Patterns, people and everyday geometry in London

There’s a thread running through these London photographs that becomes clearer when I put them together. Patterns, straight lines and repeated shapes, with people becoming part of the scene.

Some of it is obvious, like the rows of windows and layers of concrete. Other frames are about smaller things: a curved reflection, a person beside an oval opening, or the circle of a coffee cup against the grain of a wooden table. Different subjects, but often a similar way of looking.

I think everyday geometry is a good description for it. I was looking for patterns and moments, and seeing how people fitted into their surroundings.

Patterns, people and everyday geometry in London. Callum Ecobichon

Passing moments

In one photograph, a woman in red trousers crosses in front of a large wooden doorway. The building gives the frame its structure, but the person makes it a moment. In another, a cyclist passes a curved facade. Elsewhere, people sit together on steps or stop for a break.

These aren’t separate from the environment around them. The doorway, the pavement and the lines of the building are all part of what makes the photograph work for me. I like seeing the relationship between the person and the place, even when it’s only there for a moment.

Life among the concrete

I absolutely loved the concrete architecture. It feels like a proper concrete jungle, full of layers, walkways and repeated forms.

What interested me most was seeing how people interact with it. A person walking their dog through a darker space. Someone sitting on a bench below a row of windows. A figure on the stairs, surrounded by warm light and strong angles.

The architecture has plenty going on by itself, but those ordinary activities give it another dimension. You’re looking at a place people use, with all these shapes forming the surroundings of their day.

Circles and reflections

There’s a smaller group of photographs where curves take over from the straight lines. An oval opening in a wall, reflective spheres and the distorted view inside them.

Putting these next to the more regular building shapes makes the connection clearer. It’s still about finding a structure within the frame, even when that structure is curved or reflected. People appear within those shapes too, rather than sitting apart from them.

Smaller subjects, the same way of looking

The coffee photographs belong to the day as well. They’re a quieter set of details, but I can still see the same interest in shape: the round cup, the pattern in the coffee, the lines of the table and the lettering around the counter.

I used the Fujifilm X Pro2 with the Vibrant Portra 400 settings I’ve been trying. I’ve put those settings in a separate recipe article, with examples from both London and Frinton on Sea.

For this story, it’s the patterns and the people I keep coming back to. The city gives you the shapes. Everyday life gives you the moments happening among them.