This week I took delivery of a new camera and lens. I am now the proud owner of a Canon EOS 350D digital SLR and a Canon 17-40 f4 USM L lens. The primary reason for buying the camera is an effort to save some money when it comes to our trip to Africa later in the year. I take a lot of photos when on holiday and when those photos are taken on film we end up with a large number of films requiring development. Because we always get prints with out developed slides this isn’t a cheap proposition. We’ve found a place that we can get prints from digital quite cheap so having a digital SLR should save us money in the long run. That’s the theory anyway.
This morning I got up early and headed into London, getting to Liverpool Street just before 6am. I walked off towards St Mary’s Axe (such a great Street name) and wandered past the Swiss Re building, otherwise known as The Gerkin. I decided not to take any photos and continued down the Axe and stopped to look at the Lloyds building. I set up the tripod and was taking a few photos when I noticed two police officers further down the street. They noticed me and ambled over. They talked to me and asked me what I was doing and then wrote up a ‘City of London Police Stop Person’ form, checked my identity with their station and then told me to stop taking photos because of the perceived terrorist threat. They were very friendly but it seems a bit off to stop someone taking photos, at least they let me keep the ones I’d already taken.
The Lloyds Building
So I packed up and moved on down towards the Thames. I spent the next hour or so taking photos of Tower Bridge and interesting items on the way from London Bridge down to the Millennium Bridge. It was a very grey morning so the photos are a bit bland, and if I want nice lights in the photos I think I’ll either have to wait till Autumn when it is darker in the morning or I’ll have to start going out after work. I prefer the morning however, there are less people around.
Tower Bridge and HMS Belfast
The distinctive lamps that line the Thames path
