Gloriana

I was over in London at the weekend getting trained for working at Glastonbury and with some spare time for a bit of photography. I was mainly trying my hand at architectural shots but I was most pleased with this. I was strolling over London Bridge when I spotted this blingy boat being hauled up the Thames. It's not something you see every day and was a good opportunity, a nice London view, not great light but with an unusual point of interest. I literally had only a few seconds to make all the right photo decisions. Luckily my instincts now with a wide angle are to hold the camera level come what may and to choose (guess at) a hyperfocal point, rather than to point the camera straight at the moving object. It's not a great photo but I am pleased with it as it was a very easy scene to get wrong, especially shooting into the light. Dialling in exposure compensation whilst dodging traffic to get to the other side of the bridge before the boat was fun. It is the royal barge, Gloriana.

Downstream view:




Upstream view:

A day off for the rowers? Nicely caught -- you definitely need to know your camera on such occasions. The overcast day may have been less than ideal for the light, but the silver lining of that literal cloud is that the gold barge stands apart from the rest of the scene.