Thursday, April 19, 2018

Field Trip to Shoreditch


Yesterday I helped chaperone a group of students on a field trip to explore street art and street photography in Shoreditch, East London.

I've done this for the last few years around this time. It's a good springtime activity and it gets the kids out of the classroom and lets them have some creative fun. Before we go, I give them a slide show about how to compose photographs and showing them the work of some famous street photographers, like Henri Cartier-Bresson and Vivian Maier.


The walk is guided by a street-art expert, who tells the kids about the artworks and the artists who create them. Giving them a focus -- the graffiti and murals -- helps avoid a situation where they're just wandering around whining, "I can't find anything to take a picture of!"


We got lucky yesterday with amazing weather and some good opportunities for street photos. There are definitely varying degrees of interest among the kids, but you'd expect that, right? They're not all going to be into it. All I know is, I had a great day, we didn't lose any students and it was nice to be out of the library for a change!

11 comments:

Yorkshire Pudding said...

Well done on spotting Theresa May on her way to The Houses of Parliament. The sunglasses did not fool me.

Vivian said...

That photo of the yellow dress is perfection. I wonder how long you had to stalk her to get her in frame? It was worth the wait. It's a real delight to look at.

Ms. Moon said...

What a wonderful thing to be able to do!
And I'm with Vivian- that lady is not afraid of color and made a perfect subject for a talented photographer.

ellen abbott said...

I wouldn't be caught dead in those clothes but they look nice on her.

Red said...

It's a winner if you don't lose any kids. I lost two kids over the years. Of course, we found them but it was stressful at the time.

Sharon said...

Oh my, this is something I would love to do but, I also have a friend who would find it totally boring so I understand that it only appeals to certain people. It looks like you had a perfect day for it too. I love that shot of the lady in the yellow tights. It reminds me of a woman I saw just a few days ago at the shopping center near me. If I could have snapped a photo of her without being obvious I would have.

37paddington said...

What cameras do the kids use? Do they all have 35mm equipment or are they using iPhones? Digital or no? Just curious.

jenny_o said...

Not losing kids is the number one goal, so you nailed it :) Just kidding, sorta. I'm quite sure they also learned a few things and had a good time. Lucky for them to have a talented photographer showing them the ropes! I like the shots you took.

Catalyst said...

Yellow for caution!

The Bug said...

I love how red sweater dude perfectly matches the bicycles - and the yellow dress matches the sign. Very cool!

e said...

What a cool outing for them and a great opportunity for you to help with photography...