What happened in 2023?? Part II
Welcome back to the second part of what happened in the year 2023. In this part we will cover visiting the seaside, the sad death of my camera and learnt a life lesson, re-visiting a favourite European city/new place as well, visiting London a couple more times in the year and a sprinkle of more nature pictures.
Sunny day at the coast
We start in the month of July where I took a trip down to the south coast to celebrate my brothers birthday. We headed down to the lovely town of Portsmouth for the afternoon/evening. I took my 24-105mm lens and for me this was one of the one of my best photography sessions I did in 2023 and probably one of my favourite i’ve ever done. It was a beautiful sunny day with the water in the marina being very blue and calm. I was able to capture a beautiful sunset behind the Spinnaker Tower alongside some long exposure photos.
Located close to the D-Day museum was this old fort located on the sea front. By the fort was this disused lighthouse which during the 20th century was used during world war ll. I never decided to do two versions of this edit because the black and white one was the one that caught my eye straight away.
Date-7th July 2023
This was one of my favourite photos of 2023 and was a contender to be put in my top 25 favourite photos of all time but there was a couple of other photos in this shoot which claimed it.
Date-7th June 2023
Date-7th July 2023
Located along the sea front you can catch a fast hover craft which takes you from Southsea to the Isle of Wight in a very quick time. The Isle of Wight is a beautiful island to visit and would highly recommend visiting it either for the day or for a couple of days.
Date-7th July 2023
The walk between Southsea and the main city centre of Portsmouth was really lovely especially in the sunny weather. The sky was very blue which made certain photos pop such as this one above. The Spinnaker Towers which colour against the blue back drop really combines very well. On the right hand side you can see some people sitting on the bench.
Date-7th July 2023
Date-7th July 2023
Date-7th July 2023
This was a photo even before the edit I was like wow I love how this looked already. The edit made this photo even better. There is this nice walkway which goes passed this really peaceful marina close to Gunwharf Quays. The water was so blue and so calm, later on that day the tide went out so the water was a lot lower. I decided to get a bit lower and capture through the fence gape towards the marina.
Date-7th July 2023
Seeing how they store the smaller boats if they aren’t using them on the water, it’s quite like a multi-story car park for boats. Just peaking behind the boat is the Spinnaker Tower with the beautiful blue backdrop. I will say that this photography session in Portsmouth was one of the most enjoyable shoot and editing session I had for a long time.
Date-7th July 2023
Date-7th July 2023
Another photo that was in the category of favourite of the year and very close in category of favourite photo of all time. This was a really peaceful picture because the waterway was calm leading up. There was this really nice reflection which reflected this main building in the centre of the photo.
Date-7th July 2023
Date-7th July 2023
I was using my favourite Canon 24-105mm to capture these photos. I loved that I was able to capture the full head to toe of the Spinnaker Tower. A lot of my photos can be between landscape and portrait but I noticed I did a lot of landscape style photos. People usually compare the Spinnaker Tower and the Burj Al Arab.
Date-7th July
Later on the evening while my brother and his partner was having a drink I decided to try and capture the sunset which was in a perfect location. Luckily I had my trip-pod with me so I tried doing a long exposure shot and well this was the result… This was a shot that I was blown away with especially because I haven’t really done that many long exposure shots. The colours in this photo was beautiful the blue mixing with the orange and pinky/purple.
Date-7th July 2023
Date-7th July 2023
To finish the day off I took this photo while a couple was looking up at the Spinnaker tower. I did actually stop them after and said I captured them in the photo and offered to send the photo for free.
Date-7th July 2023
Back to the Airshow
Finally July rolled around the corner which means one thing… RIAT. My brother and I were about to head off on our annual trip to RAF Fairford to attend The Royal International Air Tattoo. I was very excited as I was going to use my Sigma 150-600mm lens to hopefully capture the aircraft up close as they display over the weekend.
Sadly the first day was very wet, it just constantly rained but my brother and I ploughed though to a certain point until we decide to call it quits. This was because we got massively soggy and needed to get out of the wet clothes. This is where the problems started to occur. I learnt a very valuable lesson over the weekend and that was to always have a waterproof hood for my camera (which I didn’t). Sadly during one display on the Friday I noticed it started to loose focus and when I got back to the car on further inspection I noticed the glass had fogged up. This had meant water had gotten into the lens and caused it to mist/fog up. As you can imagine I was very stressed as I wanted to use it for the whole weekend.
We travelled back to the hotel and I inspected the lens to see what screws they were and to see if I could open it myself (probably not a good idea). I was panicking around trying to find a specific screw driver (which they didn’t have) but a lady at screw fix suggested to get some rice and soak it in that to see if it helped (It did a little bit but not a lot). At this point I called it quits and had to put it to one side and get it fixed when I was back.
Saturday rolled around which is the busier day of the weekend (it was a sunnier start). We got there early and plopped ourselves ready for the display to start. Luckily I had my trusty 24-105mm ƒ4 with me so I used that to try and capture some of the displays. During one of the Eurofighter Displays I was capturing away and suddenly ‘click’, the camera turns off for no apparent reason. So I changed the battery but the camera came up with error code 20. Me being me I jumped onto google to see what error code 20 meant. It was something to do with the shutter, so it could have been the rain before or maybe it hit a certain point where it would fail.
It was very upsetting as my lens was broken and now my camera stopped working. Yes I do have a lot of myself to blame here because I didn’t prepare properly for the rain. That changed as I got home as I jumped straight onto amazon to get a waterproof cover for the camera.
I decided to take my Canon 6d Mark ii and Sigma 150-600mm lens to Jessops to see what quote I would get to get them fixed. It took a few weeks but I did say to myself I would probably get my lens fixed and get a better camera if the price of fixing the Canon was about the same. The price to fix the Canon was about £550.00 so I decide to recycle it and get myself a better camera which I opted to get the Canon R (Mirrorless) which was my first mirrorless camera.
Anyway getting back to RIAT, I was able to capture a few photos from the couple of days that we was there. I hope that 2024 will be a sunnier one so I can utilise my Sigma lens to its full potential.
The Statics
The day started off wet and was only going to get wetter. It did add some good things to the photo such as having a small reflection on the ground where there water has been. During the time I was walking around taking pictures of the static aircraft I got lower down to capture it more from the ground.
Date-14th July 2023
Date-14th July 2023
An instant add to the category of best photo of 2023 this also got added into the category favourite photo of all time. I really loved the contrast of big and small here, fighter jet vs transport aircraft from the USAF. I remember using the generative fill on photoshop to see if I could fill in the left side of the photo but it didn’t come out well.
Date-14th July 2023
The iconic Chinook Helicopter with its rota blades which makes a good noise when it is in the air and you’ll be able to know what it is by the sound it makes. I remember standing by the rota bald and wanted to create this 3D effect of it looking like its coming out of the picture.
Date-14th July
The mighty Atlas A400 standing proud in the rainy weather. I changed over to the Sigma 150-600mm to try something different and I was closer to the aircraft than you might think. This was the beginning of where things were about to go wrong
Date-14th July 2023
Probably the best paint scheme I have ever seen on a fighter jet aka the Black Jack. This was the second season we was going to see this paint scheme so I was looking forward to seeing it fly (Which didn’t happen on the Friday)
Date-14th July 2023
The Displays (well the ones I captured)
Sometimes in between displays you can have other aircraft land for the event especially if its celebrities or higher up people. The best thing I like about propeller aircraft in the rain is that you can see the water get sprayed up from the tub prop seen above.
Date-14th July 2023
For the first time at RIAT we welcomed the Saudi air force with there display team. Not the ideal weather to be flying in of course but they still put on a good display for the crowd and it was nice to have a new display team at RIAT. All the photos from this day was now shot on my Sigma 150-600mm.
Date-14th July 2023
Date-14th July 2023
Coming in over the crowd the Saudi display team paint there colours of green and white which is found on there flag. The only other display teams which I know that comes over the top of the crowd is the Red Arrows and also the South Korean Air force when they visited in 2023.
Date-14th July 2023
Date-14th July 2023
They also had the colour red which isn’t in thee flag but having the mixture of colours against the grey sky makes it a bit more vibrant and also tries and takes away the horrible rain we was having as well.
Date-14th July 2023
One of the more favourite display items I took while on this wet day. I really love the spray behind the jet as It takes off to start its display. I was shooting at a high shutter speed because I was holding a heavy lens and wouldn’t want any shaky shots so it was nothing above 1/600 shutter speed.
Date-14th July 2023
This makes me excited for 2024 flying season and hopefully the weather being better so I can capture moment like this. Having that 600mm focal length means I can get closer to the action from quite far away. No don’t get me wrong I won’t be shooting 600mm all the time as it’s a lot of weight at the front of the camera.
Date-14th July 2023
Date-14th July 2023
Date-14th July 2023
The beautiful Hawk as it taxis to there stand down the end of the runway as the other hawks follow on behind. They always taxis as a group. They sadly didn’t fly on the Friday but you could meet the pilots at the meet and greet tents which you can visit every year. The banner behind is one of the sponsors of RIAT.
Date-14th July 2023
Date-14th July 2023
The NH-90 under the German Air Force put on a great display in the rain. This would give me a great opportunity to work with a helicopter. Dealing with a longer lens and also a slower shutter speed so I was able to capture the rota blades moving.
Date-14th July 2023
Date-14th July 2023
One of the few favourite shots of the airshow was this one. Capturing the rota blades in action plus seeing the wash come off the blades as it shows off its hovering capability. I love the look with the gloomy grey skies.
Date-14th July 2023
Date-14th July 2023
the Royal Air Force F35 B Lightning ii from the squadron 617 the iconic Dambuster squadron. Located from the RAF base in Marham. This is the leading jet for modern fighter jets at the front line alongside the Eurofighter Typhoon.
Date-14th July 2023
This was the beautiful Danish F-16 Falcon in a gorgeous livery as it takes off to show its display. This was a perfect opportunity to capture this aircraft up close to see the details of the jet. I just know when the 2024 season comes around then I know many more of these photos will be coming around.
Date-14th July 2023
This was the last photo that I took using my Sigma 150-600mm before it got water inside of it as I learnt the very hard way that day. I remember starting to lose auto focus on the aircraft as it was flying around. I was still able to capture this photo of the condensation coming off the aircraft.
Date-14th July 2023
With the Sigma now out of action I luckily had the trusty Canon 24-105mm with me so pictures could still happen during the airshow.
Date-15th July 2023
To start off the new day at the airshow we have the Spanish Air Force and there display team. I have seen this display a couple of times when I come to RIAT. There aircraft are very similar to the RAF Hawks.
Date-15th July 2023
Close call when they do there daring display items such as this one. With precise movement they fly at each other very fast. I was able to get this cool action shot as they approach very close to each other. Now with my 24-105 it was difficult to get up and close but with the crop I was able to keep the sharpness of the image.
Date-15th July 2023
I was using a preset called ‘Dark Cine’ which I really like using for a lot of my photos. These pictures in particular as it makes the sky this really nice brighter blue sky and has this film look to it.
Date-15th July 2023
The Spanish colours of red and yellow and they paint the blue sky to finish there display. They always put on a good display for the crowd and they are a great set of aircraft to capture in the moment.
Date-15th July 2023
The very loud F-18 super Hornet as it departs for its display. This sometimes puts the Eurofighter to shame on the sense of noise. Luckily my brother and I got to the airshow early so I could get closer to the front. This was good so when it came to me editing/cropping the photos I wasn’t too far away from the aircraft.
Date-15th July 2023
Such as sweet little aircraft display and it was one of the last times that this was going to display at an airshow. It was quite a quiet aircraft when it displayed but it was one of the most beautiful ones that we had seen since going to RIAT. I really loved the colours of the aircraft with the green onto and then underneath with blue and yellow of the Swedish Air Force.
Date-15th July 2023
Date-15th July 2023
We was treated to a very unique display item. The joint display has the Harrier and also the F-35 B Lightning flying together. It shows how over the years how technology has changed but also how similar the two aircraft are.
Date-15th July 2023
Date-15th July 2023
Both aircraft then pulled up and then showed what they are known for which is their hovering capability. The Harrier was one of the first aircraft to have this feature, it meant that they could land on aircraft carrier easier than trying to land the conventional way. The F-35 also has the same ability. Both the RAF and Royal Navy use the F-35.
Date-15th July 2023
Date-15th July 2023
Date-15th July 2023
Such a beautiful paint scheme for this aircraft. Having this against the little washed out blue background with that small hint of red on the front part of it. I really wanted to focus on the subject in the photo instead of making the image over saturated.
Date-15th July 2023
The Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team The Red Arrows
Another year watching the amazing Red Arrows as they put on there full display for the 2024 season. Sadly one of the pilots became ill so we only had seven aircraft flying in the display (we thought he was hungover). They approach from behind the crowd and it’s always such a crowd pleaser, it is always a massive highlight to my photos and usually is the display I capture the most of.
Date-15th July 2023
Date-15th July 2023
With the ‘Dark Cine’ preset it really makes certain parts of the image vibrant such as the Red Arrows. With a smaller focal length extending to 105mm and the cropping in post processing I was still able to capture the aircraft as they perform the roll. I wanted to make the Red Arrows more vibrant in the photo such as brining out the reds.
Date-15th July 2023
Date-15th July 2023
I won’t lie it is weird seeing the Red Arrows flying with only seven aircraft instead of the usual nine. I seemed to have washed out the blue background more than I needed to but still I wanted to keep that vibrancy of the Arrows.
Date-15th July 2023
Date-15th July 2023
Love is in the air, two of the Red Arrows flew around in a heart shape to show love towards the crowd and to those families who support the pilots and crew I the Red Arrows as they display for the summer season around the country.
Date-15th July 2023
This was a photo I was quite proud of especially with the smaller lens that I had on me. During the second part of the display two of the Arrows spilt off and show off some very daring moves. Like the Spanish Air Force one we saw above the Red Arrows do the same. My aim was to focus on of the aircraft and luckily it came out like that.
Does anyone else have that worry when they come to looking at there photos that most will come out blurry??
Date-15th July 2023
I still look at this and think is that Aqua-fresh toothpaste… The weather was slowly changing with the cloud brewing to potentially rain again. The grey clouds behind mixed very well with the colours of the smoke from the Red Arrows. I knew when it came to editing that I wanted to really bring out the saturation and vibrance of the aircraft.
Date-15th July 2023
Date-15th July 2023
The iconic finish to the Red Arrow display. They fly back down the runway one last time and then they split off one by one as they land back down. I am looking forward to the 2024 season and hopefully able to capture the Red Arrows up close with the Sigma 150-600mm and also the Canon 70-200mm ƒ2.8
Date-15th July 2023
Moments before it happened
What I didn’t know is that I was in the endgame with these last photos. The last display I was able to capture was the Eurofighter Typhoon from the Italian Air Force. I still think the RAF display is better between the two but always a sight to see and a sound to hear as well.
Date-15th July 2023
Date-15th July 2023
As last photos go with my Canon 6D mark ii it wasn't bad one per say. I really liked the silhouette of the Eurofighter against the grey backdrop. After this moment my camera then came up with Error code 20 which was to do with the shutter and now this could have been due to rain the previous day or it could have had a moment and decided to break.
Date-15th July 2023
Welcome to the family
As I talked about the loss of my Canon 6D Mark ii, I decided to try something new and purchase the Canon R mirrorless camera, I found a bundle which included the adapter that would work with my other lens.
A New Journey with A New Camera
With the recent purchase of the Canon R I was very excited to be trying this out. Where did I go to try it out… yes you guessed it was London. I was heading to London anyway to see a film with my mum. While I was up there I tried out how good the camera is compared to the Canon 6D Mark ii. I will say now it is definitely a lot better than than the 6D.
First outing with the new camera in London, it was something I was slowly going to get used to especially how the view finder is digital which is actually better when setting up the settings right for a photo.
Date-6th August 2023
Date-6th August 2023
Date-6th August 2023
I realised quite early on already how good the autofocus was on this camera especially paired with my trusty 24-105mm lens which doees’t go anywhere without me. Its one of those lenses that I carry with me.
What is a piece of equipment do you not go without??
Date-6th August 2023
Standing along the Southbank and looked over towards the City of London. The 30MP camera censor means I was able to capture more in the image and make it look sharper. This was more of a test shot compared to an actual day in London style photography day. I just wanted to see how well it came out.
Date-6th August 2023
Looking over to the right you will find the famous OXO tower. It is a famous restaurant located along the river Thames.
Date-6th August 2023
Date-6th August 2023
Waking back towards the BFI cinema as that’s where my mum and I were heading I saw a gap where the top of the London Eye was popping out of. I suddenly saw an aircraft heading over the top as it was arriving into London Heathrow Airport.
Date-6th August 2023
After we left the cinema we was walking back towards the London Eye and something caught my eye. I found this pretty cool angle of Embankment bridge/Charing Cross Bridge where people was walking across with the Eye in the background. There was this lady standing on the bridge so I set my auto focus point onto her so she would be the only one in focus and have the eye not in focus. This also has a force on perspective as well to show how small the people are compared to the London Eye.
Date-6th August 2023
Date-6th August 2023
As many people know I do like to find the best angles and locations to find something more unique. I love getting down lower and in-between the railings to then focus on the subject such. Like this one above of Big Ben. The Canon R has more options with auto focus points and I set it to a single focus point so it would only be focusing on Big Ben.
Date-6th August 2023
Let’s Take Another Trip Up
Near the end of August I decided to go back up to London and spend a bit more of time up there with the Canon R and try it around the city. I caught the tube to London Bridge and started there. I used my favourite 24-105mm lens as it’s really good for street photography. This small little walk would take me through the heart of the city.
A favourite location of mine and highly recommend anyone to visit here as well, located between Tower Bridge and London Bridge train station. You can walk down this pathway leading towards Tower Bridge. I have taken this picture a few times but I think I really wanted to nail it this time around.
Date-26th August 2023
Hint of colour is back with the new camera, the famous HMS Belfast docked along the river Thames. I wanted to focus on the colours of the flag and the ships name which was in the same colour (red)
Date-26th August 2023
For the first time in my life I got to see Tower Bridge open. In all the years I have visited London and especially doing photography I have never seen it open. I have only seen it on the TV. This really made me happy as I could capture something I have never captured before.
Date-26th August 2023
Date-26th August 2023
I wanted to try long exposure in the day time. Luckily I had my ND filter which allowed me to capture a photo like this. I set my camera up along the wall as your not allowed to use tripods in this part (for some weird reason and I got told off)
Date-26th August 2023
I quite like a black and white long exposure shot. I am not sure why it appeals to me so much. I always have wanted to get better at doing more long exposure shots in the day time as I have done a few in the nighttime in London.
Date-26th August 2023
Taken inspiration from my favourite photo of all time back in 2022, I wanted to capture a similar photo but in the day. I set the auto focus onto the Tower of London and setting the shutter speed lower to around 30s to really capture the smoothness of the water.
Date-26th August 2023
It did start to rain while I was in London and I laughed at myself and thought ohh no this time keep the camera dry and safe. When the rain started to clear up I then was able to capture again. I do like when there are puddles around as they make for good reflection surfaces.
Date-26th August 2023
Date-26th August 2023
As many of the readers know about me is that I really do like the London Underground Roundel sign. I think every time I do go to London I do take a picture of at least one Underground sign. This was located at Monument underground station.
Date-26th August 2023
Another edit using the ‘hint of colour’. The Underground sign is always a good subject to use when editing these types of style. The ‘hint of colour’ I started for myself a long time ago when I first started to edit. This was located at Bank Underground station at its new opening. I do love a bit of symmetry as well and finding those angles to capture moments like this above…
Date-26th August 2023
I always have seen pictures of this crop up on my instagram and yes in previous years I have visited this spot and tried it for myself but this time around I really felt I connected with the photo after. Having more of the freedom with the auto focus points means I can really focus down on getting those images sharper each time.
Date-26th August 2023
Located in the St Pauls shopping centre which is no new anymore as its been around for a few years, there is a gap which you can stand in that is directly opposite St Pauls. It is a favourite of mine to visit and capture while I am there. When I last visited I wanted to get lower to the ground and then take it from the ground perspective instead of standing up.
Date-26th August 2023
I always admire St Pauls no matter from which angle, I think it looks very beautiful no matter where you stand. I also realised as I take more photos later in 2023 and also 2024 I do like a dome building as you will see in pictures to come in this blog and future blogs to come.
This was located in the gardens outside of St Pauls. It is a favourite place of people to have lunch away from the office or if you're out and about like myself.
Date-26th August 2023
I remember back in 2022 before I was heading to New York I was going to London to make sure I can nail the street photography look. While I was out I remember visiting the arhcway leading into Somerset House (Which I have never visited). Roll on 2023 I wanted to take a better picture of the archway leading into the massive courtyard of Somerset House.
Date-26th August 2023
The day was nearly out and just before I was about to head home there was a beautiful sunset behind the London Eye. I think what I was trying to achieve here was a silhouette style. I really liked the colours in the photo with the orange tint and the blue sky.
Date-26th August 2023
New adventure…
I just wanted to add this part into the blog, in September I took another solo trip to Denmark, both to the city of Copenhagen and Billund. While writing this blog I did a poll on Instagram where I asked if this part should be separate or added into this blog and people voted to be separate. The blog will b e coming in the future talking about another solo trip I took to Denmark.
Slower End to The Year
The last few months of the year were a bit slower with my photography. I should have labelled the last few titles of this blog the London Blog. Not much photography happened in October, actually I don’t think any photography happened due to being constantly in work and then I did have COVID-19 for the first time in three and half years.
November came along and I had a few days off so I decided to head back into London but going to a few different places i’ve not visited for a while. I took my Canon R and two lenses, my trusty 24-105mm and also my wide angle lens 16-35mm to capture more of the city in certain areas. The winter sun was out which really made for some really beautiful photos.
Cracking out the wide angle lens of the 16-35mm I took this first picture of looking up at the buildings. I always feel like I don’t utilise my wide angle lens to its full potential but I knew I wanted to use it more while I was in the city.
Date-29th November 2023
This shows off the capability of what the wide angle lens can capture. The vast scope of the building and crane and the blue patch of sky in the gap.
Date-29th November 2023
It’s a picture we’ve all seen before throughout these blogs and also through my portfolio as well. The London Eye is probably the most photographed object that I take pictures of. Throughout the time ive been taking pictures of the eye I have never used the wide angle on it. I stood at the base of the eye and looked up to capture the full scale of the attraction.
Date-29th November 2023
Date-29th November 2023
I walked across Westminster Bridge and headed along the Embankment side of the river. The winter sun gave a really nice glow throughout the city. I stopped and looked to my right and saw the eye (funny that), also in this picture was an isolated person who I wanted in my photo. Its nice to have another subject in the photo.
Date-29th November 2023
I looked at the time and I realised that I could be in time to watch changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Just before that I walked to Horse Guards Parade where I came across the guard in his long red coat. I was like yes this will definitely be a ‘hint of colour’ photo. The sun was shining down Whitehall and onto the red coat which gave it this shine.
Date-29th November 2023
Date-29th November 2023
Date-29th November 2023
I made my way down to Buckingham Palace where I caught most of Changing of the guard. Luckily my new Canon R has a feature where you have a 1.6x crop which means I can get closer to the action even if I am standing further away from it. I have always had a passion for military and love what they do especially with marching and changing of the guard.
Date-29th November 2023
Date-29th November 2023
I don’t know who is taller the banner or the solider who is carrying it. I did do a ‘hint of colour’ version of this photo as well but I preferred the full colour.
Date-29th November 2023
This was in my top 10 photos of 2023, I really liked the full colour version and also the ‘hint of colour’ version as well. I stood in the middle at the end of the railings and set my auto focus point onto the Underground sign. The sun light was just peeping over the top which have this diagonal line over the logo.
Date-29th November 2023
For the first time I got to see the mighty and still beautiful Bugatti Veyron. There was some very beautiful cars outside this posh hotel located in Mayfair (I don’t think I need to say anymore)
Date-29th November 2023
People always say to me where do I go in my day… and when I tell them they always say you really do get around don’t you?? yes, yes I do…
After being in the city centre for a bit I decided to head onto the Elizebeth line to Canary Wharf. I visited here back at the end of 2022 but I definitely wanted to visit again but during sunnier weather. I whipped out my wide angle lens and captured this beauty of photo. Capturing the full extent of the area in Canary Wharf with the main three buildings in the centre of the image.
Date-29th November 2023
This was very close to being in my top 10 photos for 2023, it was so close. I remember using my 24-105mm to capture this photo. I like to call this photo the three towers like in reference of Lord of The Rings The Two Towers. In the middle we have Canary Wharf, and then to each side is HSBC tower and the CITI building. I didn’t want to over saturate the pictures especially the blue sky as I know that compromise the image.
Date-29th November 2023
I took a very similar picture back in 2022 but I really didn’t like how the photo came out. This time around I learnt more about shooting in lower light such as an underground station like Canary Wharf. I got lower down onto the ground so I could capture the surrounding area of the station.
Date-29th November 2023
I headed back into the city where I got back off at London Bridge station. I was walking towards the Shard where I looked up and saw how beautiful it was against the blue backdrop. This was around 14:30 so the sunlight was getting lower as the daylight is shorter. I do find that the winter sunlight is probably my favourite type of light.
Date-29th November 2023
Perfect symmetry. I used the wall which had a nice reflected surface which I used to help frame the subject of the Walkie Talkie building.
Date-29th November 2023
Later on in the day I made my way to a favourite place to visit, the Imperial War Museum located near Elephant and Castle. I wanted to revisit here with my camera to try and take some more photos of the iconic design of the museum and the massive guns located outside.
Date-29th November 2023
Date-29th November 2023
Date-29th November 2023
Date-29th November 2023
The sky was very blue and the clouds had this beautiful look to them. I added a bit more saturation to the blue so that the building could stand out a bit more against the backdrop.
Date-29th November 2023
My favourite photo of 2023 and is also in my favourite photo of all time, to me this was a very beautiful photo which I still think could be a postcard for the Imperial War Museum or have it as a poster on the website. I did try hard to try and get the attention to the Imperial War Mueusm to see this photo.
I found a really nice gap between the flowers where in the centre of the image was the two massive guns and also the main structure of the museum. I added a bit more saturation into the greens and blues but I didn’t want to over saturate it.
Ending the Year…
Coming to the end of November I was looking forward to the last month and visiting London again for Christmas time and also my annual trip on either the 30th or 31st to do my last photography trip of the year.
Sadly in the middle of December I broke my foot so I couldn’t go out and do photography so it sadly put a damper on plans. This meant that November would have been my last month I did photography before the end of the year. It was a sad time because I really wanted to do my last trip before the year ended but things happen in life.
In 2023 we had seen many trips to London and also some nature trips capturing some beautiful wildlife. We also saw the death of a camera and a new purchase of a new one (also a back up one just in case). Some of my favourite photos ever were taken throughout the year.
I have a couple of others blogs being lined up to be written such as my trip to Denmark and still also being written is a massive blog about Disney (which is definitely taking longer than expected) but that is due to work commitments and personal life commitments. Also as we are in the middle of 2024 I will start drafting a two part series for the year 2024.
I look forward to hearing feedback and looking forward to welcoming you back again.
