Playing tourist on the Thames

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St Paul’s Cathedral on a sunny spring afternoon

The first warm sunny afternoon of the season (along with a boring workload staring me down!) could only mean one time: grab my camera and head out for a nice long walk in the sunshine. Making my way to one of my favourite strolling areas, St Paul’s Cathedral to Tate Modern via the Millennium Bridge, I soon realized that I wasn’t the only one playing hooky. Plenty of City worker types seemed to have found excuses to escape their offices (a benefit of economic downturn perhaps?) for a bit. A few large school groups huddled here and there, and more tourists than I would have imagined milled about in equal measures of awe and exhaustion.

Tate Modern’s iconic chimney behind a row of trees

I was hardly the only person with a camera as well, prompting me to wonder how many times on average London landmarks, such as St Paul’s or Tate Modern, are photographed daily? A quick glance at PhotoBox’s Public Albums suggests a great deal of photos indeed! One tip I’d like to suggest for shooting around this area of London is to
head up to one of the Tate Modern’s terraces facing the Thames. The best is the one adjoined to the sixth floor members’ room, but the terraces on the floors below offer stunning views too.

View of the Millennium Bridge from one of the Tate Modern’s terraces

Another tip, when crossing north to south along the Millennium Bridge (from St Paul’s toward Tate) is to stop just before the exiting via the bridge’s ramp and snap a few shots of the cathedral’s dome. I think this location provides a unique ‘old with the new’ shot and captures much of London’s spirit.

Photo of St Paul’s shot just before alighting the Millennium Bridge

Cheers,
Chris Osburn, PhotoBox Blogger

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