The Shard

Dominating London’s cityscape, reaching to the skies like no other building in London, The Shard adds a new perspective to London. Designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano the 87-storey, 306 metre structure features the UK’s highest viewing gallery on the 72nd floor. The tallest building in the UK and the European Union this striking building, towering over London Bridge, is visible from miles away.

Here you can explore both the view from the Shard from when it was under construction to completion, as well as views of the London skyline featuring the Shard. Please click any of the images below to explore the views in high-resolution.

Roseate London

The view in this image encompasses so much of the London skyline and many of its iconic buildings. To the left, you have the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. The London Eye with Buckingham Palace nestled behind it within St James’ Park. Move along the Thames to cross the city into the centre of…
Will Pearson, A London Photographer

Will Pearson is a London photographer, working solo and collaboratively with other creatives. He specialises in cityscape, architectural and landscape photography. If you have a project in mind, please send us your details in the contact form below and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Will Pearson is a London photographer specialising…
The City Awaits

City of London Photography This image was shot in December 2018, with the City of London in a period of unprecedented construction growth. The London skyline is changing daily. It’s a really exciting time to be photographing these iconic views. In contrast, inside these buildings, the thought is all of Brexit. The UK is on…
London Begins

A London Sunrise Panorama A new day over London, and the sunrise washes over the city. The square mile is drenched in light, the enormous buildings momentarily insubstantial. Usually, it’s the tall buildings that are the heroes of any cityscape. But here, the Queen Elizabeth II Great Court at the British Museum really proclaims its…
London Wide

As a cityscape photographer, I’m often asked “what building is that?”. The London skyline is evolving so rapidly, it can be hard to keep pace with all the new additions. To answer that question I’ve built this ‘enhanced gigapixel’ – where information is overlaid onto the image. You can click on an info point to…
Artillery Ground, Evening

This cityscape overlooks a part of the City of London that many of those dashing down the streets of Finsbury will never see. The vibrant green of the Artillery Ground contrasts sharply with the surrounding buildings. It belongs to the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC). The HAC building, Armoury House (not in view here), overlooks the…
City of London Dusk

This gigapixel cityscape captures the City of London at dusk, as the windows light up and the city gets ready to wind down. Any fears about London’s future look utterly unfounded when you look at this skyline. When I started shooting the city the major buildings in this view would have been Tower 42 and…
Shard 360 Gigapixel

Shot at the very top of The Shard, at over 300 metres above the River Thames, this extremely high-resolution interactive gigapixel 360 degree panoramic photograph allows you to explore London’s skyline in exquisite detail. Many of London’s most famous and iconic buildings are visible in this 360 panorama. From the latest additions to the City…
Large Scale Panorama at Gatwick Airport

Art for Airports at Gatwick’s North Terminal International Departures A 32-metre gigapixel panorama installed at Gatwick Airport’s North Terminal. Printed on a Tension Fabric System, the piece delivers museum-grade detail at airport scale. It’s sharp up close, and impactful right across the concourse. Produced as part of Gatwick’s £1bn transformation, the panorama comprises 10 fabric…
30 St Mary Axe 360 Panorama, Dawn to Dusk

In this 30 St Mary Axe 360 you can explore the views from one of the City of London’s most iconic buildings. The building commonly known as ‘the Gherkin’ is the 4th tallest in the City of London, behind Tower 42, the Heron Tower and the Leadenhall Building (‘the Cheesegrater’), but still stands out as…
Lambent London – View From 30 St Mary Axe

Explore photography from St Mary Axe in high resolution. When setting up a shoot from a tall building, it’s easy to become absorbed in the technicalities. The kit, the back-up in case of equipment failure, the technical process, waiting for the right weather, there’s much to plan for. And then, there are moments of pure…
Planate London – London Bridge Quarter

No.1 London Bridge (the building with the cut-out section right by the bridge) forms the foreground to the dramatic cluster at London Bridge Quarter, home to the Shard. It has become a more exciting section of the Thames to shoot, and the river moorings have a pleasing echo of the Shard’s shape. Many people’s experience…
Deep Zoom View From The Shard – Guardian Interactive Feature

To mark the opening of the Shard’s viewing gallery (‘The View from The Shard’), today The Guardian are featuring 2 of my interactive deep-zoom images captured from The Shard in their online and print edition. The online edition features an exciting interface which allows you to zoom in and click on hotspots for information. As…
London Landmarks, Autumn Evening

London’s tall landmarks bound together in one panoramic image as the sun sets on an autumn evening. From Earl’s Court, Kensington Gardens and the Albert Hall towards the west, then across the Serpentine to the iconic Battersea Power Station, Crystal Palace, Big Ben, the London Eye, Thames House at Vauxhall Cross (the MI5 building), Westminster…
Twilight view from the Shard

Twilight view from the Shard – London’s tallest and most spectacular skyscraper, The Shard at London Bridge. The River Thames sweeps past the illuminated City of London from Tower Bridge past London Bridge to Millennium Bridge and beyond. Many of London’s landmarks are visible in the cityscape, from Canary Wharf to the towering City of…
Hampstead Heath View 2012

Looking beyond the greenery of Hampstead Heath towards London and its iconic Landmarks. The newly completed Shard is a striking addition to the skyline. The panorama stretches from BT Tower in the west to Broadgate Tower in the City of London.
Gigapixel 360 Panorama from the Shard

This is a 360 gigapixel panorama which I shot from the crane at the top of the Shard, London Bridge while it was still under construction. At the time of its opening, The Shard was the tallest building in the European Union. As at 2025, it’s the second tallest (outside Russia), beaten only by the…
View From The South Bank

Panoramic view from the South Bank London looking out onto Canary Wharf, the City of London, The Shard, St Pauls Cathedral and The Olympic Village. This is a very high resolution panorama, you can zoom in to see details and further explore London’s landmark buildings, including Tower 42, 30 St Mary Axe, The Barbican, Heron…
Shard London Bridge Summit

This 360 image was captured at the top of the Shard London Bridge, 310m above London, on the night of the student protests in November 2010. You can see the police helicopters hovering over London above the demonstration. Technically this was a very difficult shoot, I was on the crane at the top of the…
London In Detail

In this panorama you can view The Shard under construction, with Canary Wharf seemingly just behind it. The level of resolution allows you to zoom in and see an incredible level of detail. Please click the ‘Fullscreen’ button for the best viewing experience and you can further explore the image to find many more of…
Nautical Twilight, City

Panoramic London cityscape at twilight with views over the City of London. The Shard lit up though still under construction can be seen in the far right of the image, with familiar buildings the Gherkin (St Mary Axe), Tower 42 and the Heron Tower in the City of London to the left. The image is…
Hyde Park Dusk

Aerial London panorama by Hyde Park with views of the Serpentine, Albert Hall, Battersea Power Station, London Eye, the BT Tower, The Shard with the City of London and Canary Wharf in the distance.
Shard View at Night Panorama

I captured this panorama of the London skyline at night from the Shard at around the 35th floor, whilst the building was still under construction. The Shard’s height has given me the opportunity to show the London cityscape from a new angle, looking down on the Thames as it snakes through the city from London…
The Shard London Bridge – Blue Hour

The Shard is one of London’s most exciting buildings. It was completed in 2012, then becoming the tallest building in the European Union. I shot views from the Shard for the developer, and the sheer height of the building has made it one of the most exciting series of cityscapes I have worked on –…