58
B+W
London, England
Once the sun sets and daylight begins to fade,
modern architecture is transformed by
man-made illumination. This shot was taken
from a public area by the river Thames,
where tripods are definitely permitted!
Canon EOS 5DS with 70-300mm zoom lens,
5secs at f/16, ISO 2008 THREE-LEGGED FRIEND
A tripod can be both a blessing and a
curse. In low light – at dawn, dusk and
night – you’ll struggle without one, but many
interesting modern buildings are on private
land where the appearance of a tripod is
likely to lead to hassle from security during
the daytime. London is particularly bad for
the ‘Tripod Police’ – try using one near the
London Eye, Canary Wharf or More London
and you’ll be lucky to get the legs extended
before you’re told to move on!
Fortunately, during the daytime it’s easy
enough to handhold. In fact, I prefer it
because I can move around more freely
and quickly in busy places and shoot from
different angles. Providing you keep the
shutter speed to 1/60sec or above with
wide lenses and 1/125sec or 1/250sec
with a telezoom you should be fine
handholding – especially if your lenses
have image stabilisation.8
7
One building can be the source of dozens
of different images, shot both day and
night, inside and out. There are no rules
when it comes to shooting modern
architecture – just let your imagination
go and see what happens! I’m a bit of a
country bumpkin at heart, living in a small
village near the sea, but I love to head for
the city and spend a few hours wandering
around, camera in hand, shooting dynamic
architectural images. It’s like a creative
voyage of discovery because I rarely set
out with specific shots in mind, but I never
return home empty-handed either.7 TAKE YOUR TIME
New York City, USA
Reflections are a recurring theme in modern
architecture due to the extensive use of glass.
You’ll find this kind of abstract shot in pretty
much any city in the world.
Canon EOS 5D MKIII with 70-300mm zoom lens,
1/500sec at f/8, ISO 200‘There are no rules when it
comes to shooting modern
architecture – just let yourimagination go and see
what happens!’