Evening cherry blossom, Islington

Several days in and around London presented both familiar and new subjects for my camera (and phone camera). I noticed this one as we got out of the car and, because we were laden with bags, I took out my phone to get the shot. At our previous home we had a cherry that produced this type of blossom. I took plenty of photographs of the aged tree but not once did I photograph it during the hours of darkness. That's probably because the darkness of a village is so much deeper than the darkness of a capital city. Here the street lights and reflections made for a better image.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Scala lighting

When we lived in Lincolnshire and travelled by train to London we would arrive in the capital at King's Cross station. This is  a marvellous location for photography next to several other marvellous locations for photography, including St Pancras station and hotel. At night, one of the lesser attractions is the lit-up facade of Scala outside King's Cross on Pentonville Road. This is a former cinema that has been turned into a nightclub and live music venue. It looks unremarkable during the day. But, when lit up at night, the white paintwork, windows, columns, arches, cornices and rustication, as well as the well-judged neon sign, make a splendid sight.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10     2017

The Shard from below

Over the years, during my visits to London, I've documented the construction of the skyscraper known as The Shard. From the appearance above its neighbours of its services core, to its growth to a prominent skyline "under construction" feature, to its completion as a constantly changing, well-named tower, I've regularly added to my stock of photographs of the building. I've photographed it at night, from the streets, in low cloud, from below etc. But one view I hadn't got until my recent visit is a shot from below taken at night. The need to use London Bridge Railway station to travel to Blackheath put me in the right position for the photograph above.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony RX100

Industrial lighting

Industrial lighting? Well, not quite. Christmas lights  on an industrial estate in Ross on Wye courtesy of one of the businesses located there. Mercifully traditional green and red was chosen and we were spared the very unseasonal dark blue that has proliferated in recent years. My first sighting of these lights made me wonder whether a competition between companies for the "best" Christmas lights will spring up to match the rivalry between householders that can be seen at this time of year.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Harrods drive by

The photograph above was a snapshot from the car as we drove out of London after a few days there at Christmas. Lest you think otherwise I must point out that I was not driving. Christmas and its associated festivities, decorations etc doesn't quite grab me in the way that it did when our children were small. However, I couldn't let this rather effective delineation with lights of the Harrods store pass without a quick snap.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Evening, King's Cross Station, London

If we travel to and from London by rail we arrive and depart at King's Cross railway station. This wonderful, essentially Victorian building, stands next to St Pancras railway station, another Victorian masterpiece that has quite different qualities from its neighbour. I've photographed the main entrance elevation of King's Cross before in the evening, though on that occasion it was somewhat earlier. So, for this shot in full darkness I stood a little further back, opened the 17mm (34mm/35mm equiv.) lens up to f1.8, and relied on this together with the effective image stabilisation of the camera body, to keep my image sharp. The camera chose ISO 2000 which is quite reasonable should I wish to print from the image

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10