A Day in London with Ilford HP5+ and the Voigtländer Bessa R

Normally, when I travel to meet family or friends, I tend not to bring a camera other than my camera phone, mainly because it’s usually a social trip rather than a photography trip. On this occasion, however, I had most of the day to myself in central London before I was due to meet the family for dinner, so that was excuse enough to bring the Voigtländer and a roll of Ilford HP5+.

Now, I’m more than aware that most of the film I’ve shot since embarking on this film rediscovery journey has been HP5+, so I’ve recently picked up some infrared film and a few rolls of Kodak Portra, which I hope to experiment with shortly.

I arrived in London at Bond Street via the Lizzie Line, which happens to be only about a five-minute walk from The Photographers’ Gallery. (All photographs on this post were taken at the Moco gallery London) We spent a good hour and a half exploring the various photographers and exhibitions. If you’re into photography, it’s well worth a visit.

Next came dinner. I don’t want to waste your time talking about that, but it did involve a bottle of wine and several glasses of grappa.

Feeling slightly worse for wear, we decided that the weather was just a little too unpleasant to wander outside for long, so we looked for another museum and eventually settled on the Moco Museum (Modern Contemporary Art) near Marble Arch. I have to say, I was really impressed with it. At the time we visited, Banksy was one of the featured exhibitors. Not only were the exhibits stunning, but the architecture and interior of the building were equally impressive.

Normally, I don’t particularly like photographing other people’s artwork, but here I tried instead to focus on visitors interacting with the installations and spaces.

Unfortunately, time soon ran out, but suitably filled with both culture and alcohol, it was time to make our way to the family gathering, where even more drinking would inevitably ensue.