Shooting photos of the London Eye with originality is not an easy task.
Urban landscape photography is as much a part of me as is street photography.
I know... some of you may think some of the following shots are done already but I keep trying nevertheless. London’s landmarks are a big part of what makes London the great city it is so why try and avoid those classic shots?
But there is a way to shoot them differently, somehow making the viewer think: "I’d never seen it like that!"
This photo of the London Eye at night was shot back in 2009. It is a long exposure using a Tokina fisheye lens. It was actually the first ever photo I licensed and made money from. Check the advert for the Tokina Fisheye Lens it was used for.
The great thing about fisheye lenses is that it will distort any view making it look different. That’s half the job done. Search for the unusual angle carefully and there you have your shot. In this particular one, the wheel was not rotating.
The second shot is very similar yet by changing where I positioned my tripod and shooting as the London Eye was rotating, I achieved a new look.
In the third one below, I'm again using a fisheye lens to shoot the London Eye in black and white from behind. By now you'll have reaslised I'm a big fan of fisheye lenses.
(Seriously, maybe it's me but don't the clouds at the centre of the wheel look like a dove???)
The next one is a little out there I admit and not to everyone’s taste. However it has sold well as a print. It’s actually shot in broad daylight but it’s a 1 minute exposure using an Infrared filter (see the Thames river is all flat). I then added a psychedelic colour to it for some reason.
The final shot is my latest. I was experimenting with a square format and double exposures in black and white. I shot the first exposure and then zoomed in a little and shot the second. It seems quite a popular one actually, and I guess it’s not something you see all over Instagram, Flickr and the rest.
So you see, there is always a way to capture the most photographed London landmark in a new, fresh way.
Want to see how I shoot the rest of London? Check out my urban landscape photography!
Nico