[Photos] London from the 31st floor

[dancefloorlandmine]

On Tuesday last week, Centrepoint finally held an event at Centrepoint - in the Paramount Club, up on the 31st floor (the club actually takes up three floors, but that's the one that we were on). The event was a pub quiz, with some celebrity guests (including Sara Cox, Annie Mac, Scott Mills, Hugh Grant, David Tennant and Jonathan Ross) - the event photos are why I was there with my camera, and are covered by my contract of employment, but you can see some of them on the Centrepoint website. These, however, were photos of opportunity - a 31st floor view, you say? Over London? At night? And I've got a camera with me? Don't mind if I do, thanks ...

Unfortunately, what I didn't have with me were a tripod (hand-holding night-time landscape shots is not ideal) or an open window/balcony/darkened room, as a result of which the photos are a) a little blurred and b) there are quite a few reflections from the room, which are less than ideal. (The night wasn't entirely clear, either, which didn't help, although it does add to the Bladerunner-like vista of some of them.)

So, if anyone gets a chance to get me back up there in better photographic conditions ...













Main gallery is here.

Comments

[ephemera]

ohh - shiny! Very shiny indeed!

The lighting around St Paul's is particularly nifty - and the top-down views of the Crossrail works. I wonder if there's anyway to sub them to Londonist without having them on Flickr.

[dancefloorlandmine]

Thought that you'd like them.

[arachne.livejournal.com]

Way to make me miss London...

[katieastrophe]

I know, right? The fourth one is magical.

[adamw]

Blimey. I especially love the one of the City, and of The Shard.

Oh for a better view from my office...

[d-floorlandmine.livejournal.com]

Cheers! Just wish I'd had a tripod and a darkened room to take the photos from!

Should point out that my office is on the 6th floor of a completely different building over in E1. We can just about see the top of the Shard from one of our meeting rooms, and the gilt tops of Tower Bridge from another window (which I don't face either).

[mindygoth.livejournal.com]

Wow! They are cool! Definitely one of the best things about working at Centrepoint was the view :)

[d-floorlandmine.livejournal.com]

You worked in the tower? Please ignore the envious noises from South London, they're nothing to be concerned about!

[mindygoth.livejournal.com]

Only for a year, doing tech support for the CBI, when they were spread across a number of floors. Before I left they had consolidated down to two floor at the bottom, which meant an end to the trips up to the higher floors :-(

[hairyears.livejournal.com]

Shiny!

[faithinfire.livejournal.com]

Ohh, love! That top one in particular is gorgeous - I love the reflection of the TV screen with the stag in the blue light, it looks strangely gorgeous in situ. Very Bladerunner, as you say!

[brotherelf.livejournal.com]

Nice pics!

Is it just me or does the crane on the construction site look like it's got the TARDIS stuck in it one third of the way up?

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

Not just you. And of course The Shard looks like a Dalek supermodel.

[brotherelf.livejournal.com]

Exfoliate! Exfoliate! ;)

[d-floorlandmine.livejournal.com]

Another bit of classic parking by the Doctor ...

[failing-angel.livejournal.com]

Very nice, especially the shot of St Pauls, and the Shard looks quite alien there.

The Paramount eh?
Now, how can I wrangle a way in there...?

[silenttex.livejournal.com]

Saw this on Twitter, and thought of you...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1854143522?ie=UTF8&tag=bs0b-21&linkCode=shr&camp=3194&creative=21330&creativeASIN=1854143522&ref_=sr_1_1&qid=1318278624&sr=8-1

[zoo-music-girl.livejournal.com]

I love that one with St Paul's at the centre. Gorgeous.

[cookwitch.livejournal.com]

That's my favourite one too.

[girfan.livejournal.com]

*sigh* beautiful London!

I love the construction shot-it's interesting to see what it looks like when usually one can only see the hoardings.

[rich-r.livejournal.com]

Really like the construction one - almost looks HDR with the contrast of the floodlights and the bright colours of the struts.

[silenttex.livejournal.com]

Have you got a polarising filter? Would probably have helped with the reflections. I leave mine on permanently.
I'd also have cropped the bottom of the 3rd image to remove what looks like a reflected table with a menu and a candle on it.

[d-floorlandmine.livejournal.com]

Nope, not got one - that's an idea, though. Ta!

It is a reflected table with a candle. I kept it for the inside/outside contrast, but you're right, could be better as just the cityscape.

[silenttex.livejournal.com]

It's not really clear enough to contrast inside/outside, as there's a bit too much depth of field blur, so to me, it's just distracting. The subject of the image is the cityscape, but this bright area keeps trying to pull my eye to the bottom of the frame.

Re: filter. I find it gives a very slightly more saturated feel to the sky, and makes colours just a bit more punchy (depending on the angle of the light - it's most noticeable with the light at 90 degrees, and barely noticeable with the sun behind or in front of you), but it's really useful for minimising reflections in glass or water, and it gets rid of haze in bright sunshine.
http://www.offrench.net/photos/articles/polarizing_filter.php
Plus, leaving it on more or less all the time, if it gets scratched it's less than £20 for a new one rather than having to buy a new lens.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

I like the third one best which makes the reflection look like a Bladerunner style advert near St. Paul's. :)
Either I'm daft or I can't find your event photos on the centrepoint website, only some by "Harriet Armstrong".

[d-floorlandmine.livejournal.com]

Harriet (harrietarmstrong.com) is a photographer who also works with us. Because I'm a member of CP staff, though, my photos aren't separately credited to me, as they're copyrighted to CP.

There are some of mine in the gallery on FaceBook - including this one, which I'm quite pleased with.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Ah right, fair enough. Cheers.
You shooting the DJ? Nothing new there. ;o)

[d-floorlandmine.livejournal.com]

It's not unknown. [grin]

[stilettowhore.livejournal.com]

Don't be so self-deprecating, these are damn spiffy!