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!

Tap/click first image to view gallery

: 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

4th floor bridge

July 30, 2016August 1, 2016 / mikeosbornphoto / 10 Comments

London’s Tate Modern gallery has undergone a big expansion. It’s now home to Switch House, a capacious 10-storey extension. But it’s been connected to the existing core of the building by new walkways. The new 4th floor bridge gives you a new, heightened perspective on the vast Turbine Hall, home to huge installations where the Tate’s industrial past blasts through. Here are just two architectural views from a new viewpoint.

New Tate Modern

July 24, 2016July 23, 2016 / mikeosbornphoto / 20 Comments

One of London’s major visitor attractions has grown. Tate Modern, a vast repository of art, has an entire new wing. This distinctive twisted pyramid of a building is 10 storeys tall and a fitting addition to the main building, once a vast power station.

The stylish, spartan interior is an expanse of exposed concrete and untreated blond wood, while the windows are partly covered with the lattice of brickwork enveloping the exterior. The building is topped with a viewing platform which draws the crowds away from the art and to views of London.

This large new public space is as busy as the original gallery. But it was easy to capture pure architecture – and photograph visitors as they went about their business and interacted with this fresh place.

Click first image to view the gallery

High-end living

April 10, 2016April 10, 2016 / mikeosbornphoto / 18 Comments

London bristles with cranes. There is development everywhere. Quite often you find it’s for luxury residential developments, full of sharp angles, contemporary materials that ascend several floors. This clutch of new buildings are around the Thames, from the base of The Monument and across the river on the South Bank, in the shadow of The Shard along to Tate Modern, which is also currently being extended.

Throw in a lightly clouded blue sky and the odd passing helicopter, these can be very striking captures. And there are certainly a lot to choose from in this ever-growing town…

Click first image to view this collection

A little closer to the ground I found this stylish, feline-like cover on some doors to one of the South Bank’s luxury apartment blocks.

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…