Garden of Light, Lumiere London at Leicester Square
On Saturday 16th January we made our way through the crowds at Trafalgar Square to find an even bigger squeeze of people at Leicester Square, which has been transformed into an Enchanted Garden of Light and Colour.
The Garden of Light bathes Leicester Square Ticket Office in purple. Thousands of people are trying to get in. “Queue this way” shouts a voice. I look over and see several security persons shepherding the crowd along the barriers. “Move along now” says another voice. Like sheep the crowd queues and moves along. Too long to wait Ron and I move away from the queue and start to look inside from outside of the fence.
Overwhelmed by the growing enormity of the event we are glad not to wait to enter Leicester Square. We decide to photograph the Garden of Light from the outside. This is a major happening with thousands of people flocking to the centre of London to see the Garden of Light on the second day of Lumiere London. We make our way delighted by the colourations of this surreal landscape of light.
People continue to arrive at Leicester Square carrying phones, compact cameras and DSLRs. Everyone wants a shot! Everyone wants to squeeze in close for a view. The crowd stands and photographs, moving gradually along. This is a squeeze! Leicester Square bursts with colour everywhere. Luminous colour is reflected on to people’s clothes, faces and hair. I am glowing orange. I love the colourations and want to photograph more. Carrying a tripod there is nowhere to place it in the squeeze. I am pushed and compressed by the crowd. No time to say “excuse me please” – just bump, push past and there you go the shot is taken. I am buffeted continuously by the crowd as everyone gathers in close to get a shot of the Garden of Light.
Flowers larger than life grow in the Garden of Light…the crowd stands on tiptoe to see. Light fills their petals, colour illuminates their stems. Everything is bathed in beautiful light. An extraordinary world of large illuminated flowers. The crowd cannot get enough. Images must be flying through the internet tonight as photos are continuously posted on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Tumblr and everywhere social.
About Lou Smith Fine Art Photography
Lou Smith is a Fine Art Photographer with over 30 years experience in the visual arts and is a Fine Artist specialising in photography and painting. She is an experienced tutor and teaches photography in London. If you would like to work with Lou on night photography take a look at the Night Photography Course.
Photographs and content may not be used without permission.
© Lou Smith 2016, All Rights Reserved
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