Going Underground.
Why London’s Underground system is a great place to take pictures.
For most people, commuting is a chore. For Londoners, the Underground is often seen as nothing more than a necessity: trains packed with tired workers, tourists hauling suitcases, and late-night travellers staggering home after a night out. To many, it’s dark, smelly, overcrowded — the last place you’d expect to find inspiration.
But for me, and perhaps for a few others who carry a camera, the Underground is far from grim. It’s a haven for unexpected shapes, light, and stories.
Taking a camera into the Tube might sound like madness. There are plenty of challenges: security staff, the occasional suspicious glance, and of course the fact that not everyone appreciates having a lens pointed in their direction. Add in the pickpocket risk and it can feel like tempting fate. That’s why I keep my setup simple and discreet. My OM-5 paired with a small pancake lens — usually the Lumix 20mm or 14mm (a 40mm and 28mm equivalent in full frame terms) — is perfect. Small enough to slip into a coat pocket, yet quick to draw when the moment appears. I sometimes just whip out my smart phone, switch to RAW mode and point for ultimate discretion
So what exactly am I looking for underground?
Curves and tunnels — sweeping arcs of architecture, often brought to life with a passerby or two to add scale and story.
Moving trains — motion blurred against a still figure can tell a whole tale in one frame.
Light — some stations have lighting that feels cinematic. Baker Street, with its shadows, or Canary Wharf, with its futuristic glow, both offer endless possibilities.
Escalators — more than just a way up and down, they can become lines leading the eye, or settings for subtle human drama.
That famous tunnel — the light corridor between King’s Cross and St Pancras. Yes, it’s been photographed to death, but it still has an energy that makes me return. People tend to walk straight through, unbothered by the camera, which makes it a gift for candid frames.
Most of the time, I shoot in black and white. I set the camera to monochrome mode so I can see the scene stripped back to light and shadow as I compose. Shooting RAW keeps the option to revert to colour in Lightroom, but I rarely do. There’s something about the Underground that just feels right in black and white — timeless, stripped of distraction, more about mood than reality.
And here’s the beauty: outside, the light changes with every passing cloud, but underground it stays the same. Whether it’s raining, grey, or blindingly bright above ground, down in the Tube the light is constant.
What many see as an unpleasant, stressful space has become for me a place of creativity. The Underground isn’t just a way of getting from A to B — it’s a gallery waiting to be discovered, if you’re willing to look a little differently.
