An ode to Leadenhall Market
What a fantastic place for photography in London!
Though I have had the good fortune to visit London several times, it wasn't until my 3rd visit or so that I discovered this amazing location. Whenever I plan a trip, I spend a fair bit of time beforehand doing research on the spot. I want to go and photograph the big stuff, but I also want to find the rest of it, too. I'm not satisfied just seeing the major landmarks. Everybody shoots that stuff. I find it more interesting and fun when I get off the beaten path a little and discover some less well-known spots.
While researching for one of my trips there, I came across some photos of Leadenhall Market and I was intrigued. It's an old Victorian market dating from the 14th century, and let's be honest - it's totally awesome looking, right? How could someone NOT want to go see this? It's right up my alley, so to speak, and I knew I had to see it.
So I did just that. I got up early on a weekend morning and headed over here. My guess was that it would be busy on weekdays, and that it would (hopefully) be empty on a Saturday morning. It turns out that it was nearly empty - lucky me. It helped that the location for the market is way off on the East side of London, basically in the financial district - which certainly helped ensure it's emptiness on a weekend morning. That puts it out of the way of most tourists, too. They stick close to Big Ben and all that stuff (which is fabulous, too!). But you pretty much have to be heading to this spot to see it.
The other cool thing about this market is that it has been used in the Harry Potter films to represent parts of Diagon Alley and The Leaky Cauldron pub that Harry visits. When I stood here and took it all in, I could imagine it being in the Harry Potter films. It fits perfectly, style-wise. You almost feel a little magic in the air. :-)
I have actually shared a couple of these images before, but now that I am using Aurora HDR Pro from Macphun, I decided to go back in and rework them, and to process the rest from that morning. While this isn't every shot I took, it's the majority and it's certainly the ones I liked best. So, enjoy the photos, and if you find yourself in London, try and find the time to get over here. It's well worth it! And if you can arrive on a Saturday morning like I did, you just might have it to yourself!
Thanks for stopping by and let me know if you have any questions!
