Lumiere London 2018

Lumiere returned to London for the second time this January. I only managed to visit on the last day - there’s so much more to see that I’ll be sure to allow at least two nights next time.

The displays are a real challenge to photograph - there’s lots of people around and you’re shooting in really poor lighting (despite it being a lighting event). I took a monopod and remote release with me which helped me stabilise the shots and get some more unique angles.

A photo of a light triangular light sculpture. A series of triangles is each lit up in white and bright colours. The triangles recede in to the distance.
The Wave, 2017, by Vertigo

The Wave was my favourite piece, and I think produced the strongest images. Row after row of lit triangles of light; sometimes pulsing, sometimes changing colour. It was filled with people, making shooting it really tricky.

A photo of a light triangular light sculpture. A series of triangles is each lit up in white and bright colours. The triangles recede in to the distance.
The Wave, 2017, by Vertigo
A photo of a light triangular light sculpture. A series of triangles is each lit up in white and bright colours. The triangles recede in to the distance.
The Wave, 2017, by Vertigo
Many balloons float above the ground of Trafalgar Square - the balloons are lit like light bulbs.
Child Hood, by Collectif Coin

Sometimes a simple concept works amazingly well when done at scale. Child Hood filled Trafalgar Square with helium filled balloons that lit up at different times to music.

Many balloons float above a dark street - the balloons are lit like light bulbs.
Child Hood, by Collectif Coin
Faces appear lit up inside three rows of Kilner jars.
Supercube, by Stéphane Masson
A photo of the front of Westminster Abbey at night. The entire front is lit up in bright pastel colours.
The Light of the Spirit (Chapter 2), by Patrice Warrener

‘The Light of the Spirit’ looked amazing in real life - I hardly did it justice on camera. The projection was impressively spot on, and gave the ornate fascia of Westminster Abbey a new twist.

A photo of the artwork Spectral. Many strands of brightly neon coloured cord all run in the same direction, closely spaced. The cords run up to a ‘v’ in a tree trunk, and then down again.
Spectral, by Katarzyna Malejka and Joachim Slugocki

Like the Westminster Abbey piece, Spectral was hard to shoot. Neon colours don’t come out well digitally - the vibrance just isn’t there.

In retrospect I realise one of the other issues is being pressed for time - I only had the evening and ended up getting around about 1/4 of the displays. You don’t really know whether they’ll be interesting to you or good to shoot until you get there - and even then you need to find good angles / wait for the shot.

A photo of the artwork Spectral. Many strands of brightly neon coloured cord all run in the same direction, closely spaced.
Spectral, by Katarzyna Malejka and Joachim Slugocki

Lumiere will be on in Durham next month (where the event started 10 years ago). It may be on in London in January next year - or it may be 2020 before the next London event.

Shot in London.