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James A Robertson

James A Robertson

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James Robertson
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I have a planned visit to London in December as a surprise wedding anniversary gift to my wife. Being Scottish, I am looking for the best photo opportunities at no financial cost! Basically snaps on a shoestring. I was looking to do a night cityscape view but to go up in the Shard is £25.00 each! I might just nick some photos of the net and claim them as my own, but this is cheating! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
The sky garden is free to go up (20 Fenchchurch Street aka the Walkie Talkie). I'd also consider 20 Fencourt for its roof top garden as well (although it might not be open too late in the winter).

If you are planning to go for a meal, look for a restaurant in Tower 42 as that often has good views over the city (but this won't be at no financial cost!)
 
There is a viewing platform at the tate modern which is free and has 360 degree views of London.

In fact the whole South Bank from Tower Bridge up to Westminster has great views (from the ground level) and should be Christmas markets on in December
 
I can certainly recommend the Sky Garden (good view of the Tower Bridge and The Shard) and the Tate Modern viewing platform which has an excellent view of the Millennium Bridge and St Paul's. I believe you have to book the Sky Garden on-line in advance so you need to get in quick. If you want to take the night city scape best to book a time around Dusk. I was there at 11 a.m. which was fine but wished I had been booked in at Dusk. Close to the Tate Modern is the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre though you do have to pay if you want a tour.

Dave
 
A possible route is from the north end of Southwark Bridge.

Walk across the bridge with some views towards the Tower of London.
Then walk west on the south side of the river towards the Globe Theatre.
Continue to Blackfriars Bridge.
If you go towards the north end of Blackfriars Bridge you could get some decent views east and west.
Back on the south side of the Thames and still going west passes the OXO building(which is visible from the north end of Blackfriars Bridge)
Waterloo Bridge is next and again there are some good views of London from it.
If you keep going you'll pass the Royal Festival Hall and the London Eye before getting to Westminster Bridge.

Hope you enjoy your trip.

Dave
 
Weigh in on the Shard you tight sod or the Eye, that ain't free, but its a bit cheaper
 
You should get some good skyline shots, north & south bank, looking up-river, from Tower Bridge. This might tie in with @Tringa suggestions.
 
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tijuana taxi said:
Weigh in on the Shard you tight sod or the Eye, that ain't free, but its a bit cheaper
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There is only so much money you can save for a trip to London, spend it willy nilly and then what? I was looking for some good angels and viewpoints, I probably will end up paying! Was only hoping for some pointers!
 
James A Robertson said:
There is only so much money you can save for a trip to London, spend it willy nilly and then what? I was looking for some good angels and viewpoints, I probably will end up paying! Was only hoping for some pointers!
Click to expand...

It was only a light hearted reply, Greenwich Observatory gives a good free view of Docklands and further upstream too.
Shard isn't great, lots of reflections and not the best place for photography.
Can't think of much that is cheap in London, public transport isn't badly priced if you use contactless
 
I was being light hearted when I mentioned the fact that I was Scottish! lol.
 
Going on Tower Bridge is good - you get great views over the Thames and is a fun way to spend an hour or two, but does cost.

View from Parliament Hill is good if weather ok but a trek out.

Otherwise google places to photo in London, there is a lovely bombed out church in the City for example.
 
My favorite Londom walk is over tower bridge and along the south bank to westminster, then back up past downing street, trafalgar square, piccadilly circus and into covent garden. It's a fair stroll but theres a lot to see and shoot.
 
Phil Maddocks said:
The sky garden is free to go up (20 Fenchchurch Street aka the Walkie Talkie). I'd also consider 120 Fencourt for its roof top garden as well (although it might not be open too late in the winter).
Click to expand...

I visited the 'Garden at 120' (Fen court, 120 Fenchurch St) on Friday after a meeting in London
Free & no booking required. It gave some good views (Tower bridge, The tower of London, St Pauls, The London Eye, Docklands, PO tower... were all visible) though not as high as the sky gardens.
It's open till 9pm in the summer but closes at 6.30pm from October to March.

The only issue I had was the 8' high glass all round the top - too high to reach over & the showers left droplets on both sides :(
When I go back I'll take a monopod to get my lens over the top & make sure I pack a fisheye too.

I believe the sky gardens also close at 6.30, and you should pre book (which is no good if you don't know when you can get there!) I tried booking a visit about a year ago, no tickets were available 2 weeks before hand & when I tried nearer the date they'd all gone.
 
Depending on your tastes there are more interesting shots in London than you could get through in a lifetime. Without knowing where you intend to stay it's a bit more difficult to advise but there are many opportunities available anywhere in central London. Here are 3 shots from a single film that I made during one lunch hour. I was working in Farringdon Road at the time so I walked down towards Fleet Street. The tourist buses are frequent visitors there at any time...

1216London Leica M3 30.jpg

Then up Fleet Street to the Royal Courts of Justice....

1216London Leica M3 05.JPG

Then back along to Holborn Viaduct...

1216London Leica M3 32.jpg

By the time I'd got to my office I was rewinding the film in my Leica! Hope this gives you some ideas.
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
Depending on your tastes there are more interesting shots in London than you could get through in a lifetime. Without knowing where you intend to stay it's a bit more difficult to advise but there are many opportunities available anywhere in central London. Here are 3 shots from a single film that I made during one lunch hour. I was working in Farringdon Road at the time so I walked down towards Fleet Street. The tourist buses are frequent visitors there at any time...

View attachment 256686

Then up Fleet Street to the Royal Courts of Justice....

View attachment 256687

Then back along to Holborn Viaduct...

View attachment 256691

By the time I'd got to my office I was rewinding the film in my Leica! Hope this gives you some ideas.
Click to expand...

The long dark Grey building on the right in your last photo was where we had our office, stored our gear and garaged our vehicles
 
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Petrochemist said:
I visited the 'Garden at 120' (Fen court, 120 Fenchurch St) on Friday after a meeting in London
Free & no booking required. It gave some good views (Tower bridge, The tower of London, St Pauls, The London Eye, Docklands, PO tower... were all visible) though not as high as the sky gardens.
It's open till 9pm in the summer but closes at 6.30pm from October to March.

The only issue I had was the 8' high glass all round the top - too high to reach over & the showers left droplets on both sides :(
When I go back I'll take a monopod to get my lens over the top & make sure I pack a fisheye too.

I believe the sky gardens also close at 6.30, and you should pre book (which is no good if you don't know when you can get there!) I tried booking a visit about a year ago, no tickets were available 2 weeks before hand & when I tried nearer the date they'd all gone.
Click to expand...

Good spot! I did mean 120!! the glass is a pain. Make sure the security don't see you with the monopod over the top of the glass, they get a bit grumpy!
 
Thanks for all the kind pointers and I will certainly be using some of them, I think London is too big and busy to be covering it in one weekend visit though! Again thanks people!
 
If you're walking along the Southbank near the London Eye, you could take a 10 minute detour and head away from the river to Leake Street - lots of interesting and continually changing graffiti in the underpass there.

leake_st by conradsphotos, on Flickr

21 by conradsphotos, on Flickr
 
The "lantern" on top of St Paul's Cathedral dome has good views, but it's not free.
 
C&C said:
If you're walking along the Southbank near the London Eye, you could take a 10 minute detour and head away from the river to Leake Street - lots of interesting and continually changing graffiti in the underpass there.

leake_st by conradsphotos, on Flickr

21 by conradsphotos, on Flickr
Click to expand...

Lot of it is random tagging rather than arty, also beware of the fumes if you are asthmatic.
 
tijuana taxi said:
Lot of it is random tagging rather than arty, also beware of the fumes if you are asthmatic.
Click to expand...

Well there certainly are a lot of tags - maybe taking up over half the wall space, but the last couple of times I've been there (earlier this year) there was a fair selection of decent artwork.

Agree that there can be fumes if several people are spraying at the same time.

3O2A7181 by conradsphotos, on Flickr

3O2A7183 by conradsphotos, on Flickr

3O2A7186 by conradsphotos, on Flickr

3O2A7189 by conradsphotos, on Flickr

15 by conradsphotos, on Flickr
 
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just to let everyone know
not all us Scots are tight gits
 
Did the visit, came back on 23rd December! Had a fabulous time, was up the Shard, on the river in the Clipper boats got some wonderful photos, walked some 30 miles +, aching feet and on the last day (Sunday) there was tube problems, either a strike, maintenance or both! As expected ran out of time, too much to try to get in in such a short time but certainly worth the effort, a couple of shots taken anyway and guys, a really big thank you for the suggestions - most helpful! I was not aware that you couldn't take a tripod up the Shard, so night shots were a problem and the reflection from the glass was also a big problem. Every person we spoke to was really friendly and chatty, must have been the week before Christmas lol. Anyway, thanks again guys, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
London-179.jpgLondon-348.jpgLondon-408.jpg
 
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