In contrast London is a city dominated by the closed, ignorant suited and booted, filling the streets with seas of black, grey and blue suits teamed up with an endless array of ties and wrist watches. But, this is just the city’s surface layer; the image the close minded concrete surfer or commuter will extrapolate from this ancient city of culture, energy and diversity.
In search of some escapism from the stress of Western life I meandered across the city of smoke towards Camden Town, North London, the hub of alternative culture and home to a melting pot of different people, backgrounds, music and food from all corners of the globe. Here, Argentinean steak is neighbours with Ethiopian tibbs, the English day-tripping youth brush shoulders with the wealthy Chinese-come-industrialists and the barefooted, free spirited busking Rasta sits jamming under the bridge. This community has it all!
As the sun fell over the canal and lock, I slowly strolled back towards the tube alongside the canal left behind from epochs past after a day of market, culinary and ale exploration amidst the energised vibe of the city. Then I saw the iconic bridge on this very calm weekday summer’s evening so I set to work to capture this buzzing yet moment chilled of Zen. I set up and positioned my Nikon dslr upon its tripod and took this long exposure for thirty seconds. My favourite part is where you can see a bunch of tired and exhausted ghostly characters staggering back towards the Underground whilst all of the traffic light signals are illuminated, reflecting the city’s sense of urgency, insomnia and organised chaos!
Camden Town, London, UK
-Insomnia-