The London Lights in Central London, December 2024

Street photographers love London, and everyone has their favourite area for taking pictures. I simply enjoy watching people move around the streets. Sometimes, you find a street teeming with opportunities for photographs; other times, it is not so fruitful. But, as they say, go with the flow—good pictures are always waiting for you.

The London Lights in Central London, December 2024
The upside down world of Soho.
The London Lights in Central London, December 2024
Good will on Earth to Refugees.

When wandering the streets, having a companion to share your journey is invaluable. Peter is an excellent photo buddy (link to Website). Living in London, Peter knows the best places to visit and is adept at finding ideal spots to stand. My other companion is my Fujifilm X100vi. The inbuilt image stabilisation makes it perfect for street photography. I shoot with a low shutter speed (1/30,1/60), a wide aperture (f4), and auto ISO to adapt to unexpected moments. The resulting pictures can be noisy, but a quick edit with Lightroom’s denoise function cleans them up effectively.

The London Lights in Central London, December 2024
Everyone is taking pictures of the Piccadilly light show.
The London Lights in Central London, December 2024
The streets were atmospheric giving a Christmas look.

I have also set up my camera with back-button focusing, which has significantly improved my ability to capture scenes in focus. However, this technique introduces a slight delay as I focus before pressing the shutter. I overcome this by anticipating the scene forming in front of me.  

The London Lights in Central London, December 2024
Regent street shop displays are very elegant making super street photography backdrops.

My first stop was to see the lights along Regent Street, with the beautiful angels soaring above the centre of the road. The shop windows offered bright, eye-catching displays. My technique here was simple: stand still for a few minutes and point my camera at the scene waiting for a suitable picture to materialise. The magic in this series of pictures came from the rain earlier in the afternoon. A light drizzle was falling on the pavement, creating reflections that shimmered with colours.

The London Lights in Central London, December 2024
Reflections and colours

I met Peter at Waterstones’ coffee shop, and we set off together. Starting with the bright lights of Piccadilly, we walked along Shaftesbury Avenue before exploring Chinatown. The city was bustling as it was the end of the working day. Pubs were overflowing, and people were moving everywhere, on foot and by bicycle. There was so much activity that pictures appeared all around us.


The rain added another layer to the story, bringing out umbrellas that enhanced the scenes. As we wandered into the narrow streets of Soho, the vibrant atmosphere gave way to Leicester Square. Here, we encountered a German market, but it was a disappointment. The stalls were no different from those found in Birmingham, and their circular arrangement felt uninspired. I did, however, find an interesting tree to photograph, though not much else of note.

The London Lights in Central London, December 2024
Tree decorations – Leicester Square.
The London Lights in Central London, December 2024
Busking away looking for an audience.

We did not stay long at the market. Instead, we headed to the Diamond Jubilee Garden facing St Paul’s Church in Covent Garden. The coloured lights reflecting off the wet pavements created a stunning view, and the silhouettes of people walking through the garden added depth to the composition of my pictures. We arrived at Covent Garden itself, and the decorations there were breathtaking. The large decorative bells and Christmas ornaments hanging from the ceiling filled the space with festive charm. The place was alive with energy, and I could have spent hours photographing the scene.  This was my final stop on my visit to the lights of London.  There were a few more pictures to take along the Strand before arriving at Charing Cross station and the Bakerloo line up to Marylebone station.  

The London Lights in Central London, December 2024
Approaching Covent Garden.
The London Lights in Central London, December 2024
St Paul’s Church Covent Garden.
The London Lights in Central London, December 2024
Street reflections and silhouettes. St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden.
The London Lights in Central London, December 2024
The Christmas tree and decorations in Covent Garden
The London Lights in Central London, December 2024
The beauty of the interior of Covent Garden.

All that remains for me to say is: enjoy my photographs and the short descriptions accompanying each one. There are some fantastic backdrops, including a particularly amusing one where a poster is upside down. I am sure this was deliberate, designed to catch the eye of keen street photographers like Peter and me as we wander London’s streets.

The London Lights in Central London, December 2024
Toys and Souvenirs.
The London Lights in Central London, December 2024
Blue tyres and red lights on the Strand.
The London Lights in Central London, December 2024
Outside Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club.
The London Lights in Central London, December 2024
Walking in the rain outside the Hippodrome.
The London Lights in Central London, December 2024
I love London.
The London Lights in Central London, December 2024
The shop window says it all.
The London Lights in Central London, December 2024
Escalator at Charing Cross.

If you enjoyed this view of Christmas lights then please follow the links below for more stories. One is about Christmas in Birmingham this year. The second is snow in our village in 2017.

Selfridges Department Store, Oxford Street, October, 2023

The window dressing at Selfridges is always amazing and in October the windows were designed around phrases and images.  The phrases were very catchy and if you placed people in front of them then they made for some fun street photography.  As I was taking photographs, people did not look at me but rather the windows that were the subject of my pictures. Therefore I was able to take some candid photographs of people as they walked past.  Enjoy this selection of the windows of Selfridges in Oxford Street.

Selfridges Department Store, Oxford Street, October, 2023
Smell the streets
Selfridges Department Store, Oxford Street, October, 2023
Sheer wonder – certainly this lad thinks so.
Selfridges Department Store, Oxford Street, October, 2023
Unidentified Fashion Object.
Selfridges Department Store, Oxford Street, October, 2023
Ride on to the sunset. This guy is thinking about it.
Selfridges Department Store, Oxford Street, October, 2023
Too many mobile phones.
Selfridges Department Store, Oxford Street, October, 2023
Watching the buses.

There is always Selfridge Birmingham to look at as well check out my “Selfridges Study” or you can take a look at my “Wheels of London”.

Kings Cross Station, London, March 2023

The interior of King’s Cross Station is an architectural marvel, and I made the decision to visit with my wide angled lens.  I had visited the station a few times mainly to the Harry Potter platform 3/4 and the nearby shop for my grandchildren.  This time I was there to take a picture for my 52 weeks challenge in the style of Candida Höfer.  This photographer took wide angled pictures of large rooms.  When I arrived at the station, I made my way up to the gallery. I asked a couple sitting in the spot that I needed for the symmetry of the architecture if I could take a picture from their table. Luckily, they said yes.  I could not use a tripod, so I upped the ISO on the camera.  Once I had the picture in the can, so to speak, I relaxed and then took several more pictures around the station.  I looked for leading lines, juxtaposition opportunities and several other pictures around the station.  This including pictures from above the platforms and more of the wonderful architecture.  

Kings Cross Station, London, March 2023
Up the escalators to the Gallery.
Kings Cross Station, London, March 2023
Picture this.
Kings Cross Station, London, March 2023
The open concourse of the station
Kings Cross Station, London, March 2023
Negotiating the station concourse.

The place I wanted for one of my photographs was in the centre of the concourse. As I was taking pictures, Sam came up to me. He was an architect and he was just in love with design of the station. He asked if I could take a picture of him. In return, I asked if he could be in my 100 strangers project which he duly obliged. Furthermore, he even gave this special pose for the picture. My 100 strangers project will be the subject of a later blog posting.

Sam the architecture lover.

Following this I went below to the underground station and walked along the tunnel that links St Pancras and Kings Cross to Granary Square.  This tunnel has a sweeping curve with moving lights on one wall and black supporting spines on the other.  The colours of the wall and the repeating patterns are a delight to photograph. I felt as if I was stalking the pedestrians moving through the tunnel.  However their silhouettes added to the photographic composition of the place.  Overall a good spot to visit for photography and offers many different opportunities.

Kings Cross Station, London, March 2023
The Kings Cross tunnel
Kings Cross Station, London, March 2023
The colourful tunnel

Here are some links to follow on from my blog. First there is the Kings Cross Tunnel web page telling you about this amazing piece of design. The other famous place to discover at King’s Cross is Platform 9 3/4 from the Harry Potter Books and again I may well feature that on another blog.

Here are some more links to discovering London as a photographer.

Kings Cross Station, London, March 2023
The central column in Black and White.

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