Last week I finally spent a day in London armed with just my pinhole camera – something I’ve been planning to do for ages. I knew I had to reach Vauxhall by 5.30pm to meet Kevin but other than I had no fixed idea of what the day would hold.
I started off from Liverpool Street Station, my camera loaded with a roll of Fomapan 100 and simply walked towards the River Thames, stopping to photograph whatever took my fancy. I found a couple of interesting shots along Bishopsgate, before turning off to see what the City’s modern architecture might offer. At the Gherkin I was almost ready to take a photo, looking up through a sunlit tree, when a security guard appeared and told me that tripods were forbidden. Explaining what my pinhole camera was all about (and the fact that a tripod is absolutely necessary), he took pity on me and allowed me to take my shot. I was expecting lots more interference from security guards but this turned out to be the only one who spoke to me – and he was very polte about it in any case. I saw several looking at me quizzically, recognising my tripod but I got the impression they held back because perhaps they couldn’t figure out what my little wooden box was!
Not far from the Gherkin stands the Lloyds Building and some more glass-coated modern buildings, which offered some interesting photo opportunities, as did the ornate architecture of Leadenhall Market.
Click on any of the images to enlarge them
From there I wandered towards St. Paul’s Cathedral, picking out a low angle of a cycle lane as well as a higher vantage point on the steps of the Royal Exchange.
I couldn’t resist the temptation of popping into St Stephen Walbook too, which has a glorious dome – one of the domes Sir Christopher Wren created before he created the one at St. Paul’s Cathedral.
At lunchtime (eaten at a café inside one of Wren’s other churches) I changed over my film, going for some Ilford FP4+ this time. I then pottered around St. Paul’s for a while, taking it in from a variety of vantage points, as well some of the sculpture which can be found around Paternoster Square.
Eventually I walked down to the River, crossing the Millennium Bridge and found some more iconic views of St. Paul’s, although I dare say they look rather different to the shots snapped by millions of tourists each year.
By now I’d walked a few miles so I stopped near Tate Modern to chat with a chap who was walking two poodles for a friend. We discussed photography (he was intrigued by my wooden camera) and I took a photo of Simone with Kito, the more laid back of the two dogs before continuing on my way towards Vauxhall.
My final stop of the afternoon was on the South Bank, where I finally took an image I’ve had in my head for many months. A book market sits beneath Waterloo Bridge and I knew I wanted a shot with the book stalls in the foreground, framed by the curve of the bridge. I knew if I timed it right I could capture some movement in the shoppers browsing the stalls, but the finished image is even more than I’d hoped for. One man stayed still for long enough to register fairly sharply in my photo, but you can see the movement as he flicks through a book – perfect!
13 September 2021