Into the Midnight Sun: Cruising up the River Thames at night on our way from Edinburgh to London: This is the first of three parts of our cruise up the River Thames at Night. My...

DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area

This is the first of three parts of our cruise up the River Thames at Night. My previous set ended with our approach to the Thames at sunset and can be found at https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-667538-1.html The first photo of this set was taken at 9:03 PM, the final one at 11:45 PM. Most cruises that go to or from London actually go to or from Southampton or Harwich, both over 80 miles from central London. We berthed in Greenwich, about 4 miles from Westminster Abbey. Our journey up the Thames was possible due to the relatively small size of the Viking Ocean ships, which are about 47,000 tons and only 930 passengers. It was a very memorable evening. This was a challenging environment in which to take photos, as it was dark and we were moving. The first photo in this part was taken at ISO 800, the next 4 at 2500, and the final 5 at 5000. All of the photos were taken from our veranda, hand-held with my Canon 80D using the EF-S 18-135 lens, shot in RAW and processed in Lightroom. The last 6 in this part were processed in Topaz Denoise first, followed by Lightroom.

Photo number 5 is the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, part of the Dartford-Thurrock River Crossing, commonly known as the Dartford Crossing and until 1991 the Dartford Tunnel. It is a major road crossing of the River Thames in England, carrying the A282 road between Dartford in Kent in the south and Thurrock in Essex in the north. It consists of two bored tunnels and the cable-stayed Queen Elizabeth II Bridge. The only fixed road crossing of the Thames east of Greater London, it is the busiest estuarial crossing in the United Kingdom, with an average daily use of over 130,000 vehicles. It opened in stages: the west tunnel in 1963, the east tunnel in 1980 and the bridge in 1991. The crossing, although not officially designated a motorway, is considered part of the M25 motorway's route, using the tunnels northbound and bridge southbound. Described as one of the most important road crossings in Britain, it suffers from heavy traffic and congestion.

The crossing's development started in the late 1930s, but was interrupted due to the Second World War and resumed in the 1950s. The original tunnel catered for a single lane of traffic in each direction, but rising traffic levels required the second tunnel to be built. The M25 connected to the tunnels at both ends when completed in 1986, and this increased traffic put pressure on the tunnels' capacity. A Private Finance Initiative scheme was started in 1988 to build the bridge. The combined crossing now handles four lanes of traffic in each direction.

The crossing spans the River Thames between Dartford, Kent, to the south and Thurrock, Essex, to the north. It is about 20 miles (32 km) east of the centre of London, outside the Greater London boundary. The two tunnels are 1,430 metres (4,690 ft) long, while the cable-stayed bridge is 137 metres (449 ft) high with a main span of 450 metres (1,480 ft).

The design capacity is 135,000 vehicles per day, but in practice the crossing carries around 160,000. It has been described by the Highways Agency as "a vital transport link for the national and South East economies", by the former Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin, as "a crucial part of the country's strategic road network", and by the local Thurrock Council as "one of Europe's most heavily used crossings and complex traffic management systems". It is signed as a major destination on London's orbital route, the M25, though the crossing and its approach road are an all-purpose road (the A282), allowing traffic prohibited from motorways to use it. The bridge can be closed due to high winds or maintenance. On these occasions, traffic uses the tunnels in both directions.

In the final photo of this part, you can see the Thames Barrier in the distance. The next part of this set consists of 10 photos of the barrier as we approached and cruised through it, and I will include information about the barrier. I think you will find it interesting.

(Download)

pixelmaven Loc: Reno, NV

Most unusual night scenes, Dennis. A refreshing perspective.

srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA

Extremely well done Dennis. I love the night shots of the commercial ships. Good narrative as well.

Cwilson341 Loc: Central Florida

Beautiful shots! Very well done.

NMGal Loc: NE NM

Cwilson341 wrote:

Beautiful shots! Very well done.

Amen!

DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area

pixelmaven wrote:

Most unusual night scenes, Dennis. A refreshing perspective.

Thank you Laura. At first I was a little disappointed when I realized we would be cruising up the Thames at night rather than during the day. After doing it at night, I was glad we did it then.

DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area

srfmhg wrote:

Extremely well done Dennis. I love the night shots of the commercial ships. Good narrative as well.

Thank you very much Mark.

DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area

Cwilson341 wrote:

Beautiful shots! Very well done.

Thank you Carol, I really appreciate your kind words.

pixelmaven Loc: Reno, NV

DJphoto wrote:

Thank you Laura. At first I was a little disappointed when I realized we would be cruising up the Thames at night rather than during the day. After doing it at night, I was glad we did it then.

Yes, night photography was the very thing, as it turned out.

DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area

NMGal wrote:

Amen!

Thank you NMGal, I really appreciate your continued comments.

DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area

pixelmaven wrote:

Yes, night photography was the very thing, as it turned out.

Roger that! I don't think it would have been nearly as interesting during the day.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

DJphoto wrote:

This is the first of three parts of our cruise up the River Thames at Night. My previous set ended with our approach to the Thames at sunset and can be found at https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-667538-1.html The first photo of this set was taken at 9:03 PM, the final one at 11:45 PM. Most cruises that go to or from London actually go to or from Southampton or Harwich, both over 80 miles from central London. We berthed in Greenwich, about 4 miles from Westminster Abbey. Our journey up the Thames was possible due to the relatively small size of the Viking Ocean ships, which are about 47,000 tons and only 930 passengers. It was a very memorable evening. This was a challenging environment in which to take photos, as it was dark and we were moving. The first photo in this part was taken at ISO 800, the next 4 at 2500, and the final 5 at 5000. All of the photos were taken from our veranda, hand-held with my Canon 80D using the EF-S 18-135 lens, shot in RAW and processed in Lightroom. The last 6 in this part were processed in Topaz Denoise first, followed by Lightroom.

Photo number 5 is the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, part of the Dartford-Thurrock River Crossing, commonly known as the Dartford Crossing and until 1991 the Dartford Tunnel. It is a major road crossing of the River Thames in England, carrying the A282 road between Dartford in Kent in the south and Thurrock in Essex in the north. It consists of two bored tunnels and the cable-stayed Queen Elizabeth II Bridge. The only fixed road crossing of the Thames east of Greater London, it is the busiest estuarial crossing in the United Kingdom, with an average daily use of over 130,000 vehicles. It opened in stages: the west tunnel in 1963, the east tunnel in 1980 and the bridge in 1991. The crossing, although not officially designated a motorway, is considered part of the M25 motorway's route, using the tunnels northbound and bridge southbound. Described as one of the most important road crossings in Britain, it suffers from heavy traffic and congestion.

The crossing's development started in the late 1930s, but was interrupted due to the Second World War and resumed in the 1950s. The original tunnel catered for a single lane of traffic in each direction, but rising traffic levels required the second tunnel to be built. The M25 connected to the tunnels at both ends when completed in 1986, and this increased traffic put pressure on the tunnels' capacity. A Private Finance Initiative scheme was started in 1988 to build the bridge. The combined crossing now handles four lanes of traffic in each direction.

The crossing spans the River Thames between Dartford, Kent, to the south and Thurrock, Essex, to the north. It is about 20 miles (32 km) east of the centre of London, outside the Greater London boundary. The two tunnels are 1,430 metres (4,690 ft) long, while the cable-stayed bridge is 137 metres (449 ft) high with a main span of 450 metres (1,480 ft).

The design capacity is 135,000 vehicles per day, but in practice the crossing carries around 160,000. It has been described by the Highways Agency as "a vital transport link for the national and South East economies", by the former Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin, as "a crucial part of the country's strategic road network", and by the local Thurrock Council as "one of Europe's most heavily used crossings and complex traffic management systems". It is signed as a major destination on London's orbital route, the M25, though the crossing and its approach road are an all-purpose road (the A282), allowing traffic prohibited from motorways to use it. The bridge can be closed due to high winds or maintenance. On these occasions, traffic uses the tunnels in both directions.

In the final photo of this part, you can see the Thames Barrier in the distance. The next part of this set consists of 10 photos of the barrier as we approached and cruised through it, and I will include information about the barrier. I think you will find it interesting.

This is the first of three parts of our cruise up ... (show quote)

Dennis, Thank you for taking me on your River Thames and Thames Barrier at Night tour. Your images and narrative were superb.

DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area

PixelStan77 wrote:

Dennis, Thank you for taking me on your River Thames and Thames Barrier at Night tour. Your images and narrative were superb.

Thank you very much Stan, I really appreciate your comments. I will be posting two more sets of the cruise up the Thames.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Some nice night work there.

DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area

jaymatt wrote:

Some nice night work there.

Thank you John, I appreciate your comment.