Tower Bridge

by peternutkins

I was in London to go to hospital and on the way took a quick detour to Tower Bridge to take a snap. The 31mm focal length is interesting and gives an unusual field of view...so I picked my spot and headed over to take the shot.

Just in front of me were two rather large photographers, each with a DSLR with a MASSIVE lens stuck on the front. Not having eaten for 16 hours and experiencing a really bad headache I was not in the mood for a confrontation. I had made the decision to only take my tripod and camera bag for my stay over - nobody knows me in London so looking like a dishevelled old man was not a problem for me.

It soon became apparent that these two super professional photographers were in for a big set up. I decided to sit on the ground against the wall and watch the display these chaps were putting on. It is times like this that I am embarrassed to be around photographers. Everyone in the street restaurant were treated to the very detailed (and loud) discussion that took place between the two about focal length. Maybe I am doing something wrong - it never seems that big a deal to me.

Sipping from my water bottle, and trying to stay focussed, I noticed that the diners were intrigued by the theatre these two were putting on. I just had to wait until they had finished so I could take my snap. After 15 minutes I lost it. They had actually started taking pictures. Between each shot, they did something to the front of their lenses and cooed over their display screens. When I realised that they were using a self-timer on 10 seconds and holding people back from walking past that I just had to leave.

I stood up, walked up to them and plonked my very heavy, beaten up Manfrotto tripod next to theirs. I noticed that they had cheapo ones with lots of attachments. I smiled deep inside - having converted to Pentax I have become a 'what you need to take the image' kind of photographer. My camera bag contains two lenses, my K-1, a couple of filters, a cheapo cable release, blu tak, elastic bands, cardboard, cloth and some water (plus on this occasion a change of underwear).

My tripod just has a screw thing on the top - no fancy plate, no spirit level (I do that in-camera). It was pretty dark but the laugh as I took out the K-1 with my 31mm on the front was audible. Another smile...these chaps had no idea! With their monster zoom lenses and theatrics, they were all about the kit. They had big bags with every piece of everything in....how thankful I am now that all my Canon kit was stolen - it made me re-evaluate what photography really is. I went Pentax and have not looked back.

If I had been feeling a bit less like I was having an out of body experience I would have talked to them about photography being about taking images not the size of your equipment. Instead, I put my 'little camera' on my tripod, attached the cable release and snapped off 4 shots, each between 20 and 30 seconds. While I was waiting for the shutter I smiled at them...they looked with pity on me...maybe they were thinking perhaps one day I would be able to have one of their great cameras.....no thanks!

I packed up and left. 3 minutes tops. No-fuss. I did not need to stop anyone walking past. I am sure none of the diners even noticed me, if they did they would have been thinking "look, a tramp with a camera".

The next day, as I drifted off on the table, I was thinking that size really does matter. They may have had large glass.....I have a small gem. A Pentax one. See more wall art
Uploaded23/09/2016 - 19:46
CategoryArchitecture
Shutter Speed20 sec
Aperturef/8
LensN/A
ISO100
Focal Length31mm
Views/Likes77/5

Posted 23/09/2016 - 20:28 Link
apart from seeing your superb - pro photo shot, i read a great story!
Thank you - Efharisto (in Greek).

Best,
Thanassis
bwlchmawr
Posted 23/09/2016 - 21:36 Link
An amusing story to go with a wonderfully majestic image.

It's interesting to note that what you describe as a minimalist kit makes me blanche at the thought of the weight. I guess it's all relative. In this case a large sensor and tripod would definitely lead to a superior picture.
Best wishes,

Andrew

"These places mean something and it's the job of a photographer to figure-out what the hell it is."
Robert Adams
"The camera doesn't make a bit of difference.  All of them can record what you are seeing.  But, you have to SEE."
Ernst Hass
My website: http://www.ephotozine.com/user/bwlchmawr-199050 http://s927.photobucket.com/home/ADC3440/index
https://www.flickr.com/photos/78898196@N05
scarr1
Posted 23/09/2016 - 22:40 Link
Love the image and the story.
As an aside, i really enjoy doing jigsaws. I have one, the picture is very similar to you yours...it may have even been taken from the same place as yours. But tell you what, its not a patch on your image.
Carol8345
Posted 23/09/2016 - 23:59 Link
Absolutely beautiful
GIULIO57
Posted 24/09/2016 - 10:37 Link
Great photo and nice photo infos
PPG
peternutkins
Posted 24/09/2016 - 10:52 Link
thanasisK3 wrote:
apart from seeing your superb - pro photo shot, i read a great story!
Thank you - Efharisto (in Greek).

Best,
Thanassis

Ευχαριστώ πολύ
Peter Nutkins
www.nutkins.uk
peternutkins
Posted 24/09/2016 - 10:54 Link
bwlchmawr wrote:
An amusing story to go with a wonderfully majestic image.

It's interesting to note that what you describe as a minimalist kit makes me blanche at the thought of the weight. I guess it's all relative. In this case a large sensor and tripod would definitely lead to a superior picture.

Thank Andrew...yes, I suppose I was comparing it to the kit I had before. Most of the time I just wander around with the K-1 and 77mm lens.
Peter Nutkins
www.nutkins.uk
peternutkins
Posted 24/09/2016 - 10:54 Link
scarr1 wrote:
Love the image and the story.
As an aside, i really enjoy doing jigsaws. I have one, the picture is very similar to you yours...it may have even been taken from the same place as yours. But tell you what, its not a patch on your image.

Thank you - you are very kind. I am glad you like the shot.
Peter Nutkins
www.nutkins.uk
peternutkins
Posted 24/09/2016 - 10:55 Link
Carol8345 wrote:
Absolutely beautiful

Thank you Carol! Have a great day
Peter Nutkins
www.nutkins.uk
peternutkins
Posted 24/09/2016 - 10:55 Link
GIULIO57 wrote:
Great photo and nice photo infos

Thank you!
Peter Nutkins
www.nutkins.uk
Posted 24/09/2016 - 18:48 Link
Nice photo & very good commentary. When I go into the camera places with my Pentax, I get pitiful looks and remarks (e.g. - '"C'est fini !"). But being ignorant is one of the things humanity does best. As well as being and remaining totally under the heel of "market forces". Keep writing.
peternutkins
Posted 24/09/2016 - 19:09 Link
Grodgeman wrote:
Nice photo & very good commentary. When I go into the camera places with my Pentax, I get pitiful looks and remarks (e.g. - '"C'est fini !"). But being ignorant is one of the things humanity does best. As well as being and remaining totally under the heel of "market forces". Keep writing.

Thank you...have a great day
Peter Nutkins
www.nutkins.uk
Stridey
Posted 25/09/2016 - 09:30 Link
Superb shot and love the commentary !
peternutkins
Posted 25/09/2016 - 17:02 Link
Stridey wrote:
Superb shot and love the commentary !

Thanks Nigel, great images on your website too!
Peter Nutkins
www.nutkins.uk
pauljay
Posted 28/09/2016 - 19:03 Link
What a great story - I hope it embarrasses somebody! My biggest brush with photo snobism was at Bempton Cliffs, Yorkshire, outside the tourist season when the twitchers have it all to themselves. Huge, fast lenses were the order of the day, nobody, bar myself, using a Pentax and certainly not a tiny Tamron 28-300! Nobody was going to let PJ get to the frontline in order to mix it with the heavy metal boys. I eventually pulled off a couple of half decent shots but nothing that impressed me too much. The next time I went to Bempton was during the tourist season - what a nice bunch of people! I learned something that day!
Lovely photo incidentally!
Paul.

Photography is not a sport. It has no rules. Everything must be dared and tried! (Bill Brandt)
PPG
peternutkins
Posted 01/10/2016 - 08:38 Link
pauljay wrote:
What a great story - I hope it embarrasses somebody! My biggest brush with photo snobism was at Bempton Cliffs, Yorkshire, outside the tourist season when the twitchers have it all to themselves. Huge, fast lenses were the order of the day, nobody, bar myself, using a Pentax and certainly not a tiny Tamron 28-300! Nobody was going to let PJ get to the frontline in order to mix it with the heavy metal boys. I eventually pulled off a couple of half decent shots but nothing that impressed me too much. The next time I went to Bempton was during the tourist season - what a nice bunch of people! I learned something that day!
Lovely photo incidentally!

Thanks Paul - sad that some people can be so off...still, we know we have a great camera system despite the snobbishness of others. Have a great weekend!
Peter Nutkins
www.nutkins.uk

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