London Street Photography

I first tried to see this free exhibition at the Museum of London about a month ago with a friend but it was so crowded that we abandoned the idea and went to the pub instead. When I returned on a weekday afternoon recently, the exhibition was less crowded but still busy and it's easy to see why it's so popular. It includes over 200 images of everyday life in the capital's streets from the 1860s to the present day and as well as exploring the changing character of London, it shows how street photography has evolved in line with developments in technology and changes in society. For example:

• In the very earliest photo, taken near Bank in the 1860, the streets appear very quiet at first glance but this is only because the technology at that time was not capable of recording movement so most of the people and vehicles appear only as a faint blur.
• More candid shots were only possible from the 1890s when handheld cameras became available.
• By the 1920s newspapers were able to publish photos leading to the rise of press photography and the popularity of mass circulation magazines such as Picture Post in the 1930s.
• The 1950s to 1970s were the heyday of street photograph. People used the street alot more than they do nowadays and as redevelopment was planned in many parts of London there was a desire to capture these areas before they changed forever.
• The arrival of digital technology has obviously brought further changes (one of the most recent pictures is a photoshopped image, raising the question of what counts as a photo) but there are other important impacts on contemporary street photography, in particular the introduction of anti terrorism legislation and the increase in privately-owned shopping malls.

In addition to the photos, there are a few film clips, including an interesting one of street markets in Southwark in the 1930s (in which all but the very youngest are wearing hats!), a slide show of contemporary street photography (including some excellent ones taken by amateurs in response to a competition in the Metro) and a short film of photographers talking about their work - the cameras they use, why they take photographs and what they think the future is for street photography.  

I timed my visit to coincide with a talk by Mike Seaborne, the curator of the exhibtion, from which I gleaned many of the facts above. I found both the talk and the exhibition fascinating and spent so much time looking at the photographs that I will have to go back again to look at the rest of the museum. Unfortunately, Mike's talk was a one-off but the museum run a regular series of Meet the Expert events on other aspects of their work and the exhibition runs until 4 September 2011.