A powerful message by street artist Stephen Espo Powers on the side of Village Underground in Shoreditch.
I have always loved Shoreditch.
I used to hang around there and more broadly Hackney as early as 1999-2000 when I landed in London.
We used to go to lots of illegal raves in the area's disused buildings now home to micro-breweries, cafes and minimalist luxury hotels.
It's really graffiti and street art which got me into photography. Back in 2006 I used to go to the most dirty corners of London to find new pieces to photograph... I developed and got myself a better camera (than my 5 megapixel Sony camera at the time!) and became a better photographer. I then increasingly incorporated graffiti within my urban landscapes. Then I just shot landscapes... Eventually I incorporated people within the landscape and got closer to them... and so I switched to street photography.
I don't believe in remaining static and only shooting one thing one's entire life. I want to learn and be able to shoot all that makes London what it is. People, architecture, landscape...
If you want to learn more about photography and how I do it...
Head to my blog full of useful articles on photography and how to improve it.
Nico