1. London from above, at night With the end of the Olympics in Beijing, all eyes turned for a moment to London, site of the upcoming 2012 Summer Olympics. While looking for good photographs of London, I was contacted by London photographer Jason Hawkes, who had some wonderful images of London, seen from above at night (from a helicopter, to be exact) - some of which which he's agreed to let me share here. From Jason: "Shooting aerial photography during the daytime had its own difficulties, you are strapped tightly into a harness leaning out of the helicopter, shouting directions through the headsets to the pilot. If shooting in the day can be difficult, night and the lack of light causes its own set of problems, but overcoming them is half the fun and the results can be stunning. I shoot at night using the very latest digital cameras, mounted on either one or two gyro stablazied mounts, depending on the format of the camera and length of lens I'm having to use." www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/08/london_from_above_at_night.html 29 august 2008

2. 01.The city of London, at night, featuring the financial district, NatWest Tower, and the River Thames.

3. 02.Big Ben, above the Houses of Parliament.

4. 03.Commuters and traffic at Oxford Circus.

5. 04.The financial district, featuring the tip of 30 St. Mary's Axe, known by the nickname "The Gherkin".

6. 05.A lonely curve of a city street.

7. 06.A busy roundabout junction.

8. 07.The Lloyd's Building, well-lit.

9. 08.Building site at St George Street and Maddox Street.

10. 09.The River Thames, featuring Tower Bridge.

11. 10.Waterloo and Eurostar terminal.

12. 11.The London Eye on the River Thames.

13. 12.London's financial district, featuring the Lloyd's Building and The Gherkin.

14. 13.A junction on the M25 motorway.

15. 14.The view above Canary Wharf.

16. 15.Tower Bridge and the Thames.

17. 16.Canada Tower and neighboring office buildings at Canary Wharf.

18. 17.Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal Football Club.

19. 18.Piccadilly Circus with the famous Statue of Eros.

20. 19.Waterloo Bridge and the River Thames, also featuring the London Eye (center, seen from the side), the Royal National Theatre, and Waterloo Station.