The Shard The Shard, the newest skyscraper in London, is located in their business district. It was topped off this past in March and opened in July. The Shard is the tallest completed building in Europe, and is also the second-tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom. The tower is 1,016 feet tall, with a viewing gallery and open-air observation deck on the 72nd floor. Its irregular pyramidal shape is covered entirely in glass. This high view was taken from the London Eye.

Ready for the Olympics London looked great. Everything was clean and ready to entertain the world. The people were friendly and even the English policemen had a sense of humor (not that I gave them reason otherwise). I'm not sure how friendly and nice everything was after the visitors left the Olympics, but my guess is that the British humer and pride is just as strong.

Carnival LIghts If you have spent anytime looking through my images, you know that I enjoy large subjects and wide-angle lenses. Recently I've tried to step out of my comfort zone and look at smaller pieces of the bigger picture. I don't always like what I shoot, but it's been a trend I'll keep practicing. These lights are part of a ride at last year's Houston Rodeo carnival. The lights and converging lines caught my eye. Okay, it was mostly the lights, but it does make a nice pattern.