I am loving John Kortland’s ongoing photographic study of Londoners going about their daily lives. It’s all retirement fun for him, but I think his work is an awesome compilation of history in the making.
London is London because of the people who come and go, who leave behind a small piece of themselves in the process.
It is what it is because these people are sharing the streets of this city but going about their lives in whichever way the days take them.
They are eating, laughing, crying, walking, biking, getting lost…
…shopping, busking, sleeping rough, squatting, sleeping in mansions, urinating in doorways, painting the walls…
…smiling at strangers, avoiding eye contact, contorting themselves into crazy shapes for the sake of entertainment…
…reading on benches, engaging in politics, being apathetic, dressing eccentrically, smoking cigarettes…
…chatting on mobiles, drinking tea, stumbling around drunk, being prim and proper…
…looking for love, looking for friendship, looking for a taste of home, looking for a way to belong, looking for a way to escape…
…being creative, jogging, having a rant, taking the piss, practising English, trying something new, learning, being…
They are the life and energy of London and John’s work captures little pieces of that patchwork at a time.
If you missed the interview with John last week, check it out here.
Speaking of Londoners, don’t miss yesterday’s giveaway post – my copy of Londoners by Craig Taylor. A big thumbs up from me.
Little London Observationist 
Utterly true – cities, and their atmospheres, are totally dictated by the people who inhabit them. It’s really not about architecture and infrastructure so much. Wonder if the Olympic Committee ever thought about that…
Reblogged this on " Una Voz en el Silencio ".