In recent weeks I’ve been focusing my street photography on Shoreditch, a vibrant area in the heart of London’s historic East End. Above all its streets are known for being awash with some of the world’s best graffiti and street art.
However there’s much more to the area, from its fascinating multicultural heritage to its dazzling mix of cuisines and multiple bustling markets.
Together all these traits make Shoreditch and the wider East End (including adjoining areas like Spitalfields and Whitechapel) one of the best places for street photography in London, in my opinion.
Brief history
Shoreditch has changed a lot throughout its long history. Located just beyond the old Roman-built city walls, it remained a mostly rural and religious suburb throughout the Middle Ages. But then it developed into an entertainment hub in the Elizabethan era, hosting London’s very first theatre (called The Theatre, opened in 1576) and performances of plays by Shakespeare.
The East End then welcomed several waves of immigrants over the next few centuries. Beginning with Huguenots (French Protestants persecuted by King Louis XIV) in the 17th century who were expert weavers and together with many Irish weavers and Jewish tailors fleeing pogroms in Eastern Europe transformed the area into a textiles hub. The large Bangladeshi community, for which Brick Lane is famous, began to form in the early 1970s from refugees fleeing the bloody Bangladesh Liberation War.
In Victorian times Shoreditch was again well-known for its theatres and entertainment venues. But by the early 20th century it was a poor and overcrowded industrial area which was bombed heavily in WWII due to the proximity of the London Docks. In recent decades, it’s been significantly gentrified, or hipstified, attracting many creative and tech startups and becoming one of London’s trendiest spots.
Best things to do in Shoreditch
Brick Lane is one of London’s most famous streets, extending from Whitechapel towards Bethnal Green. It’s the centre of Banglatown, or the Bangladeshi community, and famed for its countless curry houses. However, it also abounds with street art and vintage clothes shops. And don’t miss the two long-running Jewish bagel bakeries, the Brick Lane Bookshop or the Sunday market.
The East End’s many markets play a big role in Shoreditch’s suitability for street photography. Beyond Brick Lane, there’s Spitalfields Market – the original East End market dating to 1666; this is what attracted the Huguenot weavers – and the massively popular Columbia Road Flower Market, an entire street overflowing with colourful flora for sale every Sunday.
In general, Shoreditch is a great place to go shopping – useful if you have a partner in tow while you’re doing street photography. In addition to Brick Lane’s vintage stores and bric-a-brac stalls, there’s the famous Rough Trade East record shop, lots of contemporary clothes boutiques and cool independent homewares stores, such as Labour and Wait. Plus, there’s Boxpark, a mall made from shipping containers housing a mix of pop-up shops and street food.
As mentioned, it’s also one of the best spots for food and drink in London. Seemingly all types of cuisine can be found, especially in the Spitalfields and Brick Lane markets, but also in stylish restaurants, chic bars and historic pubs.
What’s more, there are a few decent museums, including the Museum of the Home, charting the development of English homes, and Dennis Severs’ House, exploring the history of Shoreditch’s Huguenot weavers.
Oh, and perhaps the best thing to do is take a walking tour of the amazing street art, studying the fascinating stories behind all the top works and artists.
But anyway – back to street photography!
Impressions of street photography in Shoreditch
Anywhere like Shoreditch with an eclectic mix of cultures and communities, architecture and human activity are fantastic for street photography. What makes Shoreditch (or the East End more accurately) really unique though is all the street art, which is fun to play around with in your compositions. On the other hand, there’s so much of it that you can fall into a trap of taking too many similar photos – of someone walking past an eye-catching mural, for example.
Shoreditch really comes to life on a Sunday as that’s when the markets are open and fashionable, hipsterish cityfolk flood to them, as well as all the cafes and independent shops in their surrounds, generating an all-round creative and cool vibe. That’s doubly true when the sun shines and then it really is a joy to wander with your camera here from situation to situation, mixing with the mass of people and the diverse characters and fashions.
However, I also found some interesting scenes after dark when the lights came on. And all the modern skyscrapers in the City beginning just beyond Shoreditch illuminated in the background.
Final thoughts
Overall Shoreditch, when the weather is fine, is a really fun place to practise street photography in one of the buzziest parts of London. You’ll find plenty to see and do for either a full day or just a few hours, and hopefully come away with some excellent shots.
Here are some more of the photos I was able to capture:
