Tower Bridge sunrise…
Whilst on an overnight break in London, a conversation occured regarding my travel habits…
The wife: “he always gets up at 5am when we are away, and goes out for a walk”
The cousin: “why don’t you go up to Tower Bridge for sunrise?”
And that was all that was needed! A quick look at Google Maps revealed Tower Bridge was a 20 minute walk away, followed by a Flickr search for Tower Bridge Sunrise images.
As predicted I woke up around 5am, and snuck quietly out…
Olympus μ[mju:]-II - Ilford HP5
Armed with the Olympus μ[mju:]-II loaded with HP5, I crossed Tower Bridge with amazing views of the City at dawn. With sunrise an hour away and it being a rather cold January morning, the walk continued along the north bank of the Thames past The Tower of London with only a handful of Joggers and Photographers up at this time of the day.
Olympus μ[mju:]-II - Ilford HP5
The City looked incredible in the feint dawn light, a time that I have never been out in London. I have visited many times, but only once previously stayed the night. The first few shots make the sky look lighter then it actually was. The light level was more like the digital shot below.
Olympus E-M10 II
Olympus μ[mju:]-II - Ilford HP5
With no tripod, resting the mju on any firm surface was the only way to get a good shot. A hot coffee acquired, I crossed London Bridge, pausing to asses where the sun would appear from in relation to Tower Bridge. Quickly realising I was in the wrong place, and backtracking along the northern bank Thames Path the sun finally emerged from behind the cloud that blocked the initial sunrise. The bridge was strongly backlit by a golden sky and strong sunlight.
Olympus μ[mju:]-II - Ilford HP5
Now wishing I had a second camera with Kodak Gold, but you cannot predict these things!
This trip did show some light leaks on the mju, which I think are caused by the foam around the film window on the rear door - I will replace this before using it again.
Olympus μ[mju:]-II - Ilford HP5
The initial thought of - wow the bridge is opening, that is cool - was soon replaced by - what do I do now then! I was stuck for 20 minutes waiting on the bridge before being able to cross when it was lowered again. By the time I got back it was past 9am just as everyone was waking ready for a full day of wandering around the city! I had already done my 10k steps!