London Big Ben - Another treatment of the Big Ben tower at the Houses of Parliament in London. Trying to find a new angle on a familiar London topic.
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How I took this London Big Ben inverted picture
In the current climate, I think turning Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and the House of Commons on their head might not be too bad an idea. This picture of Big Ben was taken on an overcast day in Spring in London, in the run up to the 2010 UK elections.
I took a few standard shots of Big Ben and then started to wander around the central square trying to pick a new angle on the famous tower with its bell that chimes every hour. I spotted the murky puddle and by shuffling my position, found that it reflected Big Ben quite nicely. It was also a convenient horizontal shape to it, reflecting Big Ben's tower.
After some test pictures, I was excited to find that there were some lines leading straight towards the Big Ben tower created naturally from the grass verge to one side. More challenging, I couldn't work out how to fit both Big Ben and its reflection into one photograph. I tried tilting the camera, but I couldn't cram it all in and keep the reflection in my lens. I decided to compromise by cutting off the top of the real Big Ben tower. I went down as far as the Churchill statue.
I realised that there were intermittent London Red Buses trawling along Parliament Square, so timed my shot to get one of these splitting the frame. If I had a tripod I would have gone for a bit more motion blur here but I will have to live with the bit I took.
Despite the overcast sky, I managed to find a tiny bit of blue in the sky, which I positioned by the reflected clock face of Big Ben. Some branches help remind me that this is a puddle rather than a fancy photoshop effect.
Then I took the picture.
Back at home, in Aperture, I realised that by flipping the picture 180 degrees, your eye would recognise Big Ben, and run down the page trying to make sense of what it was seeing. A bit of fun for a most iconic of buildings - Big Ben in London.
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Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and is often extended to refer to the clock or the clock tower as well. Big Ben is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third-tallest free-standing clock tower in the world. It celebrated its 150th anniversary in May 2009 (the clock itself first ticking on 31 May 1859), during which celebratory events took place.
To learn more about Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament in London, visit Big Ben on Wikipedia.
London is a city the really rocks for photography. London has so many iconic buildings and locations. I Love London. You can see my London set for more London.
29 Июль 2010, 12:42 Calmpjes Hey up side down! Nice! The refelctiion is great!
30 Июль 2010, 11:15 Mendhak [ Photoshop a noose around it and call it hung.
31 Июль 2010, 01:19 nature photographer. beautiful perspective and reflections..! Have a wonderful weekend and Saturday
31 Июль 2010, 18:41 Freester
Doug that is superb and funny that I find
this fitting for the political situation we
are in at the moment.It's a great reflection and another of your
trademark motion blurred double decker London
buses... Nice one!--
Seen on my Flickr home page. (?)
01 Август 2010, 00:24 doug88888 Hangings too good for them!Big Ben in London inverted
01 Август 2010, 19:37 Property#1
Very nice work--
Seen in my contacts' photos. (?)
01 Август 2010, 20:06 Gladly Beyond Fabulous reflection shot. I love the way you've inversed it.
02 Август 2010, 04:12 monica_meeneghan Perhaps the change we want.
02 Август 2010, 10:00 neems2009 very innovative interesting perspective good shot
03 Август 2010, 09:20 suchitra prints Superb work, Lovely view & reflections!!
03 Август 2010, 16:38 theshutterbugeye Great reflection. Very creative and different. :-)
04 Август 2010, 06:03 eg65 I can't believe it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
04 Август 2010, 16:56 Soon2010
wow , great perspective ! gives me to think
of real meanings of
Big Ben..
05 Август 2010, 15:06 Heniusia Wow, you were working some magic here ! Superb capture....
06 Август 2010, 03:50 Constance J. this makes for a really interesting perspective-I like it!
06 Август 2010, 18:24 kevindooley love this!
07 Август 2010, 11:39 ineedathis
Marvelous reflections, such a great idea!
Have a great weekend !
08 Август 2010, 02:35 Sue's Keepsakes
Wow a fantastic capture .. !! very creative
.. love the reflection.. fabulous work..
Wishing you a wonderful weekend..
08 Август 2010, 09:40 Leo Vavassori Doug,mate your pics are fantastic! Nice to see someone putting to use its skills and creativity with a great camera. All the best to you buddy and keep them up so I can enjoy more of it.
08 Август 2010, 14:27 nique88888 clever shot!
08 Август 2010, 23:35 • ian
That's nicely done. Gives a nice surreal feel
to it. Faved.
~ Seen on your photo stream. (?)
09 Август 2010, 12:30 Sandro H. very creative. well done!
10 Август 2010, 05:04 varocentroklub WELL DONE!! this is so creative!!
10 Август 2010, 18:24 mizlizbet Hi, I'm an admin for a group called in my world..., and we'd love to have this added to the group!
11 Август 2010, 01:10 julesnene Very interesting and creative work! Cheers!
11 Август 2010, 16:31 Magic@Photos (away) very cool - great shot
11 Август 2010, 23:57 peppermint 2009 great shot
12 Август 2010, 09:25 Soleil is me.
Bravo! your artwork from your camera is
excellent; happy to join my group;
SPLENDID IMAGE; YOUR WORK IS THE BEST.. by
The Admin. considered.
INSPIRE Invite ONLY
You are INVITED to display this wonderful
photo
in the INSPIRE Pool
Be happy!
13 Август 2010, 03:51 doug88888 Thanks for all these fab comments on my Big Ben in a Puddle picture!
13 Август 2010, 13:20 bogob1980 creativity and imagination come together in this picture, the technique is excellent but it is the work of fiction to impress and attract my attention. A fantastic job, congratulations for the Explore!
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