On The Buses In East London

Bus stops are great places for photographic loitering. The accumulation of a wide variety of people at a bus stop provides endless opportunities for portraits and observations of human behavior, fashion and style.

A man with a cap on a route master bus, 1999

I’ve always regarded public transport as a moving studio set up to record people. Invariably I carry a small camera with me to record the environment I pass through. Buses can be difficult in terms of the rapidly changing light. However it’s difficult not to discover an interesting subject. A London bus will always furnish a photographer with a wide range of subjects. This passenger (above) has emerged into the metropolis ready for the cold with his two jumpers, coat and cap.

Man on the lower deck of the 254 bus, 2009

The human landscape is altered each time the bus collects fresh passengers at a stop. This passenger (above) is positioned safely in a seat specially designed for disabled travelers. The route master bus had no facilities for disabled passengers.

Leaving a route master bus on the East India Dock Road, 2003

This passenger (above) is helped from the bus by the conductor. She steadies herself by touching the advertisement of an idealised woman. Despite the competition from the glossy lady in a swim suit our attention is held by the old lady. The route master was withdrawn from service in 2005 partly for health and safety reasons.

Bus stop, Whitechapel 2009

Bus stop, Bethnal Green Road c.1995

Bus stop, Bethnal Green Road c.1984

Bus stop, Cambridge Heath Road c.1990

Bus stop, Bethnal Green Road 2002

Bus Stop, Whitechapel Road 2014

Bus on Bethnal Green Road, London 2008

Passengers boarding bus on Bethnal Green Road, 1983

Bethnal Green Road 2002

Number 25 bus, Whitechapel 2014

Before the invention of the mobile phone conversation between waiting passengers was usual at bus stops. At this stop there is noc between the three women and the woman closest to the camera can’t raise anyone on her phone.