Belinda Jiao
London
New to the city and wonder where to keep an eye for great pictures? Here you will find all you need-- my personal photography map marked with must-visit spots! The following catalogues sets you up with the perfect urban photo trip around London.
The Staircase Collection
As a world-class financial hub, London is home to grand staircases scattered around the vast city. Hidden in the backdoors of many sky scrapers, they are challenging yet rewarding to hunt after!
The Cityscape Collection
London has an amazing cityscape, with an interesting mix between modern buildings and historic monuments. Check out this collection for great places to see London from a unique perspective!
The Steet
Collection
Ever wondered what life is like in London? If you think Londoners are all but busy business persons, you can't afford to miss this collection!
The Staircase Collection
The Street Collection
Located at Poultry, The Ned is a newly renovated hotel. I was greeted by the bell boys warmly as I walked through the main entrance, immediately embraced by the relaxing ambiance inside. The band was playing jazz music while waiters and bartenders busily tended to visitors. If you walk past the band and turn right, you will see a lift lounge. Go all the way up to the top floors and start searching for the back stairs! Since the hotel has a couple of wings, it might not be that straightforward to navigate. If in doubt, you can always ask one of the staff about the staircase! That was exactly what I did and I was cordially shown where to look for it.
1. The Ned
2. One Exchange Square
This modern staircase is found in One Exchange Square, directly opposite to St. Paul's Cathedral. It was given the cold blue-black color, which effortlessly created a mysterious, dark feeling to visitors. Despite not consisting of many spirals as you might have expected, it is still, nevertheless, capable of creating immensely powerful shots when people subjects come into play. One Exchange Square is a popular tourist destination in London because of its proximity to the Cathedral, and a rooftop bar/ viewing spot overseeing central London. The staircase is also surrounded by shopping areas, driving more people to the building. With some patience, photographers will be able to catch moments when the crowd fades, obtaining stunning pictures of the staircase.
3. Heal's
Heal's department store on Tottenham Court Road is home to this stunning staircase shown on the right. What makes this staircase extraordinary is that it has giant beads hung from the highest floor all over to the bottom. One really fascinating thing is that the beads are of various sizes, adding perspective to the look-up view. With minimal editing, the picture already comes out really stunning, with the the beads lit up in mildly warm yellow lights. The decoration is an accurate representation of the design style of Heal's, which never fails to bring a futuristic touch to its products. On the day I went, there was a round table placed at the bottom of the staircase, which had a perfectly reflective and even surface. It will be cool to shoot some reflection shots as well, making good use of the table!
4. Premier Inn Blackfriars
Serving as the main passageway of Premier Inn, the staircase shown on the left spirals in ovals. Adding to its sophisticated outlook, the extra handlebars create an intriguing pattern as the staircase spirals upwards. Surprisingly, the asymmetry makes the repetition more interesting to the eye than it would have without the extra bars. This staircase gives off a classy atmosphere in the hotel.
As shown on the right, this curvy, white staircase is located in Tate Modern, Blackfriars London. It has an interesting curvature which gives it a wavy outlook seen from afar. You will find it easily as it is one of the major passageways between various exhibitions across various levels so do stop by to snap a picture! Although it might seem dull in itself, adding a subject in front would be a great idea as the minimal background acts as a perfect backdrop. The way it is constructed creates a sense of spaciousness together with other structures which are of the same clean, light architectural style that is consistent across the entire building.
5. Tate Modern
The Cityscape Collection
1. Tate Modern
If you are longing for a breathtaking view of the vibrant London city, the modern art museum is just built for you. On the 10th floor of the taller wing, the museum opens up its walls into a terrance, which you can access for free and is open to all visitors. There are no glass windows or whatsoever between visitors and the outside, making it the ideal setting for shooting. You can walk freely on the terrace, which gives you a 360 degree view of the city of which 3 are chosen and put on this site. They oversee famously the Shard and St Paul's Cathedral. Perfect for sunset catchers who are looking for convenient and unrestricted views.
1. Neil's Yard
To many this is really surprising-- colourful and narrow streets found in London! This is one of the top street photography spots around in London, hidden in the Covent Garden labyrinth. It is a self-contained area, just like the backyards of the stores surrounding. Tourists are always seen to come all the way to pay this spot a visit, bringing with them camera gear of all sorts! As shown on the left this is the most commonly shot angle of the spot because behind the photographer are stools and temporary tables set up for customers, making it inconvenient to step back to photograph the area. This spot definitely does not look like London and you are not the only one so thinking!
2. Nottinghill Gate
Well-known for its vibrant colors, Nottinghill is where these stylish houses are located one after another in neat rows. Although houses with a similar architectural style are pretty common all over London, they are mostly colored plain white or other uninteresting colors. Here, they come in an assortment of colors, which are made even vibrant under mild sunlight! This is an upper-class residential area, thus there are always cars or vehicles parked outside of the apartments. Photographers wishing to capture the houses without being blocked by cars will have to try their luck! Always keep an eye out for repetition down the road as they make great, stunning shots!
