April 16, 2009

London – Lunchtime photography

I often travel to different parts of London on business. Although I am not too fond of having to run from station to station, i quite enjoy the exercise depending on how energetic I am feeling that day.  But at times it can all get to be too much!

During one such journey, i suddenly realized that I am walking through the streets of one of the greatest cities in the world! All I had to do was look around and notice the wonderful sights – from the historic to the most modern, all co-existing in one place. Once i started really paying attention to such things, people and the buildings around me I found myself enjoying my journey.

These days, I walk a bit slower on my way back and with my camera strapped in the hand that’s not carrying my workbag. I even started taking pictures in my lunch break. During my coffee break, i took the time to look up the subject of my photograph and it made the exercise so much more fun!

Below is one of the first such pictures I took using my phone camera. I discovered it takes quite decent pictures and serves as a good stand-in when I haven't brought my camera handy.

A spot of green in the heart of London

And here’s an interesting tit-bit of research I’ve noted at the time.

I spotted this little pad of green while wandering through streets of Aldwych, London. In case you ever happen to be around this area, especially in spring, this place is a Mediterranean restaurant called "The Sarastro". It was a pleasant sight to see such green colour in central London, especially since it had stopped raining a few minutes ago. I guess that made the green colour stand out even more distinctly.

This spot can also be seen in Google Street Map

To my surprise, I wasn't the only one doing this! There’s over 200 people in this Flickr group dedicated to this activity and aptly named “London Lunch-Hour Photography”.

I am sure there’s a group that’s doing the same in your city. If not, why not start one?