Last month saw the launch of a series of classroom events organised by the London Society at the London Centre. The first of these was a workshop led by architectural photographer Chris Hopkinson. Working out how to photograph the City of London is a challenge made easier by starting at the London Centre, home to the NLA models of London which offer a good opportunity to plot the route and the perspective.
As a City of London resident, City Guide and printmaker focusing on the City, I was perhaps too familiar with each of the buildings that Chris asked us to photograph. Familiar, in a way that can lead to complacency. So it was very satisfying to be asked to review, to look again, and to focus on points of interest with buildings that felt part of a daily routine. We started with Guildhall Yard which includes 15th century Guildhall, extensions from 1958 and 1975, Guildhall Art Gallery, the Church of St Lawrence Jewry and pavements which outlined the remains of the city’s Roman amphitheatre. My way of deciding how to photograph this mass of contradictory buildings and spaces was to focus on a bollard, a door frame and a bright blue police box.
One of the most interesting and painful revelations was a view from Cheapside showing the Grade I listed Guildhall is now dominated by a new tower block emerging from London Wall, a perspective that the planners failed to take into account.
We then walked to No 1 Poultry. Here the focus was not so much on trying to capture the shape and weight of the building but the detail of the materials and finishes. It was especially helpful that Chris encouraged an examination not only of the materials but of the way in which they work with or in some cases against each other. The ceramic tiles in the centre of the building are deep blue, the nearby windows in a range of bright colours and the exterior by contrast, a dull purplish colour. The whole of the centre is then reflected in the glass roof of the basement restaurant.
That same opportunity to look at both perspective and detail was taken at the Bloomberg building. Here there are a series of fabulous finishes and contrasting materials as well as some great views into the roof of the shopping arcade.
The workshop offered an excellent opportunity to pay attention, to discover both detail and perspective and to look with fresh eyes at this fascinating and visually complicated part of London.
@paullincolnprint ~ walkingcity.london
