A beautiful sunny day dawned on Tuesday the 22nd March as Roger and I greeted members of the Creative Eye Group who were joining our photo walk around Brick Lane and Shoreditch.
Our first stop was around the Spitalfields market area for a brief photo shoot of sculptures of elephants and parts of the old London Wall which provided a good warm up for various shutters.
Onward to Hanbury Hall off Brick Lane to see the London Salon Member’s Exhibition. Roger gave an account of how it began and how it has evolved. An excellent opportunity to see the work of these photographers all in one place.
Wandering back along Hanbury Street, we found the extremely large crane, the feathered variety, which is one piece of street art that has not been painted over and is regarded as an auspicious bird for the Bangladeshi community. The Mosque which had formerly been a Synagogue and original houses, with large windows especially built by the Huguenot weavers, were among the many subjects taken by our meandering group.
In need of sustenance we arrived at a small, friendly pub with a history relating back to Jack the Ripper. A well deserved pint, a salt beef sandwich and more photo chat ensued. Although I had informed the Landlady of our forthcoming visit , she was quite surprised and impressed by this bevy of photographers
Onwards and upwards onto Brick Lane with a diversion into the Truman Brewery complex where the Banksy car was spotted. However,our photographers were soon hovering over black hoardings covered in interesting remains of posters and paint, much to the bemusement of passers-by.
One more detour to Allen Gardens where a lot of new street art was found, mostly in support of Ukraine and quite thought provoking. Some of us chatted to a street artist whilst others were far flung in this large area, taking all kinds of photos.
Finally, shepherding the flock back onto Brick Lane we walked around to Shoreditch, where people were surprised to find two tube trains on top of a roof.
We wandered around this area discovering various photo opportunities amongst street art, people, sculptures and mirrors. With the changing light, we found favourite spots to enjoy photographically at the end of our walk
Our route around Brick Lane was just a taster, there are so many things to discover and photograph in this area, not forgetting where a well pulled pint and a traditional salt beef sandwich can be found.
Angela Ford ARPS