"London Eye" Photo

Photographer’s Note

The London Eye, also known as the Millennium Wheel, is the tallest (135 metres (443 ft)) Ferris wheel in Europe, and has become the most popular paid tourist attraction in the UK, visited by over 3 million people a year.

At the time it was erected it was the tallest Ferris wheel in the world, until surpassed by the The Star of Nanchang (160m) in May 2006, and then the Singapore Flyer (165m) which opened on February 11, 2008.
However it still holds the title of 'World's Tallest cantilevered observation wheel".

Designed by architects David Marks, Julia Barfield, Malcolm Cook, Mark Sparrowhawk, Shariq Varawalla, Sir Alexander Pulsford, Steven Chilton, Frank Anatole and Nic Bailey, the wheel carries 32 sealed and air-conditioned passenger capsules attached to its external circumference. Each capsule holds approximately 25 people, who are free to walk around inside the capsule, though seating is also provided. It rotates at 26 cm (10 in) per second (about 0.9 km/h (0.5mph) so that one revolution takes about 30 minutes. The wheel does not usually stop to take on passengers: the rotation rate is so slow that they can easily walk on and off the moving capsules at ground level. It is, however, stopped to allow disabled or elderly passengers time to embark and disembark safely.
The rim of the Eye is supported by tie rods and resembles a huge spoked bicycle wheel, and was depicted as such in a poster advertising a charity cycle race. The lighting for the London Eye was redone with LED lighting from Color Kinetics in December 2006 to allow digital control of the lights as opposed to the manual replacement of gels over fluorescent tubes.
The wheel was constructed in sections which were floated up the Thames on barges and assembled lying flat on pontoons. Once the wheel was complete it was raised into an upright position by cranes, being lifted at 2 degrees an hour until it reached 65 degrees. It was left in that position for a week while engineers prepared for the second phase of the lift. The total weight of steel in the Eye is 1,700 tonnes (1,870 short tons). The project was truly European with major components coming from six countries: the steel was supplied from the UK and fabricated in The Netherlands by the Dutch company Hollandia, the cables came from Italy, the bearings came from Germany, the spindle and hub were cast in the Czech Republic, the capsules were made in France (and the glass for these came from Italy), and the electrical components from the UK. (Mann, Thompson, Smits, 2001).*

I hope you like the shot!
- Dan

*Wikipedia

kri54, migzal, janneman, windosil, Dyerco, ktanska, Waylim, Jakou, pboehringer, AiresSantos has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

kri54 (1515) 2008-04-06 6:27

très joli en mauve,les lumières sont très belles

GUYOFF (893) 2008-04-06 6:29

Hello,

I ever toaken this kind of picture....I am really enjoy to see this one, the exposure is good (f/10.0, 15 seconds) and I can see you control your cam...WELLDONE

GUY

Nina (4603) 2008-04-06 6:30

Dan, this is a stunning low light shot! Love the colours and detail you captured. Excellent work.

migzal (485) 2008-04-06 6:43

wow. excellent shot. the framing makes the ferris wheel stands out. outstanding use of light in a very slow speed. sharpness and colors are superb. very well composed...excellent.
regards,
Miguel

janneman (1182) 2008-04-06 8:05

A not so usual shot of the wheel. I like the colours and the contrat of the trees in the front.

Blairfraser (847) 2008-04-06 8:16

Hi Dan.

Great picture here! You have a good exposure here. I like the colours and I also feel it is very sharp.

Well done!

Blair

Cormac (26449) 2008-04-06 8:50

Excellent shot Dan! The exposure is right on, with the objects well lit but not overexposed. Good composition too, with the parliament buildings visible in the background. Nicely done!

zanzi (4419) 2008-04-06 11:47

Great capture
Beautiful composition
Nice sky
I love it

euryan (8345) 2008-04-06 12:14

Okay, this is my favorite of your London shots so far. ;-)
I love how you fit it all in using a wide angle. The colors are great, and I love seeing Big Ben in the background. Masterful composition, and perfectly exposed light all around.
Regards,
Ryan

Dyerco (8908) 2008-04-07 7:09

Great POV Dan. This is not the usual view of this structure. I also like the evening shot and the long exposure. The trees add some interesting framing.
Phil

kensimage (8539) 2008-04-07 21:42

It looks like a giant fan, creating a little breeze for London! Your timing was great to take this shot, the colors are perfect and the light is well balanced. Given the length of your exposure, it's amazing the tower across the river isn't way overexposed. Was a filter involved? Well done, Dan. Regards, Ken.

ktanska (16432) 2008-04-07 22:34

Hi Dan,
Those light tones are absolutely beautiful. Good framing showing the whell diagonally and as big as possible. Wide angle is quite efficient. I see the wheel is actually quite slow giving plenty of time to enjoy views.
Kari

alive (924) 2008-04-08 3:26

Olá!
That effect, that light and that clearness. It is a spectacular photo and nothing of negative to point.
Congratulations e abraço.
luis.

Wandering_Dan (3191) 2008-04-08 9:19

Hello, Dan -

Superb light management! And I hadn't realized the ferris wheel tilts like that. Looks like a Big "O" or perhaps a "Q".

Regards,
Dan

Waylim (10717) 2008-04-08 18:13

Wow,
Absolutely spectacular night shot. I'm looking forward to going to London in a couple of weeks. Great composition, great clarity with brilliant colors. The sharpness is so good for the shutter speed of 15 second. I really enjoyed it. Thanks so much Dan for posting.
Way

dinkar (194) 2008-04-11 23:42

Fantastic shot. Great exposure, color and sharpness. Clarity is amazing for such a long exposure. Not to mention the POV. Big Ben peeking through is such a nice touch.

Jakou (642) 2008-04-14 10:04

Bonjour Dan,
A picture which restitute the possible magic of photographic work. Very well done. Congratulations for this original shot.
Regards.
Jacques

pboehringer (770) 2008-04-19 10:13

Dan,
I in total amazement with this shot and all your previous protraying London. You certainly have the eye of a person that knows the area quite well and yet doesn't live there. I learned that this is actually the best mix to get the right inspiration for some novel shots of places that are very much the beaten path. This is certainly one of the best "Eye" shots that I saw so far. Everything breathes perfection. The framing with the two trees, the light blur of the cabins, the slight tilt to the right, the golden background with the Parlament's House and Big Ben and last but not least the blurred violet clouds in the blue hour tinged sky. Wonderful shot!
Peter

SteveH (3859) 2008-04-25 18:49

Hi Dan, With the 15 sec exposure I'm surprised that there is not more bluring of the wheel. Although reading your note, it moves slowly. As other have said, great colours and sharpness. I also like the inclusion of the Houses of Parliment, providing context to the wheel. cheers, Steve

MarcT (20983) 2008-04-29 2:56

Hi Dan,
That's an excelent classical view of London. The POV is well chosen but most of all those colours are gorgeous.
Cheers
Marc

PJE (19357) 2008-04-30 11:29

One of your finest posting from London so far Dan. I love the detail in the distance and the colors are magnificent in this time exposure. I do however question how it is possible to have such little blur on the big wheel at 15 second exposure? Seems more like a 1/15th a second capture with a very slow moving wheel. Good results Daniel!

AiresSantos (41468) 2008-05-02 5:50

Hi Dan,
Great night picture with lovely colours and details. I like your POV and how you managed the light
Have nice weekend
Aires

jimkilgallon (0) 2008-05-19 8:10

This is very good Dan

When I lived in London, I think the London Eye was one of the best things to have happened along the Embankment. Apart from Big Ben and Tower Bridge I thought the River Thames was a drab at night, but your capture here really lights ups the place. Very good motion movement in the wheel and BB is holding its detail very well in the BG. Good colours and sharpness coupled with the composition.. well done
Jim

vmukherjee (395) 2009-06-18 9:36