Lamp light at Richmond Lock - # 105/2011

Night falls and the lamps at Richmond Lock light up.

Slack water - # 104/2011

Slack water - that period when the tide is neither flowing in nor out. The water becomes calm and the lighting effect becomes special.  The setting sun begins to flood the sky with remarkable colours that change by the minute. For about 20 minutes every photo will be different. The air is still. The scene holds its breath waiting for the night.

Night fall at Richmond Lock - ~ 103/2011

It's the time of year when night photography is getting interesting again thanks to the earlier hour and the rewarding bursts of colour in the sky.  I missed the sky. Was using a fixed focus lens, but my companion, using a lens with a wider angle got a similar but far better shot which included a magnificent red sky.

Anyway, as the lights come on, the lock head watch house takes on a magical appearance.

Towards Richmond Hill - # 08/146

This shot was taken back in March '08. Looking through the elegant span of Richmond Lock (here, the portage slips for canoes and skiffs) we can see the 1933 by-pass road bridge, the railway bridge, and in the distance the apartments along the terrace at the top of Richmond Hill. The original 1778 Richmond Bridge is just visible at the very back if you look hard at the left hand far end.

Another piece of fancy stuff - # 08/107

Last weekend we enjoyed the sight of the lamps on the pedestrian bridge across Richmond Lock. Here we see the elegant curves of the bridge housing the sluice gate controls. The sluices hold back the whole River Thames, so they must be immensely strong. But this massive iron structure is totally elegant and pleasing on the eye.

Engineering excellence - # 08/99

The lanterns on the late 19th/early 20th century construction of Richmond Lock on the Thames are remarkably good looking.