Returning Home with a new perspective and new destinations

It had been 5 and half years since I had visited the UK and while I spent most of my time catching up with Friends and Family I did get the chance to go out with my camera on a couple of occasions in London and Edinburgh. I had lived in London for 7 years before I left to live overseas. London somehow felt different and familiar to me all at the same time. The same sounds and smells, but new sights that were not there when I was here before. I also ended up going to a lot of parts of the city which I had never been to before too. I had forgotten just how much I loved this city.

It was our first time visiting Edinburgh and we instantly fell in love with the city. Beautiful architecture, welcoming people, nature everywhere and so much history and character. This is certainly a city that we would love to visit again.

Here are my favorite photos of these two beautiful cities. I hope you enjoy .

A view of the Shard, Nikon Z7 II, 27mm, F9, 1/500th of a second, ISO 80

I took this photo from underneath London Bridge and used the underside of the bridge and the staircase to frame the skyline on the other side of the river Thames. I also really like the light and clouds in this photo.

Calton Hill just before Sunset, Nikon Z7 II, 44mm, F11, 1/10th of a second, ISO 64

We went up to Calton Hill a few times to admire all of the wonderful views of Edinburgh that it has to offer. On this one occasion, I set up my tripod to photograph this scene just before the sunset. The sun was due to set off to the right of this frame, but most of the time the sun was obscured by clouds and the sun only came through for a brief moment to light this scene and took the photo. The sun did not come out again, but I am very happy with this photo. I love the warm light being cast onto all of the buildings.

Watling Street, Nikon Z7 II , 60mm , F8, 1/400th of a second, ISO 100

In all of the 7 years that I lived in London I never once came down to the area around St Paul’s Cathedral and I have no idea why. I made a point of coming down to this area a few times on my latest visit and I especially love the view of St Paul’s from Watling Street. I really love the layers and depth on this scene and I also really liked the lights reflecting onto the pavement as well.

St Andrew Undershaft Church, , Nikon Z7 II ,51 mm, F8, 1/200th of a second, ISO 200

I love the mix of old and new in the city of London. There are so many old churches dotted around the city with huge glittering skyscrapers right beside them and I wanted to try and capture the way that these new buildings tower over these old buildings by framing the church between two skyscrapers with two modern buildings in the background. I love the contrast in style and colour of the architecture in this photo.

St Pauls Cathedral, Nikon Z7 II, 69mm, F8, 1/400th of a second, ISO 90

This photo was taken a few days after the photo of St Paul’s Cathedral above and was taken a bit closer to the Cathedral. I could not resist a return visit to this spot and this time I tried to get a clearer shot of the Cathedral with less distractions.

The Leadenhall Building, Nikon Z7 II, 35mm, F5.6, 1/200th of a second, ISO 64

I was drawn to the Industrial design of the Leadenhall building and the striking Orange colour. The light in London is so changeable, especially with all of the large buildings casting their shadows. I got lucky with light being cast on the Leadenhall building which further emphasises the dramatic colour and shape of the building’s facade.

The Guild Church of St Katharine Cree and the Gerkin, Nikon Z7 II, 35mm, F8, 1/160th of a second, ISO 64

Again I tried to capture the contrast between the new and old in the city and I also tried to capture the interesting light that was been reflected onto the church from the surrounding buildings. Finally, I was also trying to capture the atmosphere of all of the commuters making their way to work at this time in the early morning.

London Bridge and the Shard, Nikon Z7 II, 55mm, F9, 1/400th of a second, ISO 64

The London Shard was still under construction when I was living in London and it was so amazing to see it finished and adorning the London skyline. I took many different compositions of this scene and while I am happy with a lot of them this is my favourite as I think the London bus really helps to depict the scale of the buildings. I also love the contrasting shapes of all of the buildings. CyclindricaL, Cuboid, and pyramidical all in one scene as well as the Victorian dock building on the right-hand side of the frame.

Walking in the shadow of the Walkie Talkie, Nikon Z7 II, 35mm, F8, 1/100th of a second, ISO 64

In this photo, I tried to capture the scale of the buildings in the scene as everyone was commuting to work. I also tried to capture some depth on the scene with the Lloyds building in the foreground and the Fenchurch Building (The Walkie-Talkie) in the background with the curving path drawing the viewer through the scene. I also tried to keep the lines as straight as possible. I think that it all turned out pretty well.

Looking beyond Waverley Station, Nikon Z7 II, 85mm, F4, 1/400th of a second, ISO 400

The light and layers is what really caught my eye when I saw this scene. I tried to use the lines on the road as leading lines to all of the layers of beautiful buildings. The late afternoon sunlight really brings out the colour of the stone used in these buildings.

Light reflections on St Katharine Cree, Nikon Z7 II, 35mm, F8, 1/250th of a second, ISO 64

The light in this scene was constantly changing from dull to dramatic as the sun was coming in and out of the clouds and then reflecting of the skyscrapers onto the church. I missed many shots as the time it took me to raise my camera to my eye would often mean that the shot was gone. I therefore got myself into a position where I was happy with the composition and waited for the light to change. I think the photo was worth the wait.

Circus Lane, Nikon Z7 II, 24mm, F9, 1/200th of a second, ISO 64

Edinburgh has no shortage of beautiful streets to photograph and there are literally beautiful scenes around every corner of this city. I was however drawn to this street with its beautiful curved paved street with lush plants and the beautiful church in the background. I got really lucky with the light as for most of this day to was a little overcast but the clouds parted for around 30 minutes while we were at this location. A magical place.

Morning commuters, Nikon Z7 II, 35mm, F8, 1/250th of a second, ISO 140

I was really drawn to the patches of light that were been cast onto the road here and I like the road winding through the beautiful buildings and finally leading to the imposing Fenchurch building. I really like the composition of this photo and I think it is a good portrayal of the morning commute to work too.

Impromptu Portrait, Nikon Z7 II, 35mm, F1.8, 1/400th of a second, ISO 900

We were only supposed to be on the Bakerloo line for two stops before changing trains, but this gentleman saw my camera and asked if I was any good to which I replied with a shrug of the shoulders and an “OK”. He then politely insisted that I take his portrait and so I did. I never realised quite how much the tube shakes and rattles as when I took this photo and I did all I could to try and keep him centred in the frame and keep my camera still. We missed our stop and had to backtrack, but I am pretty happy with the result although I am not able to pinpoint what in particular I really like about this photo.

Walking by St Christophers Church , Nikon Z7 II, 85mm, F8, 1/160th of a second, ISO 64

I was drawn to a lot of things in this scene. The narrow winding land with the imposing church, the couple having a conversation on the bench, the man walking and how the tree and opposite building help to frame the scene.