How did it begin part 6?

6 Nov

Welcome back reader, bloggers, photographers and more. You’ve joined for another blog, this time we are delving deep into the year of 2021. This year starts off quiet for quite a few months but then changes later on in the year. This time solo photography in London was going to be something I started doing more in 2021. Visiting another UK city with my brother, going to the seaside with a group of friends to finishing off in London to end the year for 2021 photography. All of that is to come…

Now I would begin by saying in January or something like that bit sadly not. Near the end of December 2020 we went into another lockdown (the third one) which then lead into the next few months into 2022. Sadly things changed in January in my life as my partner and I split up after being together for 5 years. This was a hard time but taught me a life lesson in it all. “Everything happens for a reason and new things will come into your life”. Anyway lets talk more positive stuff, so during the lockdown me and my friend for work decided to watch every Disney mainline film, from Snow White all the way to Frozen 2.

When I was compiling all the photos and information for this blog I realised that in the first 5-6 months on 2021 I didn’t do any photography. I didn’t do any London photography until late August, September and November time. I didn’t go out on nature walks either. All I remember from the first 5-6 months is working a lot I felt like I didn’t have much time for photography. Also during the first part of 2021 was indoor places were not open due to the lockdown and COVID but that was going to change later on in the year.

One of earlier 2021 photography shots was this one here. On the 26th February, one evening the moon was out in full force so I decided to grab my camera, using my Canon 80D with my 70-200mm lens. I read up online on how to capture the moon and what settings to use in this scenario. When I took this photo and came to editing it I realised that the moon kind of looks like an orange, I think it was because of the bottom right part that looks like the top of an orange.
I was very pleased with how this photo came out as this was a positive sign for improving my nighttime photography. This is the clearest photo I have of the moon to date. I added more definition to the photo so you could see more of the surface on the moon.
**Date-26th February 2021**

Doing another panoramic edit with the moon. I then used this photo to crop it down to have a closer in view (picture above).
**Date-26th February 2021**

As not much happened in the first half of the year with my photography, I will go into things that I did which I did capture photos but there not to the quality for the blog. I did go for a small nature walk in Horton Country Park but even when I was taking the photos I just felt like they wernt’t good enough. Does anyone have the same feeling??

In June time I took my best friend to Legoland for the day as I get free tickets to enter any merlin attraction in the world. I did take my camera with me but they were quick shots of things in Mainland, which is an area where everything is built out of Lego. Such as the beautiful capital of London and capturing all the different landmarks in the city. The photos were ok but I don’t think I like them for this blog.

Sadly in July RIAT was cancelled again which was a shock but my brother and I understood but it was a big year for RIAT as it was celebrating 50 years since the first air show. It was going to be a big year for the air show. Summer time at work was always going to feel like a long one but we got through it all the way to the end of August. Working pretty much most of summer meant that my poor camera didn’t see much shooting action but that was going to change in the month of August.

Talking of the month of August this was a busy month for my photography. At the beginning of August my grandparents celebrated there 60th wedding anniversary which was a huge achievement. I took my camera with me to capture the events of the day. I did a lot of portrait shots of my family members. Going back to 2020 with my mums birthday for the respect of my family I won’t be adding any photos of them into the blog. The variety of photos I have of my family that day I really liked as I started to get better at portrait shots.

The day after the celebrations me and my friends took a trip for a few days to the small seaside city of Brighton. We stayed in a Air B&B which was close to the beach front. I took the train down to Brighton and the others drove down as one. I packed my Canon 80D and my 24-105mm lens as I knew this would be the best for this trip. When we got there we went to the Sealife centre to go and look at the fish.

The next day we had a full on day in Brighton. We was going to head to the famous pier and play some arcade games (you have to do it). You’ll now see a collection of photos varying from photos of my friends (portrait shots) to photos of the surrounding area of the beach, pier and the city.

The next day we made our way along the seafront and in the distance you could see the famous Brighton Pier. The sun was shining, the sea looked really blue as well which mixed with the pebble beach along the beach front.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

Using the railings of the walkway made for good composition of this photo. The leading lines of the railing leading towards the new i360. I think I set the aperture to the lowest f4 which made part of the background quite blurry.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

We got closer to the pier and I captured the front of it with the famous sign that leads into the arcade. There was a slight breeze and I only noticed the the Union Flags were both flying the me way which added to the photo. Capturing a more cinematic look with the preset that I was using made it feel more like it was back in time in the 90s potentially 80s.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

Here you’ll start to see a small collection of photos of the group of friends that I went with. First time proper ‘out in the field’ doing portrait shots of people.

(disclaimer I have asked there permission to use these photos)

The lovely Elspeth posing for the camera capturing the waviness of the hair.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

A more sepia tone on this photo of Elspeth and Rohan (before you ask yes he’s named after Rohan in Lord of Rings).
**Date-3rd August 2021**

The group of four, Elspeth (back), Rohan (back), Stuart (front left) and Macy (bottom right), making our way onto the pier and soaking in the sun.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

Leisurely stroll along the pier. Editing with a cinematic look which I captured with the preset but I was also debating on making this black and white but felt like this could look more cinematic.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

I am not going into the story but what you are seeing is a massive rubber duck that we somehow won! Don’t ask how on earth we did it but we did. Yes Rohan was joking by through the rubber duck in the sea! This is one of a small selection of pictures where I am in the picture with someone using my camera. Its not like I don’t mind anyone using it but I don’t tend to have anyone with me to capture me.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

One of my funniest pictures I captured on this trip and also one of my funniest picture I have ever taken. Rohan was teasing Macy with the duck but she was not having it. The look of what on earth are you doing with him and why are you putting it in my face??
Capturing the bokeh behind her and making in focus Macy and the duck. When editing I didn’t use the cinematic preset I tend to edit under my own settings. Capturing the variety of colours with the blueness of the sea to the sunshine that was bouncing off her hair.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

Evening sea activities, the sea was a lot cooler than we thought but you always have to put your feet in the sea.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

Macy was the only one that brought a swim suit as we knew it wouldn’t be the warmest while was in Brighton. So I thought I would capture Macy while she was in the sea. This photo always looks like she is a mermaid.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

This here is an example of an expression of how cold the sea was. Elspeth’s face captures it all, I mean this wasn’t the only one that would have this reaction.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

Stuart also showing his reaction of the coldness of the sea. He was loving like when he was dragged into the sea.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

This to me this one I always think would make a great music album cover. Not sure what music we would end up realising but I also did a colour version of this phot but this black and white version I preferred.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

Stuart and Elspeth capturing their true friendship, apologises for the rude gestures. This was an ongoing joke they had while they worked together.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

This was another music album cover. Macy and Stuart were just soaking in the sun (before they got sunburnt) This picture was not flipped in anyway I stood above them and took this photo. In the coloured version Stuarts sunglasses are blue which would make a good reflection surface, but I went with the black and white version of the photo.
I tend to see the difference between what a photo would look like in black and white and colour, so I create two copies of a photo and compare which one I prefer.
**Date-4th August 2021**

We move back onto more arcitecture in Brighton. We start with the enterance at the pier where you’ll find this clock tower and the name for the pier. I wanted to bring out the blueness of the sky and the yellowness of the title.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

When we made our way onto the pier we headed towards the main arcade. Before we headed inside I wanted to capture the Union Flag again that was on the building. There was some seagulls which I wanted to capture in the photo.
When using the cinematic preset it takes out the blue but that’s not good when I want to add the blueness the sky. I add the colour back in then add more luminance into the photo to either make it lighter blue or darker blue. In this case I made it lighter blue.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

Life rings make good subjects in photos such as this one above. While I was waiting for the others I took the opportunity to capture this photo with the life ring in the foreground while also capturing the white building in the back. Again using the cinematic preset making the blue sky even more lighter blue and make this picture faded slightly.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

One photo, one subject. I knew that when I saw this small boat on the sea I just wanted to capture just bobbing in the sea. I was debating a hint of colour with this photo but I decided that I wanted to capture this in full colour because the water actually looked really blue on this day and then make the orange dingy a bit more brighter.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

The British Airways i360 which is recent attraction in Brighton. It is an observation deck which takes you up slowly and you can catch a good view of the surrounding area but apparently on a clear day you can see part of London. Now I have never done this attraction before but it is something on my list to do.
I was standing on the pier when I took this photo, I mean I maybe not the only one that thinks this but don’t you think it sticks out a bit?? It also makes a good centre subject for the photo.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

Located on top of the arcade bit of the pier is this sign for Brighton Pier. This lights up at night (which I didn’t capture when we was there). What I love about this photo is that it could also be a Polaroid photo. Using the cinematic preset I wanted to not put too much red into it. It was more of subtile hint of red from the sign but I also made the blue more saturated and lumicance to make it a darker blue.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

Probably one of the most cinematic photos I have taken/edited. Standing on part of the pier and captured the funfair at the end of the pier. The helter skelter was something I wanted to make part of my subject in this photo. When coming to editing this photo I wanted to try and make this as cinematic as possible.
So I started with the preset, then I decided to make the sky a lighter blue but wanted to keep the sea as naturally blue as possible. I wanted to keep the yellow form the massive structure (forgot the ride name) and overall I seem to have captured this cinematic feel on this photo.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

Along the pier there are these telescopes that you can pay to look through (not sure why you have to pay for it) but anyway I wasn’t planning on the seagull to be in this photo but it adds to the photo. The telescope was going to be my subject for this photo and also capturing the length of the beach.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

Getting closer to the fun pair part of the pier. I wanted to capture the small part of the funfair but this includes quite a lot of rides. You can’t really put together how they put all of this heavy rides on-top of this wooden structure. For me the helter skelter always catches my eye in these photos, just because its like pinnacle of fun fairs.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

I didn’t make many photos black and white while I was on this trip, capturing this small boat with passengers going on a little tour around the sea of Brighton.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

Another black and white photos, I don’t think I did many of hint of colour photos from the trip. I wanted to take a this photo of the ride in motion. It stands very tall and it spins around and goes upside down.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

The big rollercoaster located on the pier I just knew I would be taking quite a fair few photos of this ride in motion. One of them which I really liked is this one above. Capturing the cars in the middle of the loop that is on the ride. This was going to be my subject for the photo but also having the name of the ride.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

Another photo that I liked from the ride is the cars in mid loop. I set the setting to shoot multiple photo at a higher shutter speed and that is how this photo came about. When I came to editing this photo I wanted to make the yellow pop more and the track which is a lighter blue to make it pop too.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

Making our way off the pier we was going to head to sit on the beach for a bit with an ice cream. Before we headed down I wanted to capture the big sign on the pier but on the other side. This time I wanted to make this in black and white as well.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

The sun was setting on a great day. The group of us was sitting down on the beach and I noticed to the left of me was the end of the pier with the rides. I think at this time of the day the rides had now closed so the tall ride was in its home position, you can see how tall it is and how far from the ground you are. The sunset colours was something I was going to utilise for post production in the editing process. Brining more of the orange colour and blueness from the sea.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

This would probably be one of my top 20 favourite pictures i’ve ever taken. Capturing most of the pier in the evening sunset light, the orange sky from the right hand side was slowly sinking away. The tall ride really stands out in the picture as you cannot miss it.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

Here is more wider angle photo of the pier, I think I did take my 16-35mm lens to capture wide angle photos. If I had a tripod I would have attempted to do a long exposure photo. I have never attempted to do them because I usually screw them up.
When I came to editing the photo I wanted to really highlight the orange/blueness of the sky that also reflected off the surface on the water.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

This was me after I went into the sea. I went in the water with my trousers on (as I didn’t have swim shorts) I wanted to do a arty short with featuring my legs and shoes with the pier in the background.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

This was probably better the better photo of the two as I captured the pier in this photo. I think I set the aperture to ƒ4.0 and captured my shoes to be in focus and have the pier a bit more blurry.
**Date-3rd August 2021**

The evening sunlight was slowly going down but really brought out the orange in the sky. The sky was absolutely incredible the waviness, smooth clouds brought this photo together. Again if I could retake this photo in a long exposure then I would have done (you never know what could happen).
**Date-3rd August 2021**

Last day of the trip we went for a walk through the famous lanes. While Stuart and Macy went into a rubber duck store I noticed that there was this Spanish restaurant being laid for lunch time. I really liked the composition of this photo which includes the table outside the front.
**Date-4th August 2021**

A daylight shot of the end of the pier (yes this will be the last picture of the pier). The sea looked even more blue today and wanted to capture the smoothness of the sea because it looked quite smooth because there was no wind.
**Date-4th August 2021**

I noticed a speedboat zooming I think from the RNLI service. I was trying to capture the boat to be in the centre but was quite close with it. The sea was so blue on the day it didn’t feel like we was in the United Kingdom. I may edit this photo again so that the blueness of the sky goes all the way down to the sea instead of having a bit in the middle which is white. You may not be able to see it but in the distance you can see the wind farm in the middle of the sea.
**Date-4th August 2021**

Just like that it was the end of the fun Brighton trip. I then got the train home back to London and went through all the photos. I think I took just shy of 1,000 photos but ended up with less than that. Like with all my photos I back them up on a few external hard drives so if I lose it on one then I have it backed up on another plus I have it backed up to the iCloud.

At the end of August I took my first London trip of the year, I went during a bank holiday where the rules of lockdown were starting to lift even more. This time London was still quiet but wasn’t as quiet as 2020 trip. I remember walking around the capital and also the City of London being absolute dead. This made it perfect for photos as there wasn’t many people around so quite a few photos had no one in them as you will now see…

I was trying out a new camera which was an older camera, the Canon 1Ds Mark lll, this was my first time using a full frame camera which allows more in the photo. I was also using the 50mm ƒ1.8 which was a lens I had for a while but have never really used it.

Pre warning there will be quite a fair few London photos coming up

Starting off with this he batch of London photos with once again the iconic Palace of Westminster & Big Ben. The day was very cloudy which made it for more moody photos. I was shooting in manual mode the whole day which was something I have never really done. So I was setting the aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Overall I took just around 1,500 and then was of 2022 I re-edited these all and came out with 475 photos which I really liked.
**Date-30th August 2021**

I swear that the River Thames changes colour of the water most times I visit London. This time the river looked quite brown while I walked along with it. Charing Cross station is a major London terminal station. On each side of Charing cross bridge station is Hungerford Bridge or more known as the Golden Jubilee Bridge.
**Date-30th August 2021**

In the distance you see the iconic dome of St Pauls Cathedral (which I may or may not end up later on).
**Date-30th August 2021**

A black and white landscape photo of the cranes on the river with St Pauls in the background. The cranes on the river are there to help move cargo or items that have been brought in by sea.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Along the Southbank there is this old route master bus which sells frozen yogurt (not like you can see the name on the bus) I had a couple of pictures of this bus but this one I preferred because the runner made for good composition with the bus in the background. I remember playing around with the colour and was very close to changing this bus to pink.
**Date-30th August 2021**

The famous OXO tower where there is a restaurant at the top just below the XOX tower (picture above). The variety of of colours from the brown of the building and with a deep blue of the building behind the XOX tower.
**Date-30th August 2021**

As the tide was out I could make my way down onto the small beach by the Thames. I saw a great opportunity for a photo, there was this small boardwalk just above the beach so I went between the wooden stumps to capture this photo of St Pauls between the stumps.
**Date-30th August 2021**

One of my favourite photos on the day, another one where I captured through the wooden stumps. This is part of the City of London (Financal district)
**Date-30th August 2021**

Heading down more of the Southbank towards the Millennium Bridge. I was under Blackfriars train bridge when I took this photo. I wanted to capture a landscape photo of the main buildings in the City of London.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Before I went to London I did some research on good places to capture photos while I was there. One place I really wanted to go was to go on the Millennium Bridge and capture a photo towards St Pauls. I have seen many photos of this online and wanted to capture my own ones.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Before making your way onto the main part of the bridge you walk up a small pathway. I stopped and looked towards St Pauls, the mixture of colours from peoples clothing and the light blueness of the glass brings more of the photo together.
**Date-30th August 2021**

A more cinematic photo of St Pauls cathedral. I stood in the middle of the bridge and captured all the way down the middle. I love how I captured the structure of the metal work along the side that leads toward St Pauls.
**Date-30th August 2021**

A very special place in history, this pub (The Anchor) was where my mum and dad had there first ever date together. We plan on going here as a family to have a bite to eat. I had to take picture of this because it a happy memory. Capturing the logo of the pub with the blurriness of the Shard in the background.
**Date-30th August 2021**

The Shard standing tall and is London’s tallest building plus one of the tallest buildings in Europe.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Capturing the Shard through the leaves, took me a couple of attempts to make sure that the Shard was in focus and the leaves we're blurry.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Hello again, once again we are back in this position looking down towards Tower Bridge. I think this will be one of my favourite position to take photos. I always come back to this spot most times I go to London.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Tower of London standing tall, I wanted to capture this landmark in landscape to get as much in this photo. This was one photo where a long exposure would have made this photo very different but I liked ow the tower is in the centre of the frame.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Along the Southbank close to Tower Bridge you have these lights and I wanted to capture the light in the foreground while the two towers in the back. What I wanted to capture was the light looking like it was in the middle of the bridge (which came out that way).
**Date-30th August 2021**

Tower Bridge is one of London’s beautiful landmarks and you don’t find a bridge like this in the world. I wanted to photograph another landscape shot but this time of the bridge in all its glory and in black and white.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Getting up and close to this beauty, capturing the tower for a different angle but still making sure I have both towers in shot and in frame. Making sure I kept the saturation of the goldenness and blueness of the bridge.
**Date-30th August 2021**

The architecture of this beautiful bridge is something to be desired. Tower Bridge was built in 1886 and was the first bridge to have two standing towers.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Walking across the the bridge looking towards the City of London you can see the vast range of tall buildings. London isn’t known for its tall skyscrapers but most of them are in one area which is located in the 1 mile City of London.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Facing the other way you have the tallest skyscraper, The Shard and the assembly building where The Mayor of London works and holds meetings. I wanted to make the buildings glass more of a deeper blue to get that cinematic look in the city.
**Date-30th August 2021**

The iconic Cheese-grater building in the financial district in the City of London.
**Date-30th August 2021**

This was all in one photo combining a few building to make it look like its all merged into one. I stood in one place and captured through the middle to get this pretty cool photo.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Some of the detail architecture located at this building just next to the Cheese-Greater. It looks very industrial around this building. There was some construction work going on which is why you can see just left of the photo a lift going up.
**Date-30th August 2021**

The famous China Town located just off Leicester Square. One of a beautiful parts of the city to go and explore this place. There are a few cities that have this district as well like one in New York. I wanted to capture the redness of all the lamps above and the signs located on the streets.
**Date-30th August 2021**

A close up shot of the red lamps in China Town. You can see the detail that are on the lamps located above the street and just behind is a clock (which I don’t think was the right time).
**Date-30th August 2021**

Hint of colour is back and this time we have the beautiful Route-master bus but just not any Route-master bus. This is an afternoon tea while you get driven around the city.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Another hint of colour is the oldest underground system in the world and its iconic round logo. I knew that there was going to be a few photos that were going to have this came edit.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Capturing the curvature of Regents Street and the beautiful buildings which line the road on the shopping district of London.
**Date-30th August 2021**

The London red bus is very recognisable around the city and in the United Kingdom. You can always catch one as they run very frequently. I wanted to just highlight the bus in colour and everything else in black and white.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Alongside the iconic London red bus we have the black taxi cab which you cannot miss around the city. This photo I did edit in black and white but I changed it so I added a hint of colour (yellow) which was located on the banner of the taxi cab.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Worlds famous Hamley’s Toy Store located on Regents street. The store is split over many floors with a basement floor and the store covers all ages for children and adults as well because all adults have a inner child in them.
**Date-30th August 2021**

A close up shot of the Underground logo. Its a simplistic design but easy to spot while you are roaming the city.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Wellington Arch just located off Hyde Park and leading up to Green Park/St James Park. A lot of people get this confused with Marble Arch which I did also when I was younger. This arch did play a big part in a big event that happened in 2022 (which I will talk about in the part).
**Date-30th August 2021**

The Queens guards protecting the royal palace. Buckingham Palace has housed Queen Elizebeth ll for over 65 years. Everyday guards will stand outside the palace and have ther’re duties if anything was going to happen at the gates.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Walking around the front of the palace and capturing the beautiful lamps located outside of the palace. The detail that went into building this beautiful palace is insane.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Walking back down the Mall and looking back towards the palace. I wanted to capture the monument in-front of Buckingham Palace. The golden statue at the top is what sticks out in this photo. When I came to edit this photo I wanted to try and make the statue more golden.
**Date-30th August 2021**

This was probably one of my favourite hint of colour photos I have ever edited. I just knew when I took this photo and looked at it I took out all the colour expect the redness from the flowers and this is how this photo came about.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Capturing the full beautiful Buckingham Palace in all its glory. I think next time if I was going to attempt to take this photo I will be more centred so I am inline with the statue.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Walking through St James Park and looking across the small lake in the park I saw the top of the London Eye. I wanted to combine the trees and the buildings in the background and the result came out quite well.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Looking the other way I captured another photo across the lake just appearing between the trees you can see Buckingham Palace. Something I noticed when I came to re-editing this photo was that I also captured the statue between the trees.
**Date-30th August 2021**

I never tend to get off at St James Park underground station but I will always take an opportunity to capture anything London Underground related.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Making my way to the beautiful Westminster Abbey. I came across the iconic telephone box so I got up close to it to make this more the foreground part of the photo while having the two towers of Westminster Abby in. the background. I may come back to the photo and try a ‘hint of colour’ and see if it hits different.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Westminster Abbey has held many ceremonies such as royal weddings with one of the more recent ones such as Prince William and Kate Middleton. It is a recognisable abbey with its two towers, one of the towers has a clock and when I came to editing this I wanted to highlight more of the colour of the clock in a yellow golden colour.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Making my way into Parliament square capturing the tower at the Palace of Westminster. This tower just popping out of the building while flying the Union Flag (looking very patriotic). Also the newer London bus adds to what London is all about, mixture of transport around the city and flying our flag high.
**Date-30th August 2021**

A place I haven’t been to for a long long time was Canary Wharf. I have seen some places to capture some truly awesome photos so I wanted to make my way over there. When I got off the underground I wanted to get a more side on picture of logo and name of the station.
Little fun fact- Canary Wharf was the filming location for the Star Wars film Rouge One. If you have watched it go back and watch the scenes in Scariff inside the building and you can see snippets from the underground station.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Standing on the escalator making my way out of the station I wanted to capture looking upwards. There was this woman in a yellow coat, when I came to editing this photo I added the cinematic preset and created this more moody type style of photo.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Looking back on the station I caught in my eye a Santander bike (or Boris bike as we know it) I just knew that I wanted to make the bike in focus. I was using my 50mm ƒ1.8 which causes a lot of bokeh in the background making a sharper foreground.
**Date-30th August 2021**

I always find Canary Wharf very fascinating and a great place to walk around. This building above is Canary Wharf tower. It used to be the tallest building in London.
**Date-30th August 2021**

This archway is a DLR (Docklands Light Railway) station. Very cool in my honest opinion. You have buildings left and right of it and the station in the middle.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Capturing a wider angle of the taller buildings in Canary Wharf. With it being a gloomy cloudy day there wasn’t much colour about. The Citi building has a red logo to it so I wanted to try and make it right red as possible.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Making my way out of Canary Wharf I came up to the River Thames. In-front of me was one of the speed boats that you can do which take you rocketing up the Thames. I caught the speedboat in action back down the river.
**Date-30th August 2021**

I had no idea how to get out of Canary Wharf, I just kept on walking and while I was walking I realised that the roads were quite quiet.
What I like about this photo is the composition of where everything is. From the road leading up to the tall building that is in the centre of the picture.
**Date-30th August 2021**

I found my way to a DLR station I think it was Limehouse station. I wanted to capture the transport that London is known for and this being one of them.
**Date-30th August 2021**

The United Kingdom is home to the famous Wetherspoons. There are many many of these that you will find around the country. Sometimes the Wetherpsoons can be very pretty outside like this one above at Tower Hill. The mix between the flowers and wooden door always makes it a nice feeling outside of the pub. I wanted to capture the beauty of it and luckily there was this one gentleman waiting at the lights so he was going to be my subject in the photo.
**Date-30th August 2021**

This is Monument, it is a significant place of London as this is where the Great Fire of London started. The fire started in 1666 in Pudding Lane. It stands very tall and I wanted to focus more on the top of the monument while adding some vignetting in there to make part of the image darker on the edges.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Seeing a small collection of underground photos (which I do tend to take a lot of pictures of) here we see the National Rail logo. This is the logo you’ll find all around the United Kingdom.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Another location I went to was Bank. This is the home of the Bank of England (where a lot of gold is kept). Once again an underground picture is taken but this time one of the entrance of Bank Underground station. Capture the whiteness of the building and pavements plus the redness of the underground logo.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Yes St Pauls was going to feature in this blog of course. I knew I wanted to visit this iconic landmark. I went to the newer shopping centre that is opposite St Pauls and there is a good spot which I have seen and watched to capture for myself.
**Date-30th August 2021**

I used the reflection of the glass to capture St Pauls. To have half of it in the glass and half of it not in the glass. I like this photo but I do think I could improve this shot a bit more.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Another one of my favourite photos from the trip is this street leading up to St Pauls. Capturing the shops and pubs to the left and right while also making St Pauls in the centre of the photo. The people walking the street also add to this photo too.
**Date-30th August 2021**

This here is the dragon that symbolises the start of the City of London.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Now this is a photo I always come back to when I think about London. This not just being my favourite photo of the trip but actually being my second favourite photo of all time. I just love the look of this photo. Making the underground logo in focus and capturing the station name too underneath. Brining in more satiation and vibrance into it while also capturing the dark reds of the brickwork on the station.
If I say London or London Underground I always come back to this photo. I remember when I took this photo before I edited it that I knew this would come out well and when I edited it came out even better.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Another one of my top 20 favourites photos of all time. Covent Garden is a beautiful place to shop around or grab a bite to eat. While I was walking through the middle of the shopping area I came across this cart with beautiful flowers in it. I stood in the middle and focused on the cart while having the bokeh effect in the background.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Neon lighting and window refections are a good photo opportunity. Maxwell is somewhere I would recommend as it has really good food and drinks. I loved capturing the neon lighting of Maxwell logo.
**Date-30th August 2021**

The Lyceum Theatre is home to The Lion King stage show. This is my favourite stage show of all time. As a huge Disney fan this show always has a special place in my heart. Having the line of bikes in the foreground while the beauty of greek architecture pillars in the background.
**Date-30th August 2021**

The Waldorf Hotel is a very famous luxurious hotel in London. I have been very lucky to have stayed here for a night. Capturing the outside of the hotels architecture which you’ll tend to find it being very luxury.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Capturing the Shard between the railings to make it the centre subject of this photo. The gloomy clouds make the Shard stick out a little bit more. Adding a hint more blue to the Shard while also darkening the lower part of the photo.
**Date-30th August 2021**

London Waterloo like most London train stations always have a big clock hanging somewhere. Mixing the train stations architecture structure and the clock works well with making this look more of a industrial than a train station.
**Date-30th August 2021**

Located near Bank I stood on a traffic light island to capture this photo. What I like about this photo is that the buildings behind stand tall, especially in the black and white setting mixes well together.
**Date-30th August 2021**

I would say that we are going to move onto somewhere new but actually we will be sticking with the London theme as in the month of September I headed to London with a friend from work. We share the same passion for the London Underground and London too. We went for a fun walk around the city in the September sun. You may or may not see some similar photo locations as the ones above. One of the big differences is that the sunshine was out so I caught some good photos with the blue sky in the background.

Starting off with the walk with the famous London Eye. Capturing the full eye while having the surrounding areas below such as the trees. The trees wernt’t actually orangey/brown, that was down to the cinematic preset that I was using. The mixture of the blue sky and orange trees mix well together to make it look a bit more cinematic.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

The scaffolding around Big Ben was still up but it was slowly being taken down to show all its glory in gold. It was exciting to see the top of tower coming back out and capturing its progression as it nears to complete status.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

Walking across Charing Cross bridge towards Trafalgar Square. The shadows from the railings with the pure whiteness of the structure of the bridge and the composition mix all well to produce a good London photo.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

The hint of colour is back with the London Underground logo, this time capturing in a landscape mode with the name of the tube station. This was located in Trafalgar Square but interesting fact that it doesn’t have an Underground station it links into Charing Cross. Editing this so I would make the redness of the logo the main focus for this photo.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

I feel like when it comes to London photography I know that I never get bored of taking pictures of the Underground logo. I love this one because it is bold colourful and captures how recognisable the logo is in London. This was the Underground station at Covent Garden like most stations they all have the modern design but the buildings are usually from when they were first built.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

Making our way down towards St Pauls I stopped and looked down the busy street and captured this photo. The composition of the London red bus and St Pauls rising above in the background. The shadows from below at street level and as you get higher it gets brighter.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

At St Pauls underground station I have never taken any photo while i’ve waited for the underground and this was my opportunity to do just that. The central line is what runs through St Pauls and I wanted to capture the the train coming out of the tunnel.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

We made our way to the Emirates Air Line Cable Car as my friend had never been on it, so I took him on it. We made our way from the o2 to Royal Victoria.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

Making our decent into Royal Victoria I captured the east end of the city which includes Canary Wharf and you can see the white dome to the left which the o2 dome which holds many events such as music concerts and you can sometimes find sporting events too. What I liked when I captured this photo is the thames clipper in the middle of the river making its way to the next passenger dock.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

Looking up at the cabbed car as they ascend and descend into the station. I wanted to capture the movement of the many cable cars along the path. Just seeing how tall it is compared to the people on the ground is always quite interesting.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

The DLR logo is slightly different to the Underground logo, yes it is under the TFL system but it has its own logo which seen above. The light blue logo is also recognisable too. The logo in this photo looks bold against the blue sky.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

While waiting for the DLR to take us to Canning Town station. I wanted to capture the east side of the city and in this photo you can see a lot happening, the electricity pylons over the tracks heading towards Canary Wharf giving power to the residents in this part of the city. The high rise buildings that are being built all the time around London.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

Located in Oxford Circus (yes we did get around a lot on our trip) taking yet another picture of the Underground logo. The colours of the buildings in this photo reminds me of the building work in Paris.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

“He’s a silent guardian, a watchful protector, A Dark Knight” Yes you are seeing Batman himself on top of the Odeon cinema. They have a few statues located in Leicester Square and this one for me is my favourite as Batman is my favourite comic book character. This photo was always going to be edited into black and white.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

The National Gallery located in Trafalgar Square connected with it as well is the National Portrait Gallery. I have only ever visited this gallery once. The September sunlight and blue sky mix well to produce a nice sunset shot in the square.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

One of my favourite photos from the day is this one here, located still in Trafalgar Square looking up at Nelson Column with one of the beautiful fountains on the pool. What I like about this photo is the dark shows on the bottom plus the sun light is on the fountain. The column against the backdrop of the sky makes the column look more like a silhouette.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

I think in the 8 odd years I have been doing photography and doesn’t matter how many times I take a picture of this logo I will always find a different angle of how I can take a picture of the underground logo. I think the logo in itself is probably the most photographed thing I do take a picture of.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

Walking through the archways at Trafalgar Square and heading down the Mall. These archways have been important for many ceremony occasions especially with the royal family.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

The difference between this photo and the one from August is that you can tell it has been sunny. I wanted to make this a hint of colour which luckily the flowers were red at this time of the year. They were going to be the focus in this photo.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

Standing to attention and guarding the palace. This iconic soldiers are the closest to the queen. If you are lucky you can witness ‘changing of the guard’. I think I have a more recent edit (2022) where I do make it a ‘hint of colour’
**Date-22nd September 2021**

The patriotic flag flys above the palace. This isn’t the flag that flys when the queen is home. They fly the Union Flag on top of the palace. I wanted to try and capture the flag flying in the breeze (which I did).
**Date-22nd September 2021**

‘hint of colour’ with the telephone box just located near Parliament Square. The isolated telephone box was defiantly going to be my focus in the photo.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

‘We Will Remember Them’ The beauty that is the Cenotaph holding the standard of the different armed forces. If you ever visit London just take a moment and look at this beautiful memorial for the soldiers in all conflicts.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

The sunset/sky was absolutely amazing at this time of the day. There was this waviness from the clouds which kinda gave this long exposure effect (which I think the shutter speed was quite high) I wanted to to bring the sunset light out more in this photo.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

Here is a landscape shot of the beautiful London Eye with the waviness from the cloud line. This is one of the moments where I look back and go I could have tried doing this in long exposure.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

Capturing the lower light of the sun sinking just behind Big Ben. The sunset lighting is just peeping through the scaffolding which you can see the little details in the scaffolding. I wanted to not just make it a picture of Big Ben I wanted to capture some other subjects into the picture luckily a car and motorcyclist came roaring by.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

Probably the best photo of the day on this trip, located on the Southbank heading towards the London Eye I wanted to capture a landscape photo of Westminster Bridge and The Palace of Westminster. The sunset light was just perfect, the orange light powered over the blue sky. The sunlight was hitting Big Ben so that made it definitely more of the subject in the photo.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

I love a wider angle shot and I don’t take many of them nowadays but I will definitely do more. What I like about this photo in particular is the vast scale of the London Eye and I can’t get over how perfect the blue sky was at the time of the day. I mean I didn’t edit the sky too much I think I may have made it a tad darker.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

While walking along the Southbank the blue sky and waviness of the clouds stayed with us for a bit which was just perfect. Having the City of London buildings are the subject with against the backdrop of sky. The reflection of one of the buildings actually stood out more in this photo.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

Of course I was going to and stand in one of my favourite places in the city which is on the Millennium Bridge and looking down towards St Pauls Cathedral. The guy in the orange t-shirt actually asked for a photo first with his phone and when I finished i captured the guy while he was on his bike (this was not set up at all) he was always going to be my subject but this photo could have turned out very differently if he decided to leave. I think I had an edit where I used ‘hint of colour’ and made the guy on the bike as the one in colour.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

We started to lose the orange light sadly, it started to get darker but on the plus side the lights around the city were coming on slowly. This is the bridge that leads to Canon Street station. Capturing in a landscape shot I wanted to get as much into this photo with the high rise buildings rising above the smaller building in-front plus the colourful Canon Street bridge.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

Zooming into the top of the Shard the top always lights up at night. During 2020 and part of 2021 the top lit up in blue to show support of the NHS. I think the coloured version wasn’t as good as when I looked this photo in black and white. The top of the Shard was going to be my focus point and it looks like a bacon of light for London.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

We’ve come to the last London photo of the trip and we finish with the Tower of London. We are now in darkness and like I have said before nighttime photography was my main improvement point that I was going to improve over the next many months. This was another one where I actually took quite a decent nighttime shot. I think what helped was using a flat surface so I wouldn’t get any blur just incase I was using a slower shutter speed. I knew I wanted to make this stand out in the photo in the post production side of it. To make it darker around the tower and to highlight more of the tower.
**Date-22nd September 2021**

We roll onto the month of October, Dan and I took a trip to Cambridge and Imperial War Museum Duxford for a few days. One of the days we went into the city of Cambridge and the other day we spent at RAF Duxford. I have never visited the city before but I have been to Duxford a couple of times with family.

Dan and I just walked around the city just to see what was what. I will say it was a beautiful city and if you don’t know Cambridge is known for its famous university’s which we looked around while we was there. I saw this side street while we was walking around and captured this photo with a single push bike and a gentleman enjoying his coffee in the morning.
**Date- 9th October 2021**

We walked pasted a museum called the Fitzgerald museum, we had no idea what was inside it but we thought hey why won’t we give it a try. Inside was history about Cambridge over the many centuries. I captured this photo before we headed up to the art gallery section of the museum and I like this photo for its glass window and the one subject in the photo with the reflection off the wall.
**Date- 9th October 2021**

There was this ferris wheel in the middle of the park in Cambridge which felt a bit out of place I cannot lie. When we exited the park I look through the gap between the trees and saw I lined up the ferris wheel in the middle. I wanted to capture the bike in the foreground as the subject while have the ferris wheel in the background.
**Date- 9th October 2021**

Another good composition shot is this one here, the older gentlemen was reading the newspaper and I wanted to make him the subject of my photo.
**Date- 9th October 2021**

No this isn’t Hogwarts this is actually the university that Sir Issac Newton went to. it felt really cool to walk around this university, even though I didn’t go to university I just felt smart walking around this part. It was very well kept and beautify to walk around.
**Date- 9th October 2021**

Punting is a big thing in Cambridge and we jokily said its one way for students to get a job to pay off there university debt. We didn’t do it as it was quite expensive but we enjoyed watching them going up and down the river.
**Date- 9th October 2021**

Having the small wooden bridge as the centre piece in this photo defiantly brings it together. The small punting boats lining the river and the mixing of the colour of the trees and the punting boats.
**Date- 9th October 2021**

A photo that I have always wanted to capture ever since I saw this similar phot on Instagram and Pinterest. The famous Kings College Chapel that is along side Kings College. It is used for many ceremonies such as graduations. I knew that this was the spot as there was a few other people standing in the same spot to capture this image.
**Date- 9th October 2021**

The next day we made our way to foggy Duxford. Outside any military museum or RAF base you will find an aircraft of some-type. This is the Hawker Hurricane that fought in the famous air warfare the Battle of Britain. Everyone thinks that the Super-marine Spitfire won the Battle of Britain but actually the Hawker Hurricane was the workhorse of the battle.
**Date- 10th October 2021**

The museum didn’t open until 10:00 so we waited around for a bit and while was waiting I saw through the fence line a B-17 which there is only one flying in the world. This edit felt more like back in time mode where it feels like wartime Britain.
**Date- 10th October 2021**

Getting closer to the famous Sally B, I am very lucky to have witnessed this aircraft fly at the Farnborough Air Show and as a sati aircraft at RIAT. The iconic green of the aircraft with the hints of yellow on the engines makes it a proper looking 1940s aircraft.
**Date- 10th October 2021**

Outside of the American section of the museum (there are many hangers on the base) there is memorial of how many United States aircraft were shot down during World War ll.
**Date- 10th October 2021**

British Airways is a very iconic airline in the airline industry and being around for over 100 years it has gone through some livery changes overtime. The furthest one the oldest one which is BOAC (British Overseas Air Corporation) after we have BEA (British European Airways) and then we have the nearest one British Airways which was one of the liveries they had in the last 40 years.
**Date- 10th October 2021**

Cinematic looks was something I wanted to capture and edit in these photos while at Duxford. This one being taken from the back of the Supermarine Spitfire. Having the mixture of brown and dark green camouflage off the aircraft with a small hint of blue and red off the tail.
**Date- 10th October 2021**

Capturing a wild Dan looking at his dream aircraft.
**Date- 10th October 2021**

Another cinematic look but this time in the hanger. When I look at this I always get the film Dunkirk in my mind with this edit. I think it’s because they use some of the same colours. I wanted to focus on the tail of the Spitfire.
**Date- 10th October 2021**

Doesn’t matter how many times you look at this aircraft you can’t deny how beautiful it actually is. The shape of it is very unique and seeing it fly is such a treat. They were preparing the aircraft for a flight for one lucky person.
**Date- 10th October 2021**

Black and white and a World War ll aircraft mixes so well. Back in 1940s they didn’t have cameras with colour so this has a feeling of back in time.
**Date- 10th October 2021**

The clouds were slowly breaking away with the sunlight just appearing through the clouds. What I really like is the gloomy skies to the left and right and in the far distance but you have this small burst of sunlight just coming through, with the aircrafts on the ground makes it look like they have been grounded due t the weather.
**Date- 10th October 2021**

One of my top 20 photos of all time is this one here, the Spitfire was nearly ready to fly. The sunlight was now coming thought he clouds and landing on the aircraft which made it perfect for a photo opportunity. I took it from behind the aircraft as I thought this would be better than side on. You can see the shape of it and how streamlined it is as well.
**Date- 10th October 2021**

A closer up shot of the exhaust and the propeller of the Spitfire but if you also look closely you can see the helmet on top of the aircraft.
**Date- 10th October 2021**

While the spitfire was gearing up and ready to taxi there was another aircraft taking off in the background and I captured it at the right time so that the aircraft would be in the photo just above the spitfire.
**Date- 10th October 2021**

A closer up photo of Sally B (B-17) and yes you can see the logo on the side of the aircraft. Back in the day they would decorate the aircraft with something like that.
**Date- 10th October 2021**

The iconic fuselage of this very famous passenger jet which changed the airline industry forever. Concorde was very ahead of its time with is huge jet engines at the back of the aircraft and hitting speeds that couldn’t be pictured by anyone. You could get from London to New York in just under 3 hours (which is insane)
**Date- 10th October 2021**

The Spitfire was now up in the air and I caught it while it was flying just above the end hanger. You can tell when it is in the air due to its iconic merlin engine. When I came to editing this I stuck with the same format to making it a panoramic style photo.
**Date- 10th October 2021**

We are now heading into the month of November and this was the last time I was heading to London this year. I think most of this blog part has been about London but get ready for 2022 you may get tired of London. I went to London with a few friends from work to go and see the Christmas lights along Regents Street. This was going to be a good test for nighttime phototherapy and lighten around me especially in the built up areas.

Waiting for my friends to arrive I met them at London Paddington train station. The station is one of the most beautiful train stations in London with the structure of the station.
**Date-November 20th 2021**

The Bakerloo underground being one of the warmest underground on the system. We was making our way to Oxford Circus to head to the Disney Store. I had a colour version of this but I preferred the black and white version of this photo. I have noticed that the photo is a tad blurry but there are still some sharp parts.
**Date-November 20th 2021**

We made our way to the Disney Shop and it is directly opposite Bond Street Underground station. Making this a ‘hint of colour’ photo with the red and blue. I wanted to make the red vibrant as much as I could.
**Date-November 20th 2021**

We then headed over to Stratford to go and find a candle for one of my friends as we couldn’t find a Yankee Candle anywhere in the centre. While waiting for the next train I took the opportunity to capture the station name in the logo. I wanted to make this ‘A hint of colour’ photo.
**Date-November 20th 2021**

I departed my friends and went for a little walk on my own (as I know they wouldn’t want to do the walk I do). I walked down the middle of Regents Street and above was the Christmas angels which have been the same for quite a few years. I wanted to try and capture the full angle of the angel.
**Date-November 20th 2021**

Another wider angle photo of the angels with the bright yellow colours all around making it feel warm during the cold season.
**Date-November 20th 2021**

A landscape photo of some of the angels down the street. The lights move up and down to make it look like the angel is flying (it is quite difficult to capture that motion)
**Date-November 20th 2021**

While walking into Piccadilly Circus I caught this photo opportunity where I captured the name of the station while no one was entering. It had this black and white movie vibe when I came to editing this photo. Added a bit more highlight to the name of the station.
**Date-November 20th 2021**

I wanted to make this ‘A hint of colour’ but in a different way this time. I wanted to just highlight all the red in the area which included the Underground logo, the London red bus and people who was wearing any red coats.
**Date-November 20th 2021**

The Dark Knight keeping an eye over the city at night.
**Date-November 20th 2021**

Capturing the crowds at Leicester Square as the leave the underground station and heading into the heart of London’s nightlife.
**Date-November 20th 2021**

Probably one of the best Christmas trees in London which is located in Covent Garden. I love how I captured the full scale of the tree and the couple below smiling at each other during this festive time of year.
**Date-November 20th 2021**

One of my favourite nighttime photos which is located at the famous Savoy hotel. When I came to edit this photo I wanted to add a bit more purple lighting to the picture and it mixes well with the green name of the hotel. If I think about nighttime photography in London i think about this photo.
**Date-November 20th 2021**

I made my way down to the riverside and captured the beauty that is the London Eye all lit up in the Lastminuet.com colours which is a lovely pink colour.
**Date-November 20th 2021**

A wider angle photo of the London Eye and County Hall. The mixture of colours against the nighttime sky from the pink of the Eye and the blue and greens from County Hall.
**Date-November 20th 2021**

I love this photo capturing a different angle of the London Eye and County Hall. This is another one of those nighttime photos where I would love to re-take it in a long exposure to capture more of smoothness of the river while highlighting the colours around.
**Date-November 20th 2021**

While walking down the SouthBank towards the London Eye I changed lens to the 16-35mm lens so I could capture a wide angle of the eye. This show how tall it stands and I love how the pink blends well with nighttime sky.
**Date-November 20th 2021**

Well, well, well ladies and gentlemen we now come to the end of part 6, this has been a lengthy part and it is only going to get bigger form here. Part 7 will be about 2022 bit I may have to split that into a few parts because I have taken quite a lot of photos (especially in London) I will evaluate how things go when I write the next part.

Thank you everyone for supporting the website over the last few months and reading this blog posts. It is a small stepping stone for me and I would rather it grow slowly then rapidly grow. I am excited to write about the next few parts coming up and I can’t wait for you to read them.

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Adam Hurley

How did it begin part 6?

How did it begin part 7.1?

How did it begin part 5?

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