Sir Christopher Wren's mighty St Pauls Cathedral in dramatic contrast to the Millennium Bridge by Sir Norman Foster. Wren's (not so wobbly) masterpiece survived the Blitz and has embodied the British spirit ever since.
Winston Churchill was quoted as saying:
"At all cost St Pauls must be saved", such was his awareness of its iconic symbolism to the nation.
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Shot using a 28-105mm lens with a ND filter (if I remember correctly!!).
What a wonderful capture! The level of details in this photo are wonderfully sharp & crystal clear and the color tones are rich, deep hues. Love the way the light plays upon the surface of the water - it makes this nighttime scene a bit magical. I like the blues seen in the water and in that lovely night time sky. I love how you composed the shot so that the Millennium Bridge acts as a leading line that draws our eye across the channel to St Pauls Cathedral.
I don't know how I missed this shot - HOLY CRAP! I can't believe the sharpness and deepness of the tones. Truly incredible and one of the best images I've seen on this site. Outstanding.
I've just been on my works Christmas party and it was a boat trip down the Thames... I was out on deck taking some photos and I was waiting to see this exact shot go by! You did an awsome job, the long exposure's had a great effect on the water, and the colours are fantastic. Great job (clearly!)
... and lurking in the haze just to the right of the Cathedral, is the vague outline of one of the towers of the Barbican Centre: so make that three iconic bits of british architecture. That last, of course, doesn't get quite the plaudits of the others.
Beautiful photo. St Paul's is quite beautiful. I never realized that English Commuter Rail Stations looked so much like American Commuter Rail Stations. I had heard however, Churchill's actual comment was "Mrs Paul's must be shaved."
Well deserved blue ribbon for technically superior post processing. Of course, you have to have a great image to start with and you have captured that. This image is well composed with good perspective and combines two well known landmarks into one composition, perfect for this particular challenge.
One of my top three picks for this challenge; an obvious choice.
beautiful image - i was actually looking through your work the other day and thinking that with all the beautiful images, you must be due for a ribbon! i especially like the blue tone and how the bridge leads you into the picture. congrats!
My top pick won. :) Jon this is one outstanding shot and a well deserved first place. A big congratulations to ya. How in the heck could anyone in there right mind give this a 3 or 4? for that matter even a 5?
Congratulations on your first blue ribbon with this amazing image! Clearly my favorite in this challenge from the start, good to see it in a well deserved 1st place! Outstanding job all the way around!
absolutely stunning, Jon! this captures an emotion not usually found in architecture shots. the colors are wonderful, rich without being overly saturated. well done on a beautiful image and congratulations on a well deserved blue ribbon!
Did you use a star filter?
Some of the street lights seem to look like it.
Great picture - colurs look very natural and not saturated.
The lights on the water are really lovely.
Well would you look at that. I was right for once. I'm quite chuffed about that. Hey, if you can't win a ribbon you can at least predict who will. Just to try and drag you down from the tall pedestal, this was only my second favourite image of the challenge :P.
Fantastic work john. You should have gotten this ribbon so many times before for all your other great shots. Congratulations for this remarkable shot and hopefully many more blue ribbons will continue to follow.
Whooo John, you beat me to the first blue ribbon - well done great shot.
Like the kind of gritty feel this has, usualy this is shot all perfect and clean but the bridge has a gritty rusty element here which you do not usualy see. Nice work.
I have returned to this image several times and still can't stop staring. Stunning result. The tones of the sky alone are breathtaking. I bow before your talent.
This is an outstanding photo. I can only hope that with time and practice I too will be able to take photos of this calibre. This is definitely a winner in my book. I have revisited this photo a countless number of times and never cease to be amazed.
I think you hit the exposure on this shot perfectly. This is simply elegant. The levels on the bridge, water, sky, and buildings are all very well balanced. So clear, sharp, and focused.
Woah, as the photographer of 'Saint Pauls', I think I recognise this location ;) Interesting choice of colours, esp the B&W cathedral, and the long(ish) exposure helps soften that water nicely. Good to see such good photos of London in this challenge :)
What a load of old rubbish...I could do better with my Instamatic !!!
Then again..could my opinion be influenced by the fact that I know who took this :)
Seriously good work Jon...I haven`t been through all the images yet, but if this isn`t among the ribbons, there will be questions asked.
Beautifully executed, well composed. I've tried this shot myself, and never found a really happy composition - I think this is possibly the best available, but it somehow never quite feels a strong as one would want it - I think it's because the balance of the bridge and the cathedral don't quite sit as comfortably in frame as one would like; to my eye, the brdige always feels relegated somehow. This is by far the best attempt I've seen at it though.
cor, a few of you blokes went down to the Tate last week, didn't you? this is a marvellous image of Wrens finest - the lovely blues go very well for the selective desat - which itself works well and has been employed effectively. though, it's so convincing i can't be 100% sure if it was desatted. the bridge, the cathedral, the river and surrounding buildings all work together and forms a wonderful composition - would not look out of place framed and for sale on some tourist friendly stall. excellent job - 10
this is a brilliant photo. I have been looking at it for about 6 mins and have only just realized that it is the river thames and not a rain covered courtyard with a modern sculpture on it...the more I look the more I see. I love the overall coloring and the detail in the bridge support not to mention the main subject, the composition is perfect
have added it to my favs.. a well deserved 10
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