Lumiere London 2018

Lumiere returned to London for the second time this January. I only managed to visit on the last day - there’s so much more to see that I’ll be sure to allow at least two nights next time.

The displays are a real challenge to photograph - there’s lots of people around and you’re shooting in really poor lighting (despite it being a lighting event). I took a monopod and remote release with me which helped me stabilise the shots and get some more unique angles.

A photo of a light triangular light sculpture. A series of triangles is each lit up in white and bright colours. The triangles recede in to the distance. — The Wave, 2017, by Vertigo
South Bank ― 2018/01/20
1/4s at f/4, 185mm, ISO 160, Nikon D800

The Wave was my favourite piece, and I think produced the strongest images. Row after row of lit triangles of light; sometimes pulsing, sometimes changing colour. It was filled with people, making shooting it really tricky.

Many balloons float above the ground of Trafalgar Square - the balloons are lit like light bulbs. — Child Hood, by Collectif Coin
Trafalgar Square ― 2018/01/20
1/30s at f/2.8, 15mm, ISO 2800, Nikon D800

Sometimes a simple concept works amazingly well when done at scale. Child Hood filled Trafalgar Square with helium filled balloons that lit up at different times to music.

Many balloons float above a dark street - the balloons are lit like light bulbs. — Child Hood, by Collectif Coin
Trafalgar Square ― 2018/01/20
1/60s at f/4, 200mm, ISO 3200, Nikon D800

Faces appear lit up inside three rows of Kilner jars. — Supercube, by Stéphane Masson
2018/01/20
1/180s at f/4, 70mm, ISO 1250, Nikon D800

A photo of the front of Westminster Abbey at night. The entire front is lit up in bright pastel colours. — The Light of the Spirit (Chapter 2), by Patrice Warrener
Westminster Abbey ― 2018/01/20
1/10s at f/4, 21mm, ISO 900, Nikon D800

‘The Light of the Spirit’ looked amazing in real life - I hardly did it justice on camera. The projection was impressively spot on, and gave the ornate fascia of Westminster Abbey a new twist.

A photo of the artwork Spectral. Many strands of brightly neon coloured cord all run in the same direction, closely spaced. The cords run up to a ‘v’ in a tree trunk, and then down again. — Spectral, by Katarzyna Malejka and Joachim Slugocki
2018/01/20
1/20s at f/4, 70mm, ISO 6400, Nikon D800

Like the Westminster Abbey piece, Spectral was hard to shoot. Neon colours don’t come out well digitally - the vibrance just isn’t there.

In retrospect I realise one of the other issues is being pressed for time - I only had the evening and ended up getting around about 1/4 of the displays. You don’t really know whether they’ll be interesting to you or good to shoot until you get there - and even then you need to find good angles / wait for the shot.

A photo of the artwork Spectral. Many strands of brightly neon coloured cord all run in the same direction, closely spaced. — Spectral, by Katarzyna Malejka and Joachim Slugocki
2018/01/20
1/45s at f/4, 70mm, ISO 6400, Nikon D800

Lumiere will be on in Durham next month (where the event started 10 years ago). It may be on in London in January next year - or it may be 2020 before the next London event.