Zbigniew Thanks for you feedback @ponzu all comments much appreciated. I have been to this roof terrace once before and I had more time to spend with a similar conditions and took a few photographs . I wonder what would you say about this one... ?flickr.com/photos/27409632@N03...
ponzu It has some of the improvements and some new problems. It's interesting to look at various takes on the same subject from different days and conditions. I would still try moving St.Paul's even further towards the middle. Because in both shots it sits off to the side, and both shots are done with a wide angle lens, it suffers from a distortion, and it is the main and the best part of the shot, so it should look its best. I don't shoot a lot with a wide angle, but something is telling me that it is a good idea to put the main subject in the center of a wide angle shot, and save the rule of thirds notions for the normal and telephoto shots. Also, in the Tookapic shot, St. Paul's is better lit resulting in a more attractive reflection, sadly cut off.
ponzu I wonder where you shot this from and whether you have a chance to go back there and reshoot. I only have the most obvious comments, nothing too deep. A 10s exposure at 12mm at night is rife with both exciting possibilities and pitfalls. St. Paul's is great, but shifted off to the side as if the rule of thirds were the 11th Commandment. The sky is great, including the silky clouds smoothed out by the long exposure. The working crane blurred out by the long exposure is not great. The roof is great where there are reflections and terrible elsewhere, which is, unfortunately, a great portion of it. If I had chance to shoot the same scene under the same conditions, with the benefit of having seen and considered your shot, I would
- try a longer focal length
- move St. Paul's towards the center; it does not have to be centered, because then someone will say: "too centered, have you heard of the rule of thirds?"
- frame the shot so that the only portions of the roof visible are the ones that reflect something; perhaps it should be just the reflection of St. Paul's, and perhaps the frame will change to vertical
Good luck! Nice start to your project.