Goes to 11
I've been wanting to get some photos in London for years now, and I just haven't been able to get there. Finally, I had a whirlwind 2 day business trip there and managed to get a few hours to walk around the Thames waterfront and get some photos of the iconic Big Ben. There are two classic night shots of Big Ben from the Westminster bridge, one from across the road with the light streaks cutting across the frame and this one from the Big Ben side. The other shot is the more frequent comp, and I was going to try both but it was getting late and I was freezing cold by this time. It wasn't cold at all by London standard (24C during the day and 15C at night), but I've turned very thin-blooded in the southern US, and there was a breeze strong enough to add some windchill. All that to say I didn't get the other shot. And, there are many more shots I'd like to get in London, but didn't have time for this time. Hopefully I get the chance to return again soon.
This is not an especially difficult shot to get, just a matter of having some patience for the right combination of double-decker buses to come along, timing the shot right, and trying to balance the exposure correctly. Nothing to it, only took me about 30 tries ;-) Seriously, though, I enjoyed my night in London a lot.
As for the title, the time on the clock is 10:50, and this classic line from Spinal Tap immediately jumped in to my head (and would not leave). Well, the line is actually "These go to 11" but close enough. Could've called it "Hells Bells" too since as soon as I heard the bells chime on the hour, it sounded *exactly* like the opening refrain from the AC/DC song Hells Bells. I'm too lazy to look it up, but something tells me they used these bells (well, sampled of course, might've been hard to get the bells in to the recording studio).
EDIT: So I was partially right but partially wrong about the bells. The bells in the recording are not Big Ben's bells (snicker): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hells_Bells_(song), but Big Ben still plays a role in the song: answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071025073242AAimxna
Goes to 11
I've been wanting to get some photos in London for years now, and I just haven't been able to get there. Finally, I had a whirlwind 2 day business trip there and managed to get a few hours to walk around the Thames waterfront and get some photos of the iconic Big Ben. There are two classic night shots of Big Ben from the Westminster bridge, one from across the road with the light streaks cutting across the frame and this one from the Big Ben side. The other shot is the more frequent comp, and I was going to try both but it was getting late and I was freezing cold by this time. It wasn't cold at all by London standard (24C during the day and 15C at night), but I've turned very thin-blooded in the southern US, and there was a breeze strong enough to add some windchill. All that to say I didn't get the other shot. And, there are many more shots I'd like to get in London, but didn't have time for this time. Hopefully I get the chance to return again soon.
This is not an especially difficult shot to get, just a matter of having some patience for the right combination of double-decker buses to come along, timing the shot right, and trying to balance the exposure correctly. Nothing to it, only took me about 30 tries ;-) Seriously, though, I enjoyed my night in London a lot.
As for the title, the time on the clock is 10:50, and this classic line from Spinal Tap immediately jumped in to my head (and would not leave). Well, the line is actually "These go to 11" but close enough. Could've called it "Hells Bells" too since as soon as I heard the bells chime on the hour, it sounded *exactly* like the opening refrain from the AC/DC song Hells Bells. I'm too lazy to look it up, but something tells me they used these bells (well, sampled of course, might've been hard to get the bells in to the recording studio).
EDIT: So I was partially right but partially wrong about the bells. The bells in the recording are not Big Ben's bells (snicker): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hells_Bells_(song), but Big Ben still plays a role in the song: answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071025073242AAimxna