london Archives - Photo Tips, Creative Photography + Travel Guides - The Wandering Lens

London Luxury: Sofitel London St James Visual Hotel Review

Lisa Michele Burns — Wed, 05 Apr 2017 14:44:55 +0000

If you could take a few days to walk in the footsteps of royalty, wake up to views of the past yet sleep in the luxury of today, would you be tempted? Well if your hand isn’t up in the air mine sure is! As a big fan of London’s historic buildings, streets and parks I based myself in the St James’ area for a weekend at the Sofitel London St James. Located right in the heart of the city the hotel is within walking distance of Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, the West End and the beautiful Hyde Park. Actually, you don’t really need to walk that far at all to see a bit of history with the hotel itself located inside an old bank and the hallways telling their own stories of years gone by. Just around the corner is Her Majesty’s Theatre, Trafalgar Square and Clarence House, then there’s also one of my favourite places in London, St James’s Park and the Horse Guards Parade within a five minutes stroll. Sofitel’s reputation for luxury is showcased throughout the rooms and facilities with little French touches blending with traditional English décor. The Rose Lounge, filled with so much pink,...

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London Photo Walk: The Stopover Route

Lisa Michele Burns — Wed, 12 Nov 2014 07:05:54 +0000

It’s the city of historic splendour where architecture stands proud with an added little royal sparkle and the monument bucket list is endless. London has always been a favourite for visitors and personally, it’s my number one destination for city wanderings with so much to gaze at and stroll past. Photographing London and all of the grand sights and neighbourhoods can fill up your itinerary for days. If you’re in London for the first time however and only have a few hours during a stopover or business trip to uncover the feeling of the city I’ve got a self-guided walking tour just for you. Starting at the Horse Guards on Whitehall (road) and finishing in the same spot, it’s an easy 30min walk without stops but of course, photo stops are essential so I’d suggest giving yourself 2-3hrs to soak it all in. You’ll see the Royal Horse Guards, the Prime Minister’s residence at 10 Downing Street, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Bridge, the London Eye, The River Thames, Westminster Abbey, St James’ Park (with a peek down to Buckingham Palace over the lake) and to finish, the Horse Guards Palace. If you have a little extra time...

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No tripod? No worries! The temporary tripod technique.

Lisa Michele Burns — Thu, 04 Sep 2014 06:59:36 +0000

Photo Tips – Camera Stability without a Tripod A little flashback to my first attempt at long exposures in 2007 Camera equipment can be a pain to lug around on your travels and I to like pack nice and snug with only essential items to minimise weight and space. What’s the first item I ditch? My giant tripod. Especially now that I photograph with the lightweight Olympus system! Some of you might be gasping in shock, the thought of getting a steady shot without a tripod is a little hard to take, I get it, but to be straight up I very rarely use a tripod when travelling. Tripods are definitely a great tool for taking long exposures, photographing in low light and to use if you’re a little shaky but there are many ways to go about getting stability, some are staring you right in the face. One of the first shots I ever took with a long exposure was in Rome at the mighty Colosseum, way back in 2007. I spent the evening testing out how to set a long exposure (I prefer to learn with my camera) and then perfect the settings so I had the lights...

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