transportation

Underpass

/ mikeosbornphoto / 9 Comments

Lit lattice

A visit to London’s Barbican inevitably leads you to its underbelly. This is the Beech Street underpass, which carries traffic and pedestrians beneath the 1960s and 70s housing complex – and to the Barbican arts centre.

It’s quite long and the ceiling is criss-crossed with mesmerising lights which set a silvery trail. Lines stretch ahead of you to the daylight at the end, which streams into the low-lit tunnel. Like the concrete jungle above your head, this is a photogenic, interesting city sight.

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See shots from London’s colourful ‘disco tunnel’ by visiting this page

London’s high wires

/ mikeosbornphoto / 10 Comments

London’s North Greenwich peninsula is a place of wires and lines, or so it appeared on a recent visit. Its main feature is the O2 Arena, a vast domed building topped with protruding struts, tethered by a web of lines. You can take a walking journey over its roof. A group of people were tackling this feat, clad in light blue jump suits, taking in the views.

A handful of other thrill seekers were enjoying a fairground ride close to the arena, swirling madly against the bright sky. But the big new attraction is London’s cable car – or Emirates Air Line, which takes you across the water to Royal Dock. Its poles, wires and gently dangling cars are a pleasure to photograph.

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SEE ALSO: AERIAL VIEWS

Boris bikes

/ mikeosbornphoto / 4 Comments

They are found all over London in their thousands, and you can hire them to travel just a matter of metres – or from one side of the city to the other.

Boris bikes – named after London mayor Boris Johnson who introduced the scheme – are parked in hundreds of docking stations across the city, and are distinctive with their blue livery and chunky frames.

Tourists and locals alike seem to love them, although I’ve yet to hop onto one, fearing the traffic of this great city.

This perfectly neat and unhired line of bikes was found in the financial heart of London on a quiet Sunday afternoon, nestling just beneath the Gherkin, one of the city’s famous skyscrapers.

It was an opportunity to take out the camera for some perfectly obvious and slightly more artful shots.

Happy biking!

St Pancras views

/ mikeosbornphoto / 6 Comments

A collection of images from St Pancras International railway station in London. You can take a Eurostar train to Europe from here, but I recommend staying on the concourse to admire the architecture.

Click on the first image to launch the full-size gallery

See also:

Railway abstract

Olympic Colours

Beautiful Barnes Bridge

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Barnes Bridge deserves some love. It sits astride the Thames, down the river from its more graceful, elegant neighbour Hammersmith Bridge.

Essentially a railway bridge with a pedestrian walkway, it’s painted an indistinct gun metal grey and is robust, industrial and dependable.

But not beautiful? I beg to differ. It has graceful arches and is full of fascinating lines and curves. For the photographer, it has a myriad of angles and turns out well in colour, black and white and tones of sepia.

Its rivets and metalwork create a fascinating piece of architecture which shouldn’t be overlooked in favour of London’s more delicate, eye-catching bridges.

Does this get your vote?