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Having lived in London for a couple of years now, it occurred to me that I don’t actually get around the city much. There’s the commute to work, the odd day trip to something specific and the obligatory shopping trips in town, but in terms of just going for a wander around this amazing city I don’t often make the effort.

Last week, with this on my mind riding home from work I decided that an excursion was in order. It was a pleasant evening with good light so I headed for the Swiss Re Tower. People either love it or hate it as with most modern architecture in London. I stand clearly on the side of loving it. A giant rocket ship / gherkin / wang, whatever you think of it, it’s definitely an interesting addition to the London skyline. Particularly, as above when juxtaposed against the historical buildings of the district.

This shot has been tweaked a bit in Photoshop (not that well I might add) to correct wide angle distortion and the colours were boosted in Lightroom.

Jade and I were lucky enough to be given a trip to Berlin as one of our wedding presents and I must say, it is a truly rocking city. What I loved most about Berlin and the Berliners is their attitude towards architecture. As far as cities go Berlin could be considered an architects wet dream. The picture above looks like the artists impression, and it’s the finished product! Gotta be happy with that.

Everywhere you look there is an incredible mix of old meets new, this probably definitely has a lot to do with the fact that it was decimated during the war. But rather than bang up dull, ugly boxes, the Berliners have taken inspiration from the fact that they got a fresh start and crafted some truly amazing buildings.

I guess it helps that they have a history that includes schools like the Bauhaus when thinking about design briefs.

Feels like ages since I’ve posted any pics. There was a particularly rocking sunset last night so I grabbed my gear and quickly cycled down to the river to see what I could see. This is all I really got and even this has had a fair bit of exposure tweaking in lightroom.

I’ve been looking for ways of getting down onto the actual embankment when the tide is out but have realised that this is something that may need a little more preparation than just booting down to the river at 9:30 at night. Oh well, as the boy scouts say, " Be Prepared, next time at least anyway ".

Another one from the land down under. Jades parents happen to live a five minute walk from one of the most beautiful beaches in Australia (well I think so anyway). This was taken on the same morning as this one. With only a little post production to remove some seaweed.

Husky is definitely a favourite spot to take photos for me. I think it may have something to do with the fact that being a 5 minute walk away makes it very easy to get up pre dawn and be on the beach before sunrise. That and the fact that you can be the only person on the beach And see dolphins!

If only I could make the same effort to get down to Battersea park for sunrise I could have a favourite spot 5 minutes from home in London. Maybe this weekend? Let’s see

Sounds kind sexy, and it is, but not in that way. Bracketed long exposures merged in Photoshop. I don’t have a graduate filter (yet) so I took a bunch of exposures and just masked it half and half in good old Photoshop. Feels kinda like cheating though, I feel cheap and dirty, don’t look at me.

No really, I love Huskisson, especially at dawn. The beach is just so beautiful when it’s quiet. The rock formations there are great, this composition doesn’t really do them justice, but it’s all I got. I guess I’ll just have to go back. Poor me!