EnquireI used a long lens (105mm) in order to compress the space between the clocks, so they would stand together as sentinels.
The people are actually moving quite fast, so with a slow shutter speed they create a stream around the sentinels. Yet there is sufficient detail to discern a face here, a foot over there. I think I did a number of trials; some streams of folk are more pleasing than others it seems. Even in Canary Wharf.
The exposure time here was just shy of a second, so I was using a tripod. Which drew the attention of the local security personnel. Apparently using a tripod makes it more likely that I am undertaking industrial espionage, or worse still, planning a terrorist attack. But I know my rights, and I knew that in Canary Wharf I had no rights. So I was utterly pleasant and engaging. I showed them the pictures and went into a deep explanation about trying to use photography to warp time.
I was about done anyway so after that we parted on good terms, and I had my shot in the can.