Wheel Of Sheffield

The other day I posted a picture of the Wheel Of Sheffield. Well, on Sunday we finally managed to actually go on it. It was quite difficult taking pictures of the scenery due to the horrible perspex windows in the "gondola" you sit in, but I got a few. Sadly there are reflections and stray light all over the place, but they're not terrible.

Looking down Fargate from the top of the wheel. I'd never noticed that the walkways have a curvy pattern built into them until seeing them from so far above. The shadow of the wheel demonstrates the size of the thing.

A wedding was taking place at the Town Hall, and the cars parked outside made a lovely focal point for this shot. The height and the length of the shadows makes the whole thing feel miniature, but I have resisted any and all temptation to make a fake tilt-shift shot. I might make one later but I think it would ruin the clarity of it.

Looking straight down onto Fargate, this time from about halfway up the wheel. The sun was low in the sky by this time, despite it being mid-afternoon. The autumn is definitely here.

Looking over the rooves of Sheffield toward a clear, blue sky, we see the steeple of the Cathedral of St Marie. The curving roof and deep depth of field give a good sense of scale, here, I think. Incidentally, the horizon isn't sloping. That's what shape the city is.

The Peace Gardens from above. A lovely open space with trees and water features, right in the middle of town. The roof of the Town Hall is just visible to the left too. Again, everything takes on that miniature feel.

Reviewing the pictures. I really like this picture. The subtle blurring of foreground and background elements gives a sense of focus, and it just captures a nice moment. I've added a cross-processing filter to give it a bit of a retro feel. In this case, I think it worked nicely.

The wheel itself. Considering this was taken at around 3:30pm, the height of the sun in the sky should indicate the time of year, and the piercing winter light is already showing up.

Walking home again. I like this picture, too; the three kids in amongst the hustle and bustle of town centre life. There's that annoying shadow at the bottom, and I wonder if I'd have been better kneeling to take this picture. Not sure. I like it pretty much as-is. Even the slightly jaunty angle ...

I do have a couple more to post because they're nice shots, but somewhat ruined by the lighting conditions. A combination of a low sun and very diffused light entering the lens from the perspex windows has left me with some ... interesting effects. I'll have a play and see what I can do with them.