Lavish interiors

May 2, 2020October 26, 2020 / mikeosbornphoto / 5 Comments

I lived in London for 16 years before moving north to Manchester in 2016. For years I roamed around the capital city with my camera, going inside many beautiful buildings.

A favourite weekend of the year was when Open House London enabled access to many premises. There were so many lavish rooms to enjoy and photograph.

The coronavirus pandemic and lockdown has made photography more difficult. That’s why I decided to trawl my archive and revisit some favourite shots. Many have been re-edited to suit my evolving tastes and sensibilities, although architecture stands the test of time. Please enjoy!

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: Heal’s

: Fitzrovia Chapel

: The Shard

: Tate Modern

: London Central Mosque

: King’s Cross Station

: New West End Synagogue

: Strawberry Hill House

: Queen’s House, Greenwich

: Tottenham Court Road station

: Gurdwara (Sikh Temple), Southall

: Old Custom House

: Tate Modern

: Olympia

: Tate Britain

Shooting Up

March 1, 2015 / mikeosbornphoto / 15 Comments

This is a celebration of the thousands of times I have craned my neck to take a photograph, sometimes on my knees or sitting on the damp ground at the same moment. But there is always a commanding building or dazzling ceiling as a reward, and the chance to capture it for posterity.

Enjoy this small selection and remember a stiff neck or a pair of dirty knees is always worth it…

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: St Stephen’s Cathedral, Budapest

: Hammersmith office building

: Anish Kapoor’s Orbit, London Olympic Park

: Custom House, London

: Kew Bridge water tower, London

: Westminster Hall, London

: 10 Hammersmith Grove complex, London

: New West End Synagogue, London

: The old Mortlake Brewery, west London

: Regents Park Mosque, London

: Tate Modern, London

: Strawberry Hill House, Twickenham

Mosque

December 8, 2013 / mikeosbornphoto / 18 Comments

London’s Central Mosque overlooks Regent’s Park in the heart of the city. It has a copper dome – now a little tarnished – and a concrete minaret. The building is modern and functional, but its principal prayer room dazzles with riches.

I visited just in time for Friday lunchtime prayers, one of the most important gatherings of the week. The faithful were thronging to the mosque. I held back and just watched.

The ceremonials are fairly brief, followed by congregating and socialising in the large courtyard. I went in, removed my shoes and marvelled at the opulent gold chandelier beneath a dome decorated with inscriptions and intricate patterns.

Many men remained there, some quietly chatting, others in their own acts of worship. One studied the Qur’an on his iPad. I seemed at ease to quietly take photographs of this place – perhaps my own religion. The faithful were not photographed, that felt like an invasion of their space.

Any unease I felt about being here then melted away. A man approached me, offered me his tray of dates and said: “Welcome to mosque.”

What a touching gesture to cap a memorable visit.

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