The View from The Shard

On Saturday with a small group of my Photo Experience Days clients I made my way up to the top of The Shard in London.  The tickets had been purchased a few months earlier, but I'd been careful to research the sunset time for our day, and timed our assent for shortly before.   The aim was to get the best light of the day, and also some night lights as a bonus.

Luck was on our side for the weather, and we'd had a wonderfully sunny day, a far cry from the bitter winter conditions over the previous couple of weeks.

The pay in advance price of £25 is a tad steep, but honestly don't let it put you off.  You'll be rewarded with a stunning view over one of the greatest cities in the world.

The whole experience from ground to sky and back again was excellent, although I still think they missed a trick with the tv screens in the roofs of the lifts.  They should have put them in the floor and simulated the floor of the lift opening up James Bond style!  Or perhaps my twisted mind is working overtime. 

The sunset was spoiled a tad by selfish people at the top who didn't move away from the windows for the whole of the sunset.  I managed to push myself in to grab a couple of quick shots though.

The trick to getting good photos through the slightly dirty windows was to get the lens as close as possible, and then cup any gaps between window and lens with your hand.  At least that's what I did, and it seemed to work fairly well at cutting out reflections.

I highly recommend this experience to anyone visiting London.