I recently bought a small, film camera. It was an impromptu purchase, and wasn’t entirely sure what I would use it for. I suspect I initially bought the camera to satisfy my geeky side.

As I mentioned in my last previous post, I have started exploring the relationship between architecture and people. My primary focus in my photography is architecture and the urban landscape, but I am increasingly interested in the relationship between people and the built environment.

Living in London, exploring this can be much easier, particularly in central London. There are so many people about – whether they are Londoners or visitors. That said, it isn’t always easy to take photos of people. I am not trying to be prying or intrude into people’s lives nor do I want people to pose. What I am after is placing people in an environment and for them to act naturally.

Trying to do this isn’t easy. In a way, it’s a bit of a double edge sword. Taking photos on something like a smart phone, people often don’t take any notice. They have come more commonplace. However, nicer cameras more often get noticed.

What this little camera I bought has done is to allow me to take photos without feeling like I am intruding on people’s space. Also, it is building my confidence in photographing people again. At the moment, it is a stepping stone to perhaps using better cameras in taking photos with people, as well as a tool in my kit.

Below are some of the photos I have taken recently. The weather in London has been rather nice, and the people have been outside enjoying it. There is a sense of pausing, and of enjoying the weather. 

Spring in London has come at last, at least for now, and has stayed a week or so. It’s amazing how much sunny and warm weather has in uplifting people’s spirits and moods.

One of my favourite places to people watch and photograph is along the South Bank in London. It can be very busy on the weekend, but well worth it for photographs.

I try not to be intrusive when I take my photographs, but increasingly I am including people in my photographs. My primary focus is on the architecture around me, but the interaction of people and architecture can be interesting. People also give context to the architecture, and vice versa.

Today, a friend and I walked along the South Bank. I have included my photos below. 

One of my favourite walks in London is along the Thames, between the Southbank just south of Charing Cross and London Bridge. I have walked it time and time again, and can never get bored of it. 

Very rarely would I not have my camera, and today was no exception. Enjoying a day with blue skies and no rain, I wandered along Southbank with my camera, or a couple of them (!), and I was not disappointed. 

At the Southbank Centre, a couple stood kissing under a boat on top of the roof of the Centre. The image just begged to be taken. I had intended to take all of my photos on my fisheye camera, but this photo didn’t fit. I was very glad to have my point and shoot digital camera. 

I managed to get my camera out quickly enough to get a photo. Often when taking photos of people, they often move before you have a chance to capture the moment. Luckily for me, the couple were in no hurry to leave and continued to kiss and were seemingly blissfully unaware of the world around them. 

While I tend to prefer buildings, and black and white, I also really like capturing moments like this when life unfolds in front of you. Capturing ‘a moment’, or even, ‘the moment’ is wonderful for a photographer. 

However, having the boat above the couple makes the image a bit more interesting, if not rather eccentric. The couple may not have consciously decided to kiss under the boat, but I consciously chose to position them. As a photographer, I had some control over what to photograph and how to frame the subject. 

Having an awareness what you are taking and your environment can really make a photo. Ensuring the photo is straight and in focus is basic. Knowing what looks right as well as good can really make the photo interesting. 

I love walking along the Thames River. I enjoy discovering the parts of London that live along it, and revisiting more favourite parts of it. One of my favourite walks routes in London is along the south of the river from Southbank Centre to London Bridge station. 

I have walked this stretch many times, and often with my camera. Each time I walk the route, there is always something to photograph – whether it’s a street  performer, something new or seeing something familiar in a different way. 

The Southbank Centre, and some of the adjoining buildings, often provides photographic fodder for me. The bold, and somewhat brutalist, architecture of the arts complex draws me in. While I am not always a fan of 1950s and 1960s architecture, I do like photographing it. 

Often there is a certain geometry or flow to them that lends itself quite well for more artistic photographs. If all else fails, though, the brutal nature of the architecture often lends itself well to black and white photography. 

Over the last decade, I have seen subtle changes to the Southbank Centre. I can imagine that there have been quite a few subtle changes since the Centre’s inception in the 1950s. Lately, arty or trendy restaurants have woven themselves into the fabric of the Centre. 

Also, artworks come and go, and a white stairwell I photographed a number of years ago recently changed its colour to yellow. 

I enjoy revisiting familiar places and re-photographing them. It shows how the changes and adapts to the current time – whether it’s a changes in style or taste, or even a way of thinking.