I came across William Whiffin, a street photographer in London’s East End, purely by accident. His work is atmospheric and gritty. It gives you a sense of what the East End was really like.  

Whiffin’s father was a photographer, but he made formal pictures. His son continued to run the family shop but he also created images that are a more realistic depiction of life in his time, somewhat similar to the work of Paul Strand.  What I notice in his pictures are the scale. His photographs often feature people beside (or atop of!) massive buildings that have been a part of London for hundreds of years. The people look so small and seemingly fragile by comparison.

His pictures make me think of how big cities like London tend to draw in talented, ambitious young people from smaller cities and towns. Their talent made them big fish in the little ponds back home. When they move to a metropolis, they’re stunned to find themselves overlooked or pushed to the side as people with bigger reputations, more talent, and more ambition take center stage. Perhaps they never knew what it felt like to be the least special person in the room! Of course it’s not our experiences that dictate the course of our future, only how we react to them.

St. Jude’s in Commercial Street:

spitalfieldlife

The signs in Lombard Street appear to be wrought iron… whatever they are, I love them!

Bygonely

Artofit

Fleet Street

Figureheads from old fighting ships

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