London Sunrise locations

Hi all

 

I've found myself in London - forecast for tonight and tomorrow is

clear - where is a great location for a sunrise picture (sunrise

being about 6.55 according to various weather websites).

 

Touristy as possible! London Eye? London Bridge? Big Ben? I want the

landmark with sunrise behind...

 

Thanks to all

oh...and any early morning markets worth a look? have to be in a meeting by 8.30am so early is the word of the day!

 

thanks...

<p>I'm not usually up at that hour, but I'm really excited by some negatives (haven't yet taken a good look) that I shot down around City Hall last weekend.</p>

 

<p>That's over by Tower Hill (Circle Line), and you have both your history (London Bridge) and your modernism (City Hall) within eyeshot and camera shot. It's also on the banks of the Thames which is probably just about the best place to get enough space between you and whare you're trying to shoot. If you get there early enough and the view isn't working for you then you could try a quick walk West towards the Tate Modern and the Millenium Bridge.</p>

 

<p>The other place that might be worth a look is around the Gherkin (Swiss Re building) near Liverpool Street. Right around the corner from there is the Lloyds building which is also quite spectacular in a Pompidou Centre type of way. This, however, would be second choice.</p>

 

<p>The only other thing I'd say about the first location is that it might be quite quiet (i.e. disturbingly so) at that hour, although the Ernst & Young building (another Foster creation just across the plaza from the City Hall) should be active (consultants never sleep, as far as I can tell) and has its own impersonally spectacular lobby.</p>

 

<p>HTH</p>

I'd aim for Tower Bridge (the big disneyland looking one, not to be confused with London Bridge which is just upstream and fairly plain looking). Cross to the right bank of the river (if you were floating downstream, your right side) and head down river by all the restaurants at Butlers Wharf. There is (or was a few years ago) a pink building just across a footbridge about a five minute walk down. I used to live in the apartment in the middle and one floor up. My best sunrise shot ever was from that balcony looking downriver (Only one Canary Wharf tower at that time). Rather than knocking on the door, just scout around there for a nice vantage point.

 

Alternatively, you might be able to get tower bridge into the photo by shooting from upstream of it.

 

I'd love to see the shot once it's done. Been four years since I lived there.

 

mac

found a low grade scan of this shot. No critiques please, there honestly was some shadow detail! But might give you an idea of the perspective from here. Can't remember what time of year this was so dunno exactly where the sun will be.

If you really want to shoot into the sun you could try standing on London Bridge and aiming downriver to Tower Bridge which will of course silhouette.

 

If you want a nicer option though, stand on the embankment near the end of Lambeth Bridge and compose across to the Houses of Parliament.

Bob,

 

Probably too late to make any valuable contribution, but would suggest that you keep your camera with you at all times. The attached photo was taken over the Thames at sundown. I call it my Last of Everything photo. It was my last evening in London, my last roll of velvia and my last shot. (Actually #38 on a 36 roll). My cousin shouted to me to look at the Concorde flying over the Thames as we were walking across the Millenium Bridge. I turned and shot and got one more photo. Besides, it was almost the last flight of the Concorde, too.<div></div>

Markets - go to Spitalfields Market on weekend mornings. There is a nice place for a breakfast on Brushfield just down the way from the market, but also plenty of food in the market too. Eclectic furniture, clothing, people, a few cameras here and there (saw a Lordox once) and then you can visit the Whitechapel Gallery over on Whitechapel. Usually good stuff there. And take the audio tour - sort of a conceptual art piece (forget the name of the artist unfortunately) that follows the trail of Jack the Ripper. Quite something.

<p>Doh! I did, of course, mean Tower Bridge and not London Bridge. But everyone else

seems to have pointed that out so hopefully you get the message in time.</p>

 

<p>I wouldn't advise Spitalfields on Saturday -- unless it gets going very late in the day,

it's a Sunday market only. Portobello is the Saturday market to see from the standpoint of

being able to see lots of people going about their business (although at this point half of

them are tourists).</p>

 

<p>The area around Spitalfields is quite interesting (though not <i>always</i>

photogenic), especially up Brick Lane with all of the curry shops.</p>

From about now in the year until spring on a clear day the London river vistas are lit just after dawn and before dusk by a very special light that causes the buildings to glow. The best places to photograph from are Waterloo or Southwark Bridges or the South Bank. I used to drive over one of the Bridges on my to and from work each day and this magic light always showed the city scenery at its very best.

Too late now... but for anyone else's benefit. London bridge (the bland modern concrete and terazzo marble one, not the Victorian Gothick absurdity, nor the one that got flogged off to some chap in Arizona) is one of the best spots for shooting Tower Bridge with the sunrise behind it. Shoot from the downstream side and you've got the Tower and/or HMS Belfast & the GLA building in the foreground. Shoot from the upstream side of the road and you might get a few early morning commuters and a london bus in shot too. The north bank between the two bridges gives some alternative (lower) viewpoints though not all of that bank is accessible so scout the location beforehand.

 

The Wheel looks fabulous from any angle but be warned - there are currently major building works along the Southbank from Waterloo Bridge to Jubilee Gardens, of as part of the Royal Festival Hall upgrading, which will be there until late 2005 - so some of the best views are currently obscured. The new footbridges either side of the railway bridge coming out of Charing Cross station (Embankment Tube) give great views but can get busy with commuters during the morning rush-hour so be considerate with a tripod (or it may well be me who trips over it.) The Upstream footbridge has great views of both the Wheel and the Houses of Parliament.

 

The Houses of Parliament is a trickier one to get with the sun behind it because at that point the river runs north-south. If you really want it, Parliament Square is the only option but it's all a bit visually cluttered. However the river-side of the building (facing due east) does get beautifully lit by the early morning sun. Standard viewpoint if you really want the Touristy shot is other end of Westminster Bridge or better still, the facing embankment in front of St Thomas' Hospital (and sorry but you can't photograph Big Ben - it's a bell - the tower is actually just called "The Clock Tower", though a depressing number of Londoners get that wrong too)

 

Buildings in the City, though some of them are visually stunning, are difficult to shoot from street level because it's all a bit cramped. You won't find many streets from where you can see the rising sun! Generally better from a distance - the Gherkin has some surprisingly good sight-lines from places as far away as Shoreditch and Dalston.

 

Finally, markets. Shame I didn't see this yesterday but one of the more unusual London markets is the Bermondsey Antiques market, ten minutes walk south of Tower Bridge and only held very early on Friday mornings. Starts 05:00ish usually all over by 10. The market there dates back to the time of Richard II and because of a bizarre ancient by-law, if you unwittingly buy stolen goods there before sunrise you gain good title to them (ie, they're yours for keeps). Result is a very curious market where you often find west-end antiques dealers searching through Georgian silverware laid out on tresle tables and lit by parafin lamp. Might make for some interesting street-shots on fast B&W but I wouldn't use a flashgun around there! Definitely at its best in winter.

Another good one in the vicinity is the Farmer's Market in Borough (south side of London Bridge) from fairly early fridays and saturdays. Can get very crowded after about 10:30, by which stage the stallholders become less friendly towards intrusive photographers but early on it's usually ok.

Of the other markets that people usually recommend, Spitalfields is a shadow of its former self and Camden Lock has now become so commercialised it's an embarassment. Even large chunks of Brick Lane market's been Yuppyfied. Columbia Rd flower market (Sunday mornings best) is still pretty good though. But if you want a really colourful market, try Southall. A short train ride out of London but quicker than flying to Delhi.

Right - Sunday morning for Spitalfields. I in fact made that mistake myself last visit. Whitechapel is a great place to shoot. Quite a diverse area, plenty of old buildings, colors, people. Good food too.<div></div>

how about this? This was shot at sunset, but I think you'd have more options than sunrise around the Thames.

 

<a href=http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/1307396-md.jpg>Big Ben at sunset</a>

 

Neil