After many years of travelling down to London for work, it’s now good to be able to visit simply for pleasure. I’ve been down a few times since retiring - see here, for example - but it’s always worth a visit. So, when Gordon extended an invite to join members from Ripon City Photographic Society I jumped at the chance. The fact that the trip coincided with a strike by tube drivers wasn’t ideal, but it didn’t prove too much of a hindrance (although my step count for the trip was into six figures).

What I did want to do, however, was shoot a little more thematically rather than come back with a collection of relatively unrelated images. I’m still trying to assess whether it worked, but thus far I’m pleased with the results.

*City Verticals. This is the type of set I had in mind before the trip. I’m quite pleased with the execution…*
Sony A7R V | Sony FE 20mm-70mm F4 | Various settings

The City Verticals theme was the first thing that came to mind when planning for the trip. There is an argument that property developers in the City have turned feral, with any piece of ground left fallow for a couple of weeks deemed fair game for the construction of another prestige, steel and glass office development. The pace of new build and turnover of properties has, I think, always been a feature of London, but in my time working and visiting, the scale of the buildings has grown hugely.

30 St Mary Axe - the Gherkin - is a case in point. When I started working there in 2014 the building was visible from anywhere along the South Bank between Tower Bridge and Westminster. With a couple of exceptions, it’s now hidden by newer, bigger developments for pretty much all of that stretch.

The result, walking around the area, is a heightened sense of claustrophobia as these City Titans loom over the already narrow streets and alleyways. My intent was to shoot a series of vertical compositions that conveyed some of that sense of the buildings dwarfing the human scale. The six in the panel, with a few that didn’t quite make the cut, are shown in full below.

St Paul’s Cathedral

While the high-rise development has been kept away from the immediate vicinity of St Paul’s, it’s still the case that there is nowhere in London that can provide an unobstructed view of one of the country’s iconic symbols of national identity and resilience. Can you imagine the outcry if someone were to suggest putting a 2000’s era concrete office block (Juxon House) on the steps of the Sacré-Cœur Basilica, or locating a Pizza Express on the concourse of the Eiffel Tower; they’d be burning architects on the (70 metre wide) Champs-Élysées!

However, it is what it is and is by no means a modern phenomenon. What it does mean is that the cathedral reveals itself in partial glimpses and views of the dome as you walk around the area.

Steel and Glass Titans

*Head in the Clouds…*
Sony A7R V | 70mm f/8.0 1/60s ISO 400

There can be no doubt that over the last couple of decades the scale of office build in London has changed the skyline of the city dramatically. Whatever your views on the impact, it’s certainly the case that from a photographic point of view they make fascinating subjects. Skylines, detail, light, shadow and reflections all make for interesting compositions.

Brutal London

The steel and glass of the modern buildings isn’t the only architectural style on offer in London. In fact, from Baroque to Bowellism and all points between, London probably has you covered. For my own part, I have an affection for Brutalist architecture, and London has a number of excellent examples that I’d planned to photograph. I’m reasonably familiar with Tate Modern, the National Theatre and the South Bank Centre. Before this trip, however, I’d only ever walked past the Barbican rather than through.

In the City…

Of course, part of the joy of visiting a city like London is to soak in the atmosphere and culture. The camera can’t, of course, capture sounds and smells - both good and bad - of the streets. It can, however, pick up the small scenes of everyday life that help define the culture and character of a place. These are, if you like, the ‘in between’ shots; no theme, just observations made while passing from one place to the next.

Conclusion

This was an excellent trip. There are always compromises in photography and, on a group trip such as this, one of those compromises comes from being in a group. While travel restrictions meant that we probably had less social time than expected, there is still a need to be somewhere specific to meet up at various points, which guides some of the agenda. It’s also an opportunity to share ideas and locations (Leake Street was a good example) and this is the positive side of travelling in a group. Plus, it’s good fun…

There is a similar group heading to my old home city of Manchester in early June. I can’t wait…

Springtime in London

St Paul’s Cathedral

Steel and Glass Titans

Brutal London

In the City…

Conclusion

Harris and Lewis - Simply Stunning