London in Miniature
I know it’s kind of a cliché, but I really do love the whole fake tilt-shift miniature thing. It’s even better with a time-lapse, but it works great on stills too. However, to get the best out of the trick, you really need photos taken from the right angle and elevation. In other words, from a tall building (or plane or drone). Luckily, I was recently in such a position, thanks to an impromptu trip up the Shard in London. I was just processing these normally, and then I thought to make a few as miniatures too.
If you’re ever in London, I highly recommend visiting the viewing platforms at the Shard. Apart from the fact that you get a great view of the city, the building itself is ideally positioned, with vistas of the river, the skyscrapers of the City of London and numerous train lines that mill about the base of the skyscraper. There’s a great view of Borough Market, and a perfect vantage point on Tower Bridge.
We went up late in the evening and captured an amazing sunset, or at least the hour before sunset. There was a haze over the city, and it led to incredible views looking into the sun. But that’s for another post. I found these few, looking down on the buildings below, worked great as faux miniatures, and wanted to share them while I was still working on the others.
Incidentally, if you’re wondering how I made these, there’s an easy way to do it in Lightroom without using any plug-ins. I have a video on how to do it over on my YouTube channel.
Photos were taken with a Canon EOS R6 Mark II and a 24- 105 f/4 L lens.
