenskirt (thank you for the loan, Otto!), my reading glasses, an umbrella and tripod, plus my camera bag. There was a lot going on. This photograph was taken the moment that a chink of light broke through the moody grey skies, and I love how it's illuminating the horizon, and the city buildings. I could never photograph the park in weather like this. A dramatic sky needs a vista of some sort, and this spot worked brilliantly. There are still some soft, out of focus blobs of rain, that are ever so slightly visible on the walkie talkie building, and I considered editing them out. Maybe I will at some point in the future, but for this post I've left them in.



Next, I've got a couple of architecture shots from a building near Moorgate. This is sooooo not my usual subject matter, but when in Rome... Also, I promised myself that I would experiment more this year, with different locations, subjects and techniques. Photography is a constant learning process, and I hope that by experimenting a little, I might improve as a photographer.

Look Up 1

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Look Up 2

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Patterns in Metal and Glass

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This image is an architectural detail, from a very well know and photographed building, that stands next to the Monument to the Great Fire of London.



I really enjoyed taking the architecture photographs, but my favourite part of the day was being up on the rooftop, with the views and the invigorating weather blowing across the skyline. To finish off, here's an image of the raindrops on the glass walls, with the shard and a chink of sunset as a backdrop.

Dreaming of the Shard

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We've had 2 good photography mornings already this week. A misty sunrise, and a bright, blue sky, foggy morning. There is fog and grey cloud forecast for Saturday, and I might try an urban area for that, rather than the park. Without a little sunlight to break up the murk and the bare trees, the park can tend to look a bit bleak at this time of year in gloomy fog. It's typical that I had 2 weeks off work and the weather was pants, and now I'm back at work, the weather is amazing... :)



I'd like to credit my friend Otto, for being excellent company, and for knowing this part of London so well. His Instagram is https://www.instagram.com/ottoberkeley/ and he is one of my favourite London photographers. For anyone interested in city photography, his work is well worth checking out.



I can be found on...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cathgothard/
Website: www.cathgothard.com


Thanks for looking!


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The last time I walked through this very area, I was stopped by security and asked what I was doing in the area; I was holding a camera.

Apparently even the streets are private property, owned by these huge buildings. I guess they like you and I'm just unfortunate. :^)

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Oh that sucks that this happened to you! From what friends tell me, security guards in London can be quite overzealous. All my photographer friends that I know who shoot in London regularly have stories. This was only the 3rd time I've ever been out with my camera in London - give it a few more outings and I might have a security guard story of my own. :)

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For the most part they're pretty friendly or just leave you alone entirely. It's only that area that I've noticed that they get a bit strange.

It also depends on the level of gear you have. If you have a pretty big camera and lens, you can quite easily get spotted out; but you can always just give them the realisation that each and every person that walks by holds a smartphone with a microphone and camera. They're forever walking by the same location taking pictures, recording voice messages, or video calling someone. Your presence is no different, yet they don't stop the others.

Weirdly, you'd think the many companies that operate in such buildings would at least choose the buildings that aren't skyscrapers and made of glass if they really didn't want people to know what's taking place within. :^)

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The building where we did the look up shots apparently would usually have security guards. We started off being quite discreet, but it was the 2nd of Jan and it was a Sunday - I think everyone was on holiday. After a while it was clear that no one was going to bother us. I think it was lucky timing. :)

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Wow, that's new! London is really a touristy city. Photography and cameras come as a standard package. Very surprised...

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I 've heard that some of the modern buildings have security guards that can be a little overzealous. Not that I have experienced it yet. :)

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Love these more urban pictures from you!

I haven't been into central London much in the last two years (cos you know THAT VIRUS THINGIE) - but before that I enjoyed visiting and especially eating in tall buildings in London a great deal. Hopefully this year can get back to that to some extent.

Keep up the great photography!

!PIZA !LUV

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Ahh thank you! Really glad that you like them. They're certainly rather different from my usual stuff, but then I chose my park photography days very carefully, where as this was more of a take what ever the Great British weather throws as us type of photography trip. :)

I've barely been in either. Went into work in December for a day. I got on the tube at Waterloo on a different part of the platform, because they've opened up a new entrance from where my train gets in that goes down to the tube station. So that meant I was sat on a different part of the tube to usual, and subsequently I came up different escalators at Tottenham Court Road. For a few seconds I actually thought I must have got off at the wrong stop - it was unrecognisable. Lots of shops had closed, and it just looked very different. I felt like a tourist!

I've never eaten in a tall building in London. Mainly, I frequented tatty pubs in Fitzrovia and Soho. Fingers crossed things will improve this year. :)

If you like my pics, then do check out the link to Otto's Instagram. His work is absolutely amazing, and I do not say that lightly. ;o)

!PIZZA

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Yeah it's all change! I also have my tried and trusted routes for the tube network which might not work the same in "the new normal".

And yeah it's sad seeing lots of places that have closed - but hopefully things will regrow and hey it's London - we are used to things changing all the time to some extent - lets see what 2022 brings...

Will check out Otto's Instagram - thanks for the recommendation!

!PIZZA

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Really interesting shots of the architecture and design. Thanks for sharing them with us. Looking forward to when you do get a security guard story of your own! hahaha Cheers

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Haha! I'm going to try and avoid acquiring a security guard story for as long as possible! ;o)

Glad that you found the post interesting. :)

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I would definitely recommend avoiding the over and under zealous security guard for as long as possible! hahaha

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Most definitely! The next London adventure might be in Soho, and there are definitely no tall shiny glass buildings and security guards there. ;o)

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Loving the architectural shots! London is full of good angles 😄If I have to travel to the London office, always take my camera with me.
Oh, and my son's name is also Otto. Not a popular name these days but I love it!

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Thank you! I agree that London is a fantastic place for photography. It's ironic that I used to commute into central London on a daily basis before I discovered photography. I keep thinking of all those missed opportunities... Do you have to travel into London often?

I agree it's an excellent name. Popular is not always best. :)

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Used to be 1-2 times per year, but now it is work from home... I don't mind 🙂

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I must admit I don't really miss my commute. 🙂

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Cath, London has some wonderful architecture. I would definitely try to shoot more of it. I like the "patterns in metal and glass" image and the second "look up" image but all are nicely photographed.

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It certainly does! I'm spoiled that I have it on my doorstep really, and it's definitely something that I want to explore more.

What I really enjoyed about this day out was that, despite the weather not being what I would class as optimum, I still had a fun day out, and took some shots that I was happy to share. If I'd gone to Richmond Park in this weather, I would not have been able to take any traditional 'landscape' shots that I would post online, as they would have looked like a drab day in a London park. On the other hand, I could perhaps go to the park on a bad weather day and try some ICM that you wrote such a wonderful post about. I've only been doing this for 3 and a bit years, and I am still very much on a learning curve.... There is so much to try! Am glad that you liked my post. :)

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Nice post with amazing picture

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Thank you so much! I'm really glad that you like my photographs of London. :)

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These are all beautiful photos Cath, and of course as a storm photographer you know I love those moody skies! What I love is that, rather than be discouraged by the sub-optimal lightning conditions, you maximized them, and pushed yourself out of your normal comfort zone. I really love the architecture shots! Great series overall!

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Thank you Jess! There was something very liberating about just taking what ever the Great British Weather threw at us. I think this is the most wet my camera has ever been. I treat it like the crown jewels, and am usually very careful, but it handled the rain no problem. Good old Nikon! I think even just that one taste of inclemency has made me appreciate some of the adversities you are presented with in your storm photography. There must be a lot to think about, when there is a huge storm kicking off right in front of you. :)

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