Going on a 'dusk til dawn' photo journey in a city that sleeps early is an adventure everyone should take at least once. Especially in London Town. It is a strange contrast of wandering a landscape covered with people from all walks of life during the daylight hours to walking the same streets under the shelter of night amongst ghosts and scattered intoxicated souls.
Even your friends begin to look different.
We started our journey at about 11 o'clock, and went in search of food, which is not the best time in London due to everything closing so early. We finally found an Italian place that was
open 24 hours (one of maybe 5 places in the whole city open 24 hours along with maybe the Spearmint Rhino?) where business men and tourists alike were eating and singing along to all types of American music. Mostly Bon Jovi (I think the cook turned 'Living on a Prayer' off
during the 'Whoa' parts for everyone to sing along. And by everyone I mean Niku and I, who were the only ones doing it, ha.)
As we made our way out of the lively Italian place, we started to venture through the city taking every twist and turn attempting to get lost. That didn't work so well because by that point we were all pretty familiar with the city and it's neighborhoods. I guess we were all born with the Magellan gene or something? Anyways. The streets only became more empty as time wore on and the only thing that seemed to stay awake throughout the night were the neon lights and city workers lurking in the shadows.
Every once in awhile a few tourists would stumble by muttering in both joy and sorrow the events of the night. It was fun to imagine the city through their eyes at that point. I assume our conflicting visions were something like this...
I also appreciated this little piece of Southern California that surfed its way into the night window of a local toy store.
As our city exploration came to an end, we went in search of a 24 hour pub named The Birdcage (a 24 hour pub in London is as mythological as a unicorn or Tom Selleck's mustache) where we could rest our weary feet and throats. Alas, all we found was a closed pub in a residential part of London where the landscapes were far from touristy and business oriented. I preferred that setting much more. It was almost like walking through a horror movie, because the streets were so dead and the lighting was so dim and weary. I loved every second of it.
Realizing the pub was a lost cause, we decided to venture towards a 4am flea market that was clear across town and over the London Bridge. While the fair itself was not very, well, enticing, and harder to find than Bigfoot, the journey there led us across a landscape of interesting architecture. Emerging from the night and glowing with a confident structure, the sights themselves (as well as lack of sleep) left very few words to really describe the feeling they gave off.
The colors that emerged from the black blanketed sky were by far the most rewarding part of the experience. The breathtaking palettes were overwhelming with a beauty that is often hard to find in a world so focused on looking down at electronics and staying inside on computers these days.
Alex Kuhse
Graphic Design
Woodbury University
No comments:
Post a Comment