Magic Places - Westminster Bridge

Two weeks ago I already posted a photo of this crazy evening in London a few years ago. But it wasn't the only photo I took that evening, neither was it the only view of Westminster Bridge I photographed.

Today's article is once more fully dedicated to the wonderful Westminster Bridge. It's one of my favorite subjects to photograph when I'm in London. But it took me three visits to London to finally get the light I needed to capture it in its full grandeur.

Westminster Bridge is best photographed from the eastern bank of the river Thames, which makes it the perfect sunset location. There are nice views both to the left and right side of the bridge.

The photo above was taken from the left side, facing the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. From there it was easy to create a dynamic compositions using the balustrade as a lead into the frame.

What's great about this vantage point is its proximity to a bus stop, just 100 meters down the road. This made it easy to time the busses rolling into the frame and include them in the photo. For those of you who are interested in some more behind the scenes information for this photo, I have a full article about how I created this photo available on my homepage.

As the strom rolled in I took another photo, just as Big Ben rang the 8pm bell. Then I had to run for it as it began to pour. Just beneath the location, from where I took the photos above, I found myself at another great viewpoint under the bridge. Shielded from the rain I was able to take this painterly photo of Big Ben.

But I didn't only photograph from this side of the bridge. On another evening I set up directly in front of the Dungeon. But be aware that you'll not be allowed to use a tripod there. As I wanted to set up mine a security guy came over and asked me to put it away. This is a problem you'll face in many areas around London, so it's a good idea to plan ahead and bring something smaller, which doesn't draw too much attention. With a mini tripod, which I put onto the balustrade, I was still able to take a long time exposure right before sunset.

But you don't always need a sunset to photograph this bridge. The next photo was taken around noon. With the clouds moving across the sky the light wasn't too harsh and by using a Lee Big Stopper I was able to smooth out both the flow of people and the clouds to create this dreamy photo.

So now that I showed you my favorite view in London, what are some of your favorite views in London? Feel free to post your photos in the comments below.

                

!steemitworldmap 51.486832 lat -0.125609 long Westminster Bridge D3SCR