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Travelling through Bank last week it struck me how busy the station was during the rush hour - a stark contrast to the time I spent taking photos here in February. I had a few minutes to spare before dashing for my next train so I loitered for a moment in two spots to capture a different view of my station ghosts project.
Photos taken 9 July 2024
I’ve really enjoyed working on my new ‘Station ghosts’ project, but until this point most of my photos have been taken while I’ve been travelling, as I wait for trains to arrive. Last week I took a more deliberate approach and headed into London with the express intention of using some of the underground stations as backdrops for my ghosts.
The day before I called out to my friends on social media to suggest stations which had interesting architectural features to act as a stage, and I received some fantastic ideas. The station at Canary Wharf was already on my shortlist, with its dramatic top-lit escalators descending into the gloomy depths, so this was where I started my day. Sure enough, the escalators at both ends of the station gave me plenty of opportunities to catch some movement among the commuters passing through.
From Canary Wharf I headed for the Jubilee Line and this meant a change of trains at Westminster Station. The heavy, brutalist architecture has so much potential, but I only managed to capture a few frames before a member of staff told me photography wasn’t permitted, so I moved on. I was pretty certain this wasn’t true, but had no evidence so it didn’t seem worth arguing. Having checked the Transport for London website I discovered I was indeed correct and photography (providing it’s for one’s own interest and not a commercial shoot) is permitted. This was a useful lesson learnt and next time I’ll take a printout of the relevant page of the TfL website with me as evidence!
Heading north on the Jubilee Line my first train terminated at West Hampstead so I took this as an opportunity to use the Art Deco architecture as a backdrop for a photo. The next station up the line (Kilburn) has similar, even more photogenic features, but it was too bright to achieve a slow enough shutter speed - that will have to wait for another day.
From Kilburn I strolled the mile or so to Kilburn Park Station, on the Bakerloo Line, which is even more photogenic. The exterior and interior are decorated with beautiful glazed ceramic tiles but the feature that really interested me was the elegant cupola above the two escalators. I’d gone armed with a suitably wide angle lens and was delighted to find a staircase between the escalators, from where I could safely capture the movement of people descending into the depths, with the cupola above them - exactly the framing I’d hoped for.
Photos taken 3 April 2024
During last weekend’s Society of Recorder Players Festival I was tasked with capturing some photos of the event for the Recorder Magazine, but that didn’t stop me looking for something a little quirkier than straightforward record shots. Having fulfilled my brief I look for alternative views of the festival, using the access I had to different viewpoints.
During one of the massed playing sessions I crept up onto the stage behind the conductor so I could silhouette her against the players beyond, catching some of them looking up to check if they were in the right place.
Later in the session I found myself in the midst of the orchestra so I could catch a photo of the composer of the piece being played. While there, this little scene caught my eye among the great bass players.
Saturday night was a ceilidh evening, with lots of enthusiastic dancing doing on in the school hall. Once again I crept up on stage (with the band’s permission) to try and catch a sense of movement among the dancers. This took lots of tries, to catch the band fairly still while the dance floor is a whirl of motion - not perfect but I’m pleased with the effect!
Photos taken 22 & 23 March 2024
My journey to Birmingham for the recent Photography Show didn’t quite go as planned, with delayed and cancelled trains. Rather than just sit around drinking coffee I decided instead to use the time to continue my station ghosts project. I began upstairs in Euston Station, capturing translucent passengers as they disembarked from the escalator.
On my return journey I had a few spare minutes before my train but instead of ghostly people we have a ghost train charging past the platform!
Finally I made it back to the tube and each time we stopped in a station I took a few snaps, looking out onto the platform. Once again, the people waiting for trains seemed oblivious to the movement around them.
Having said that, this chap does have a concerned expression on his face, as though he’s sensed the ghostly shape passing behind him!
My final image came from a different day, when I found myself passing through Swiss Cottage tube station. I couldn’t resist using its fabulously elegant escalators as the backdrop for some more ghostly goings on!
Photos taken 19 March 2024
My initial photo from Baker Street Station which sent me down this creative rabbit hole…
During a visit to London recently I changed trains at Baker Street and fell down a rabbit hole exploring the possibilities of exposing photos slowly so as to capture some ‘ghosts’ as people walked along the platform. The creative possibilities got me excited enough to turn this into a new personal project and I was itching to try some more.
A few days later I had another day in London, so I set my camera up to take photos of half or a quarter of a second and started out on the platform at Fenchurch Street Station. As I wasn’t travelling anywhere I needed a platform ticket to get past the barriers and was pleasantly surprised to discover that, not only do platform tickets still exist, the price is the same as it was thirty years ago - just ten pence!
While my Baker Street image works well in colour, I decided the overcast weather on this occasion better suited monochrome. Whether I’ll stick to this for all situations remains to be seen, but I like the coherence of this set in black and white.
I spent a while loitering in some of the narrow alleys which wind through the City of London. This made for some atmospheric images and also helped me keep dry while the rain poured down outside!
Heading into Bank tube station offered up some interesting possibilities.
I got some very strange looks hovering at the top of the travelator to the Waterloo and City line but it was worth it.
Using the curvaceous shapes of the Elizabeth Line station at Faringdon to frame my ghost.
My initial plan was for this project to focus on railway ghosts (I seem to spend a lot of my life on trains and at stations) but I think I’ll keep an open mind for now - who knows where it might lead!
Photos taken 24 & 29 February 2024
A recent work trip to Milton Keynes brought me a very welcome opportunity to visit the town’s art gallery where a new exhibition of Saul Leiter’s photography had just opened. Armed with my little Fuji X100V camera I found I could take some photos without being intrusive and these two were my favourites. I wouldn’t say they are particularly ‘Saul Leiter-ish’ but his observation of every day scenes and the mundane certainly influenced me. I took several frames of the two chaps looking at the central display (above) but this one was the winner because of the way the man on the right had his arms extended just as I opened the shutter!
Photos taken 21 February 2024
It’s been a long while since I’ve had a day in London to explore and indulge in a little street photography. I’d recently booked for a couple of events so I used this as an excuse to make up for my long dry patch in street photography. My first port of call was the Kings Cross area, where they have some of the remastered photos from the Apollo moon missions on display. I was hoping for photos of the public interreacting with the photos, but it was too quiet for that, but I liked this juxtaposition in any case!
A couple down by the river at Coal Drops Yard. I had to wait a while for this one was everyone kept ducking out of my way, thinking I didn’t want them in my photo, when I was actually after some silhouetted figures!
A little slow motion in the illuminated tunnel at Kings Cross Station…
Some of my afternoon was spent at the V&A Museum, people watching and looking for interesting goings on among the exhibits. I was curious about these three teenagers, collapsed in a pile, glued to their mobile phones!
Poking one’s head above the parapet…
Framed…
The artist.
Photos taken 14 December 2023
I don’t do as much street photography as before the pandemic, but it’s something I’d like to get back into when time allows. Last week I went into London to catch the end of the Paul McCartney photography exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery and decided my focus for the rest of the day would be people watching.
I had a few minutes before my booked time to see the exhibition so I loitered for a while here, hoping for a good juxtaposition between the Anthony Gormley statue and the folks exiting the escalator.
After leaving the National Portrait Gallery I strolled back through London towards the city, making good use of the strong sunshine - perfect conditions for a spot of black and white photography.
Finally back at Liverpool Street I took a photo of Benson. He’s owned by a homeless chap called Mick who I regularly chat with here and I thought he might like a print of his pet to keep. Benson isn’t in the best of health but has defied all the vet’s dire predictions in recent months and is always happy to received some ear tickles whenever I stop by!
Photos taken 26 September 2023
In one of my earlier posts I shared the photos from a day in London when I dipped my toes back into some street photography. That was in preparation for a workshop with Brian Duckett where we learned to shoot in the style of American street photographer Saul Leiter - the images from which I have for you here.
We gathered at a cinema cafe in Shaftsbury Avenue for a briefing and some guidance on the style we’d be aiming for. before walking down to Jermyn Street. Brian set us a series of assignments to shoot and here we were looking to play with reflections - in windows, cars and wherever else we might find them. Frustratingly there were many white vans in the street, along with workmen in high-vis jackets, which spoilt many of the reflections but I still found a few photos.
After lunch we moved on to Bond Street where our new challenge was to use things around to use as frames or as out of focus foreground colour and texture.
From there we walked on to Savile Row, where we hoped we might encounter some well dressed characters about town. The plan was to look for interesting details, such as stylish hats, shoes and the like. Naturally, all the well dressed folk had vanished but I did find one dapper looking chap inside one of the expensive shops.
Normally it’s typical to use a wide angle lens for street photography but Saul Leiter tended to use a longer focal length - often around 85mm, and frequently with a large aperture. I’d spend the day so far using a 75mm effective focal length but for the rest of the day I swapped to 135mm. This gave me a greater reach as the light faded and I found it really helpful for our final assigment.
Brian asked us to use shop fronts to shoot through, using colour and steamy windows to create layers as we walked through Chinatown and Soho.
Click on any image to see it enlarged.
By the end of the day I had a much better idea of the style we’d been searching for. My photos from the workshop have some of the qualities we’d been looking for, but I can see my search for Saul Leiter’s elusive style will continue.
Photos taken 16 January 2023.
Street photography used to be something I did regularly, capturing the life and gestures of those around me in the city. Of course the streets became much quieter during the Covid pandemic so I focused on other genres of photography. I wanted to get back onto the streets with my camera so when I saw a workshop devoted to Saul' Leiter’s style of street photography I jumped at the chance.
Rather than going in cold I decided to use my day off yesterday to get some practice in and see if I could begin to see the world like Saul Leiter. His photos often use colour and texture so I spent the day in London looking for these things. He often shot through things, such as windows, to create depth so I tried my hand at this too, using the architecture of Borough Market to frame this image.
Leiter’s photos don’t always include people so I didn’t shy away from photographing other subjects when they caught my eye.
More windows on London life…
After a walk along the river I ended up at Tate Modern, which I find is always a rich hunting ground for people watching. This very dapper chap caught my eye and, even though he’s engrossed in his phone, I couldn’t resist taking a quick photo.
I love the way the light catches this chap as he’s engrossed in one of the art installations.
Reflected colour
Just as I was about to leave the gallery the heavens opened and this scene was visible above one of the stairwells. Such scenes appear in several of Leiter’s photos and he once said he found a photo of a rainy window more interesting than a portrait of a famous person.
Eventually the rain eased off and I braved the gusty winds across the Millennium Bridge.
As I walked near St Paul’s Cathedral I tried capturing the colour and movement around me with slower shutter speeds.
Movement and reflections around these eye catching bollards.
A passing bus. I’m probably stretching things a little too far here, but you don’t know unless you try!
Using intentional camera movement on one of London’s most iconic designs.
The stroll along Cheapside brought me more opportunities to play with colour and reflections.
And finally, this is one of my favourites from today. I saw the George Clooney advert and wondered if it might create an interesting element in a photo, then this gentleman came along and looked up quizzically at the perfect moment!
It’s debatable whether I’ve captured any of Saul Leiter’s style here, but I had a fun day playing and it helped me get my nerve back for taking photos around strangers on the street. No doubt I’ll learn a lot more at Monday’s workshop and I’ll be sure to share the results here.
Photos taken 12th January 2023
