On the buses

Bus stop at Burdett Rd, 2009

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 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 is positioned safely in a seat specially designed for disabled travelers. The routemaster bus had no facilities for disabled passengers.

Leaving a routemaster bus on the East India Dock Road, 2003

This passenger 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 The routemaster was withdrawn from service in 2005 partly for health and safety reasons.

Bus stop, Whitechapel 2009

Before the invention of the mobile phone conversation between waiting passengers was usual at bus stops. At this stop there is no communication between the three women and the woman closest to the camera can’t raise anyone on her phone.