A towering sunrise above London as blood-red skies turn the Thames crimson by Tower Bridge

PUBLISHED: 18:16, 12 November 2012 | UPDATED: 21:15, 12 November 2012

You might think you need expensive equipment to take a brilliant photo but these dramatic images of a surnrise over one of London's most iconic landmarks were snapped with a point and shoot camera worth less than £200.

IT engineer Jason Pope captured the sun poking through Tower Bridge at around 7am this morning from the sixth floor office of the Northern and Shell building on Lower Thames Street in the heart of the captial.

The 35-year-old said the breathtaking pictures were taken using a simple compact Panasonic camera and have not been manipulated on a computer.

Today's dramatic sunrise over Tower Bridge taken from the sixth floor of the Northern and Shell building on Lower Thames Street

Today's photo taken by Mr Pope is reminiscent of English artist Joseph Turner's famous portrait entitled Fighting Temeraire tugged to her last berth to be broken up

Mr Pope says he is still getting used to the incredible view from the office window at his new place of work after being relocated from a near windowless room in Moorgate just a few months ago.

He said: 'I saw the sunrise as soon as I got into work and initially went to take a photo on my mobile phone, but they usually turn out a bit grainy so I went and found the office camera.

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'I didn't do anything special, just turned the flash off and rested it on the rail to keep it still.

'One of the sales guys liked the photo and then it went around the office until someone posted it on the recommendations site Reddit and a lot of people seemed to like it.'

Mr Pope who returned to the UK four and a half years ago after 27 years in South Africa said he thinks London is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

He added: 'I heard someone saying a while back that a lot of Londoners walk around with their heads down, but if you actually around you there are some lovely buildings and when the sun catches them they can look magnificent.'

The stunning photographs which show the fluffy orange-coloured clouds behind the iconic landmark were taken using a £150 compact camera

IT engineer Jason Pope who snapped the scene said was initially going to take the pictures on his mobile phone but having had mixed results in the past he decided to grab the office camera

Tower Bridge has been a feature on the London landscape for 118 years and played a prominent role in the Olympics when David Beckham sped underneath on a boat carrying the Olympic torch

Tower Bridge has been a site on the London landscape for 118 years and its famous towers are now known around the world.

The bridge consists of two towers tied together at the upper level by means of two horizontal walkways, designed to withstand the horizontal forces exerted by the suspended sections of the bridge.

The bascule pivots and operating machinery are housed in the base of each tower. The bridge's present colour scheme dates from 1977, when it was painted red, white and blue for the Queen Elizabeth II's silver jubilee. Originally it was painted a mid greenish-blue colour.

It is famous for its raising mechanism which enables larger vessels to continue their journey along the Thames.

The original raising mechanism was powered by pressurised water stored in several hydraulic accumulators.

Although the bridge is an undoubted landmark, professional commentators in the early 20th century were critical of its aesthetics. Frank Brangwyn stated that 'A more absurd structure than the Tower Bridge was never thrown across a strategic river'.

Tower Bridge has appeared in numerous films and prominently featured twice in the opening ceremony for this Summer Olympics opening ceremony as first the Queen's helicopter was seen flying above it and then David Beckham powered underneath in a speed boat with the Olympic torch.