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Photo details
Location: Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, London
Camera: Nikon D810
Lens: Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8
The story behind London Aquatics Centre
The London Aquatics Centre is my favourite building on the Olympic Park and one of the very best in London. It’s a beautiful combination of swooping curves and straight lines, and organic and inorganic materials. And it’s surprisingly hard to photograph.
That’s mainly to do with the clutter surrounding it. There are plants, trees and buildings in every direction. The Stratford skyline is also really filling up, so finding a clean composition is HARD.
This shot took work, finding the right balance between glass and roof, leaving out the messy bed of plants immediately beneath the frame and excluding the buildings in the distance to the left. It really isn’t possible to frame it any other way.
This was taken on a very cold, very grey day in March. There was no detail in the sky, which fitted perfectly with the high-key black and white conversion.
If you like high-key black and white, check out these shots of Welbeck Street Car Park, the Courtyard at the Queen’s House, the Bank of England and the Tulip Stairs.