Ducks and a Skygarden

Duck

I’d like to say I’m a beginner photographer – but honestly, I’m a trainee beginner photographer. I love taking photos, but do nothing with them. A few photos will get printed, some I will share on social media. But most of them just sit on my hard drive, or in the cloud. Since starting my photographer course, I have taken more photos, as the course also included some Photoshop units, I have even been editing the photos. However, they are still sitting on my hard drive taking up gigabytes. It struck me this blog is the ideal platform for me to show case some of the photos.

Duckling
Heron

Last month, I got a telephoto lens. In all the photographer blogs or books, they suggest using a telephoto lens when capturing wildlife or landscapes. Living in London, I knew I wouldn’t see any interesting wildlife. But figured I could head the my duck pond in a nearby park and take some photos on the ducklings. Unfortunately, the ducklings were in hiding, but I did see a heron.

The Skygarden
The Skygarden

Skygarden

As for capturing landscapes, Jason suggested we had another visit to the Skygarden. The Skygarden is a public space with a café and restaurant on the  top of the Walkie Talkie building in the London. Being the heart of the financial district in London, the building offers excellent views of the River Thames, Docklands to the east and Westminster to the west.

HMS Belfast
HMS Belfast
St Paul's
St Paul’s
City Hall
City Hall

Tickets to the Skygarden are complimentary, but you have to book in advance. Being free, the tickets go quickly, especially for the weekend. The trick is to book your tickets three weeks before you want to go on Monday morning. Alternatively, you can have a meal in the restaurant, Darwin’s Brassiere.

View from the Skygarden
The Shard (Focal Point 70mm)
The Shard
The Shard (Focal Point 30mm)

The day we booked coincided with the London Marathon, as a result some of the streets around the Walkie Talkie had been blocked off, so I couldn’t get many photos from street level. There was chance to get some fun photographs of the runners from London Bridge.

The London Marathon
The London Marathon 2017
Tower Bridge & HMS Belfast
Tower Bridge & HMS Belfast