Last year I took a rather hectic course in Health and Safety and I promised myself that I would reward myself with a photography course when it was all over. Of course, that was followed by a rather hectic nine months (some of which you can read about here) and suddenly it was August and I hadn’t done anything about it! Well, luckily I found out about The Photo School through meetup.com. The Photo School offers an introductory composition workshop which is currently only £20 for three hours.
I attended the workshop on Saturday and I found it to be massively informative and helpful. The class was a nice mix of people who ranged from absolute beginners to a portrait photographer. There were only two of us with “point and click” cameras and everyone else had SLRs.
We met at The Crosse Keys Pub in Bank which is across the road from the old Victorian Leadenhall Market. What an amazing place!
Click on any of the photos below for an enlargement.
Interior of the Crosse Keys Pub
The Crosse Keys Pub is exquisite. I am starting to think that I need to go on an introductory architecture course or something as I would love to place the styles inside the pub.
Leadenhall Market, London
One of the things they told us about on the workshop were lines and perspectives. The Leadenhall Market was great for that.
As I left the market, I came upon the ugliest building I have ever seen in my life.
This is the Lloyds Building, also known as the “Inside Out Building”. I’m not entirely sure the building has any redeeming qualities to be honest and I am a huge lover of architecture of all types and styles. I was trying to play with perspective again in this photo and using my corners.
I thought it looked quite nice reflected off the Willis Building though.
I found a British flag!! I might have to ask Lloyd’s of London why it was flying at half mast though. (In case you’re confused, we were talking about flags in this post).
St Andrew Undershaft Church contrasted against "The Gherkin"
We learnt about contrasting old and new in the course and I just love this photo. The proper name for “The Gherkin” is 30 St Mary Axe.
We also learned about the rule of thirds. This couple was having their wedding photos taken at the foot of “The Gherkin”.
I thought this was the archetypal London photo! I liked the flags too.
The Crosse Keys Pub from the outside
More flags! We all agreed this photo would have been better if the car were further on into the photo.
Our teacher liked this photo. It made me want a better camera so that I could get the depth of field right. I promised myself that I would learn to use my camera first before I got a new SLR camera though.
After the workshop, I decided to walk to London Bridge station. It is approximately a fifteen minute walk. I got to see The Monument with my own eyes for the very first time!
The Monument was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and built to commemorate the lives that were lost in the Great Fire of London in 1666. It was built between 1671 and 1677 and was a celebration of the rebuilding of the City.
It is lovely and I would certainly like to go back one day when it is open. They have an observation deck at the top which only costs £3 for adults and £2 for children. Can you imagine how beautiful the view must be of the grand old City of London? Oh look! You can see a webcam of the view!
How beautiful is that detail?
It was just a short walk further until I arrived at the Thames.
That is the Southwark Cathedral you can see there in the distance. I have a real soft spot for the cathedral as I photographed it on the day I first interviewed for my job in 2007. I got the job and in fact, started there two years ago today. The cathedral is therefore a sort of good luck charm for me.
I walked under London Bridge and took one last photo of Southwark Cathedral before taking a little corridor back up to the top of London Bridge.
Creepy ancient corridor and Southwark Cathedral
London has such beautiful structures and buildings and I was glad to have a chance to appreciate it. Despite my insistence that I work in central London, I still find myself taking a lot for granted. This little excursion on the weekend really opened my eyes again and I can’t wait to go on my next adventure.
Tower Bridge, HMS Belfast (peeking out behind the cruise liner) and the Mayor's Office
I wonder if the day will ever come when I tire of taking photos of Tower Bridge? I doubt it and I certainly hope not!
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