Storm's Coming..., a photo from London, England

Photographer's Note

First photo of a short series of pictures taken in and around London's West End on a recent trip home from Germany.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Everyone who's ever been to London knows all about Trafalgar Square. What is there to say? The basic layout of the square was designed by John Nash in the 1820's although he didn't live to see his designs come to realisation. Nelson & his colum were added by William Railton in 1838. The fountains were designed by Edwin Lutyens (of New Delhi fame), the spire in the centre belongs to the church of St-Martin's-In-The-Fields, designed by James Gibbs and completed in 1726 (presumably even then, not really "in the fields", as the site's original Norman church may once have been), the building to the left is of course the National Gallery, and the statue, commissioned himself, is of George IV on horseback.

Any more questions?

glitch, ribeiroantonio, nwoehnl, jhm, balatrek, ChrisJ, zeca, jwmunro, tatadalou, Mistral, branley, PTAH, benkrut, marknunnerley, PDP, daddo trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

picardo (2459) 2006-07-20 16:24

Very nice composition with great details in the fountain. Very nitide colors too. Nice work. TFS
Picardo

leo61 (0) 2006-07-20 16:39

Hi Philip!
I like the contrast between the nice colored foreground and the nearly B&W background.
A verry sharp image ,taken from a good POV.The fountan is placed perfect in your good composition.
Regards,Leo

coolio (308) 2006-07-20 16:42 [Comment]

Show Comment

ewiczek (374) 2006-07-20 16:44

wonderfull captured !!

Dai (16) 2006-07-20 16:53

The threatening skies and summery feel of the fountain contrast as much as the gray skies and golden fountain. If the shutter speed was a little longer, there could have been a third element of contrast - still and movement. The colours of the people's clothing draws the eye away too - I would have been tempted to touch-up the picture. All said and done, a really nice shot.

guillaumejm (0) 2006-07-20 17:28

Hello,
very good picture. The point of view is great with the fontain not centred but pushed on the right in order to emphasis the nelson statue and also the church in the background. Colours are nice and I specially like the light effect on foreground water.
Sharpness is perfect.
I've read your answer to dai, and I think that a longer exposure time will not be appropriated about water effect : I prefer the sparkling aspect than a smooth and continu white aspect with long time exposure (nice sometimes but not here I think).
Best regards
JMarc

amstel (2388) 2006-07-20 17:39

hi phil,

very well composed picture, the photo gives me the sense of movement. good contrast.

cheers

glitch (761) 2006-07-20 19:26

Hi Phil,
Hard to know how you could better this...
Your composition of the National Gallery, George IV statue, church spire, fountain and building on the right is superb. Lighting and contrast is spot on, capturing much moodiness, and the exposure time great capturing the water in such detail.
Only question is what is the building on the right? ;)
Well caught, and TFS!
Regards,
Steve

ribeiroantonio (22618) 2006-07-20 19:35

Excellent composition and sharpness. All the details are very good as well as the colours and the note. Well done.
Antonio

greg64g (11193) 2006-07-21 1:44

Hi Phillip

Superb composition and i love the gray sky.
fabulous city shot
cheers
greg

ben4321 (9875) 2006-07-21 5:14

This is a great shot of this much photographed location Phil. The composition is good but what makes this stand out is that dark and dramatic sky.
Good shot, I like it.
Ben

nwoehnl (122) 2006-07-21 7:41

A fine take from Trafalgar Square, Phil. Well-chosen shooting angle to have this balanced and unobscured alignment of the different elements (fountain, church tower, statue and gallery building). Nice "freezing" effect on the water jets from the fast speed, and a good moody aspect contributed by the dark-ish cloud cover.

jhm (122444) 2006-07-21 7:55

Hello Philip,

You took very beautiful the fountain, certainly with the church tower in background, the colours of the people's clothing draws the eye away too, the composition is good, also the dark sky gives a nice dramatic atmosphere.
Thanks a lot.

Have a nice weekend,
John

balatrek (7447) 2006-07-22 18:40

Hola Phillip,

Buena composición y bellos colores en esta imagen, me gustan los tonos de las nubes de tormenta, los colores y contrastes son suaves y bien compensados, fantástico efecto del agua en la fuente, buen trabajo!!

Saludos

José

ChrisJ (86862) 2006-07-23 5:57

Hi Phillip

A fantastic shot of the impending storm, & interest is added by the fg fountain. Good light & sharpness. Tfs!

ndb1958 (9289) 2006-07-31 13:54

The dark sky with these clouds is cool. The most impressing thing is what Leo mentioned - the coloured foreground and the monotone quite black and white background; that's cool. I like the composition. Nice shot. Nino

nivas37 (662) 2006-07-31 15:31

Hello Phillip,
a very soft image... beautifully poised with excellent use of lighting.
The buildings and the horseman are very contrasting with the heavy skies...
good photo!
Rgds / Nivas

dcawker (5717) 2006-08-01 9:28

Nice one Philip! The balance and contast is really strong here. Only slight critisism is that the top of the fountain is a bit washed out at the top-right but overall, a really strong image. Regards, Doug

zeca (19762) 2006-08-18 1:20

Excelent picture, Phillip! The contrast and colours are absolutely beautiful!
Regards,
Zeca

jwmunro (286) 2006-08-24 20:54

Evening Phillip -

Grand image of an over visited and over photographed icon. What sets your image apart from most is the clouds, dark and for boding, the in the fountain POV, and the clarity and color of the water against the dark skies. The composition is right on with the fountain on the 1/3 rds forcing us to look into the image at St. Martins.

Thanks for sharing

tatadalou (3263) 2006-08-25 15:53

Hi Philip,
I love your compo! The various elements situated in different plans of the picture provides much dynamism. Lovely blue of the water in the foreground,
Rea=gards,
Delphine

MIG13 (0) 2006-08-26 18:49

Hi, Phillip! Nice composition, putting together architecture, people, beautiful (heavy) sky and fountains! TFS! Greetings from Rio! Miguel.

rbcy1974 (20758) 2006-08-30 3:08

Hello Philp
Very nice scene
I liek how you have captured the dreadful sky and how it is contrasted by the golden fountain,
well done
regards
Daniel

Mistral (15396) 2006-08-30 16:28

Hi Philip,
excellent image with great colours and dramatic beautiful sky.
Interesting note, as usual.
A smile
Luca

lancelot__666 (783) 2006-08-31 15:26

Wow! Perfect composition with amazing atmospher. I like the fountain's water. Well seen and of course well captured.
Regards

Aspirin (276) 2006-09-22 2:18

Nice photo Phillip,
The fountain being on the side gives it a nice touch. Also the details of the fountain are great.

Cheers

branley (3681) 2006-09-30 4:52

Hi Phillip,

just seen your well written critic about 'art & colour' so thought I'd take a look at your work and the first click brought me to this very moody image. Because of the weather it almost becomes a photograph of two halves, B&W at the top and colour below. The POV is perfect and the light dances well on (or is it in?) the water of the fountain. Great shot.

Regards

Stephen

PTAH (287) 2006-11-18 19:37

A little oversharpenned as we can see the halos around edges of the horse and the side buildings.
But the colourful and vividnes gained and possessed already makes the picture outstanding. Of course, not those alone.
I see a well captured duel here. The lively fountain is taunting at the steady, calm and serious horsman. Meanwhile, the crowd watches.
Nice.

fotomek (920) 2006-11-19 17:35

Hi Philip,
impressive! perfect composition, well balanced colors, dramatic sky - there is everything on it; tfs and greetings - Tomasz

benkrut (2356) 2006-11-22 21:20

Hi
It seems the coming storm is not scary for the crowd of tourists always present there. Heavy clouds make an interesting bacground. Nice composed with the rest of the photo. I wish there was less people but I of course know it's almost impossible.
Take care
HS

DLM (6479) 2006-12-17 4:48

Hi Philip,
great shot nice perspective great colour and contrast,TFS
Dave.

marknunnerley (2780) 2007-06-25 7:17

Have to say this is an excellent shot of Trafalger Square Phillip. The dark clouds are superb, adds a real depth to the image. Composition is fantastic, one I have not seen before, and I like the fast shutter speed as it creates a wonderful effect, as if you can hear the water. That may sound a bit odd but I know what I mean, I think ;)
best regards
mark

capthaddock (28790) 2007-07-05 17:56

Hi Philip - awesome sky making for a nice contrast, but I wish there was a larger break in the clouds for the sun to illuminate the buildings for a better conttrast, that would also let the upper right corner of the sky to darken so that the splashing water does not blend with it. For a tourist it's OK, but since you live there you can do better. No more questions.

testmaniac (13492) 2007-07-08 1:52

Hi Philip!

Very nice composition photo. Composition, colors and sharpness are great!

TFS

Philip

PDP (439) 2007-07-20 5:57

Hi Phillip, I think it's the same storm now that still han't passed! When will it end? :-)

Good shot - the sky is great. Good composition too. Well done.

verswe (7219) 2007-11-25 2:46

Excellent composition and light.
Good note too.
Greetings!

daddo (18517) 2008-02-04 4:34

Hi Phillip.Your intro is true- I'll give you points if you give me points. Otherwise you won't hear from me. Sad modus operandi.Glad to hear you haven't succumbed. Who knows how many points would have come your way had you "sucked up."
It is a highly meritorious photo in its own right. Marvelous mood, Pov,exceptional details, lovely subdued colours and brilliant composition. And i am not sucking up. Regards. Klaudio.

haddles (34) 2009-01-22 12:33 [Comment]

Show Comment