All Things Bright And Beautiful

All Features Great And Small

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

A couple of days after I bought my 300mm lens, I was walking through Southbank at dawn. It was about three months ago and so we were still in mid-autumn and the days were still quite warm, whereas we’re deep into winter now.

I thought I’d wait and see what the dawn was like, but I was disappointed because there was some low cloud and there were no stunning colours to capture. But the cloud cleared to a thin band across the horizon and as the sun rose into a clear sky, I realised that the real shot was not the sun itself, but its reflection on this office block across the river.

I’m estimating the building was about four hundred metres (yep, almost half a kilometre) away from where I was standing, so the 300mm lens was just perfect for what I was trying to achieve. The tight vertical frame (above) was an interesting composition, but I quickly realised that a vertical frame would capture the majestic sight with a bit more perspective.

I guess this experience reinforced my opinion that even when you think there is nothing for you to photograph, there is always something, if you look all around. Nature never disappoints us.