A slow burner and perhaps a little less sexy than the usual High Level Photography services portfolio is that of our progress or timelapse projects.
A particular case in point is that of the Imperial West development at Shepherd’s Bush in West London.
The Site
The site is just to the left of the elevated section of the A40 flyover heading into London from the West.
Formerly the BBC Worldwide facility, the site is being transformed on behalf of Imperial College London into the White City Campus. This comprises of The Wood Lane Studios (student accommodation blocks) and brand new state of the art research facilities.
In the Autumn of 2010, the project management company appointed High Level to provide a photographic record of the transformation from demolition through to completion. This was to be Phase 1 of the project, namely four high rise accommodation blocks to the North of the plot.
From our initial site visit it was agreed that at the end of every month High Level would take elevated shots from three different spots located around the site.
The only means at our disposal at this stage was to use one of our mast mounted vehicles, which when fully extended reaches 25 metres. Due to this height and the constantly matched vehicle positions ensured a comprehensive record of the project.
The success of this project depended on the exact positioning of the mast vehicle each time to replicate the previous visits angle. This proved difficult on some of the latter visits due to the ever increasing number of contractor’s equipment being inadvertently plonked where we needed to be.
However, all worked out well and resultantly after two years of monthly visits the spanking new buildings were completed and ready for occupation. Whilst not the most beautiful of images, they do provide a valuable visual record of the regeneration of an urban area.
Phase Two
As a footnote – in late 2016 High Level completed progress photography of the second phase at Imperial West – this time using both a mast vehicle and a timelapse camera mounted in a weatherproof housing, fixed to the roof of an adjacent block. A timelapse progress video of the Phase 2 development can be seen below.
Our ongoing involvement with this exciting project currently continues with Phase 3.