The class space is less than five minutes from my hotel, so I leave well ahead of time and make an early photo shoot. This gives me the chance to catch the morning commuters and see the streets before the tourist hordes arrive. Some are out having breakfast, shopkeepers are taking a break while they prepare and waiting for the first customers to arrive.

After another successful morning class, we went out to shoot around Chinatown and Leicester Square. We all had walked around this area several times this week, but Edmond (especially) emphasized the benefits from revisiting areas that are familiar. In this case, only a little familiar; several hours over a couple of days doesn’t mean I know this like I know, for instance, midtown Manhattan. But I’m starting to get a feeling for the rhythm and flows in the area, I’m recognizing some of the shops and restaurants, and I’m getting a sense for what kind of photo opportunities might exist.

Some street photography purists insist that you should only take and use pictures that are completely “authentic”: the subjects are unaware of you, and you’re getting them doing whatever they do. I’m not from that school, although I take lots of images like that. I also like the shots where the people become aware, and usually are happy to be part of your picture. Of course, sometimes people don’t want their picture taken, and I always respect that.

When I first noticed the two women in the first picture, they were holding the popcorn bags over their faces. I thought it looked cute, so I took the picture. It was only later when editing the picture did I notice that they were giving me a signal expressing their displeasure. Oh well.

The group met up after lunch and we took the tube over towards Westminster, where we walked across the bridge to the South Bank. The tube station had been reworked and had some absolutely gorgeous industrial architecture.

I knew that we were going to be walking past Parliament, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey, but I wasn’t particularly interested in photographing them. Until I saw the sun just peeking over the tip of Big Ben, and I couldn’t resist getting the sunstar.

Although today was Wednesday, it seemed much more crowded than it had been on Sunday, when I was in this area also.

Along the promenade on the south side of the Thames is a seemingly endless wall that’s been turned into a Covid memorial. Volunteers painted hearts across the length of the wall and encouraged those who lost someone to write a brief message in the hearts. The volunteers try and maintain the memorial by overwriting the messages as they fade.

We walked along the promenade, past some restaurants, the London Eye Ferris wheel, and a skate park. By then everyone was tired, and several of the group had evening plans. So we split up, and Edmond & I went to grab some dinner and a beer.