Camera Labs

Hi Everyone,
I have just ordered my new D7000 with Lens.... Very exciting times!!!

I will be leaving for a trip through Europe and was hoping to get some location ideas. I will be visiting the follow cities and if you know any places ( Streets, Buildings or even People) to take great photos of please let me know.

Reykjavik - Iceland
Amsterdam
Bruges - Belgium
Paris
Dublin
Edinbourgh
Aberystwyth - Wales
Bristol - England
London

I really look forward to hearing your suggestions.

Cheers

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----- http://www.phippsphotography.com.au -----

Nikon D7000
Nikon D600
- Nikon 35mm 1.8 - Sigma 8-16mm - Nikon 70-300mm VR/ED - Nikon 70-200mm 2.8
On the list: Nikon 24/70mm 2.8 - Nikon 14/24mm f2.8 - Nikon 50mm 1.4,

Well for Bruges you've just got to walk all around the city inside of the walls, taking in a few views from/or bridges into the city centre itself. It's one of those places where you just get lost and eventually find where you are, rather than planning out an itinerary.

Personally, I'd skip Bristol and Aberystwyth (you don't want to be picking up any local accents ), and spend more time in Iceland outside of Reykjavik.

Alternatively if you're travelling around Wales you have some great seascapes and 12th/13th century castles to explore and photography (Conway, Carnarvon, Caerphilly etc)

With London, you have the usual touristy subjects (Tower Bridge, Tower of London, St Pauls Cathedral, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, Downing Street, Parliament Square, London Eye)

The order I've placed them in there is a good walk, but in one line from Tower Hill tube station - a great early Sunday morning walk.

You then have Regent Street, Picadilly Circus, Oxford Street, Covent Garden which are all very close to each other.

Don't forget the parks - plenty to visit, and for gothic architecture the Natural History Museum is good.

There's loads to do - I'm sure you'll be flooded with suggestions...

For Dublin as a starter for 10:

Walking along the Liffey River
Trinity College buildings and grounds
not forgetting the Guinness factory!

Sounds great dubaiphil,
Bristol and Aberystwyth are part of a road trip that we are going to be doing over 7 days from Edinburgh to London,
The Wales country side is the reason for stopping in Aberystwyth and Bath is the attraction outside Bristol.

As you suggested I think that walking around Bruges is a great idea. Thanks for your walking ideas in London as well.

If anyone has any location please let me know, I really am all ears.
If you have any images that is even better!

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----- http://www.phippsphotography.com.au -----

Nikon D7000
Nikon D600
- Nikon 35mm 1.8 - Sigma 8-16mm - Nikon 70-300mm VR/ED - Nikon 70-200mm 2.8
On the list: Nikon 24/70mm 2.8 - Nikon 14/24mm f2.8 - Nikon 50mm 1.4,

Well If you're driving from Edinburgh to London via Wales, then you'll potentially also be driving through the Lake District in North East England on the way - definitely worth driving through.

Driving down the M6 motorway, you can then head west along the North coast of Wales and then down the East coast (the road along the north coast used to be quite slow, with a slightly 'fascist' local police constabulary in terms of their approach to speeding fines!)

You then have Anglessey and castles on the way (Conway and Beaumaris castles are on the north coast - look them up!)

I used to love the drive across the heart of Wales from Anglessey, past Mount Snowdon and down towards Gloucesterchire in England. Great scenery and great roads.

Bath is definitely worth a day trip and is good to walk around. The Roman baths and ruins are fantastic, as it the majority of the old town.

I'd recommend a diversion on the way to London from there. Either a little further south to Stonehenge or a little further north to Stratford-on-Avon and Warwick with it's fantastic castle via the Cotswolds (Broadway and Stow on the Wold are worth looking up).

Then on the way into London (around 20 miles short, signposted off the M4 motorway if you're coming from Bristol, or off the M40 from Warwick and then onto the M25 and M4) you have Windsor.

Other nice areas SW from central London (but still in London) to try to investigate include Richmond and Hampton Court

Just get Google Earth up and running and search away...

Can you tell I liked the section in my History classes at school, aged 10, when we covered castles?!?!? I've just reread my post - oops, what a saddo! Caernarvon's castle's another belter

Ooh - and if you divert to Stratford and Warwick, then you have Oxford on the way to London, just off the M40. Forget Cambridge, it's overrated

Oxford is a great place to spend a day though - great history and architecture, the central area is easy to get around (with a local Big Bus Tour to see the sights) and you can tell your mates you went punting on the Thames (it's not advisable that you pack the camera on board for that though, just in case)

You could have a look at some of the shots taken during last years Scot Kelby Photowalks http://worldwidephotowalk.com/ to see what others have chosen.

In Edinburgh you have a range of locations and well known images. The obvious things are Edinburgh Castle, Forth Road and Rail bridge, Arthurs Seat, The Parliament building, Princes St Gardens. You can get to some rooftops for good panoramic shots at The Museum of Scotland (Chamber St), Camera Obscura (near the Castle), The Glass House (Hotel/Restaurant). Or climb to the top of Carlton Hill or Arthurs Seat. If you go down to Leith you have the Royal Yacht, Britannia lots of shoreline and views over to Fife.

Some of the locations you have to pay to get into whilst others are free.

When you are in London I would recommend the walk between St Pauls and Tate Modern over the Millennium Bridge (and the Thames). You will be able to get great shots of St Pauls, the Thames and river life and Tate Modern (which was a power station). You can also get good views from the balcony of the restaurant in Tate Modern back over the Thames toward St Pauls.

The main thing I noticed moving up to Scotland from England was a change in the natural light. Things seems crisper up here and you seem to get a much better range of colours in the sky, especially at sunrise and sunset.

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Nikon D90
Nikkor AF-S DX; 18-105 f/3.5-5.6G VR, 55-300 f/4.5-5.6G VR, 35mm f/1.8G
Speedlight SB-700

http://keystrokesukimages.com

When I lived in London, I found myself doing more and more around the South Bank area. You can get a good feel for it by starting at Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament at Westminster tube, crossing the bridge, then turning left onto the South Bank towards the London Eye. I'd definitely recommend a ride on the London Eye - you can get some great photos up there.

Then stroll along past the Royal Festival Hall, the BFI and various wharfs until you reach Tate Modern, a fantastic modern art gallery housed in a magnificent converted power station - again great photos inside the turbine hall, but also looking over at St Paul's Cathederal - there's a nice view looking straight over the footbridge.

Then continue on past Shakespeare's Globe theatre, past the London Dungeon and onto Southwark Cathederal where you'll find Borough Market - think Granville Island food market in Vancouver and you'll be close. It's also next to my favourite pub for real ale, the Market Porter.

Then you're close to lots of attractions around London Bridge station.

I had not thought about the London Eye as a photography platform, definately a great idea.

London & Paris seem a little overwhelming, there are so many subject to capture. It will be so much fun to have all these options well within walking distance.
With my D7000 (which I purchase through your links CL) I also purchased a Sigma 8-16 along with the other lens listed below. I am hoping be able to get some interesting perspectives with the extreme wide angle, especially of the Eiffel Tower and Big Ben.

Has anyone got some unique locations in Amsterdam?

_________________
----- http://www.phippsphotography.com.au -----

Nikon D7000
Nikon D600
- Nikon 35mm 1.8 - Sigma 8-16mm - Nikon 70-300mm VR/ED - Nikon 70-200mm 2.8
On the list: Nikon 24/70mm 2.8 - Nikon 14/24mm f2.8 - Nikon 50mm 1.4,

I lived in Aberystwyth for about 4 years. From memory, you should climb up constitution hill for great views over the town & bay. There's also a camera obscurer up there which can be interesting. You could alternatively take the electric railway up there.

You can also take steam train to Devil's Bridge: http://www.rheidolrailway.co.uk/
Both the journey and the destination are very photogenic.

If you have a car there are countless trips into the Welsh countryside you can take.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/53061745@N02/

Panasonic G3: 9-18mm, 14mm, 20mm, 45mm

I am planning to visit my Paris friends this May. I am planning to stay here http://www.charlesdegaulleairport.co.uk/hotels/sheraton-paris-airport-hotel/
although I would appreciate suggestions to hotels near beautiful sites. thank you

find the distance between cities or any two places using Google maps. The calculated distance will be shown in miles and kilometers using mileage calculator

First of all - congratulations, your going to have such an awesome time!

I’ve travelled Europe extensively, and as anyone else will tell you – there are loads of magnificent countries with such diversity. My favourites for photography are all very much out of the way, except for one – Switzerland. This would arguably have to be the most beautiful European country in terms of landscapes. If you want lush green pastures with a backdrop of snow capped mountains, then I’d definitely recommend here. Unfortunately, some of the out of the way countries are also my favourite. Tallinn, Estonia would have to be the most amazing and beautiful European city I’ve visited. Iceland, for the constantly changing alien like scenery that just drops your jaw when it comes to how beautiful it is. Though this country is very difficult to get to in comparison. Then the list goes on, French countryside, northern Italy, eastern European architecture.

If your interested…
Iceland Photos
Estonia Photos
Switzerland Photos
Best bet would be to look at all of the Europe Photos.

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Canon EOS 7D + Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM + Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L USM + Tamron AF 17-50mm F/2.8 Di-II LD

Travel Photography Portfolio: ExplosiveAperture.com | Facebook Page

Bit late but I agree with dubaiphil earlier. Consider going slightly outside central London to Hampton Court and Richmond Park. There are some very nice photo oportunities there. I live about 15 minutes from Hampton Court!

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Camera: Canon 550D with battery grip
Lenses: Canon 24-105mm f/4L, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 18-55mm, Tamron 70-300mm,
Accessories: Manfrotto 055XPROB with 808RC4 head, Canon 430ex II speedlite, Lowepro Nova 180AW and Lowepro Pro Runner 450AW

Oh that is so lame, every hot girl who can aim a camera thinks she’s a photographer -Stewie Griffin

Here's my 2p's worth

Firstly Aberystwyth. Its the only sea side location your visiting by the looks of it. Not sure what time of year you'll be there or what the weather will be but the prom should give you some varied potential locations.

The drive in and out of Aber can be stunning. I'd suggest planning to do this either early or late in the day to make the most of the golden hour if you can.

In the UK you'll soon see why we're addicted to weather forecasts. If you can suss the charts out and get used to what the forecasts are actually saying you'll be able to make the most of the gaps in the rain!

In the cities I find looking for the real side of life gets the most rewarding photos. I'm not good enough to compete with the postcard photographers and I can buy those easily enough. In London I'd look to visit one of the parks (Hyde Park?), a market (Camden or Petticote Lane?), some where like Covent Garden is a paradise for people watching and street performers, Soho has sights and sounds not found elsewhere in the city and then as Gordon said the South Bank is brilliant for riverside art and sculptures. Oxford street is another great but challenging photo walk and then there is the tube of course, the network of arteries that pumps people through London.

In Paris I love the Pompidou Centre with the building and the street performers in the big square, the gay quarter is a good stroll from there with lots of cool little boutiquey shops and cafes and then Montmatre is also a really interesting place to wander. The Moulin Rouge area also has the weird mix of tourist buses and sex shops. Lots of neon at night.

Hope this helps

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Canon EOS 550D (with Magic Lantern)
18mm - 135mm Kit Lens, 50mm f1.8, Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM
430EX II Flash with Phottix Strato Wireless Tigger Set
Manfrotto 190CXPRO3 with 496 Ball Head. Gorilla Pod SLR
Canon Powershot A720IS with CHDK and intervalometer script. Pentax Optio W90

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