Colin O’Brien’s London Life
There cannot be many photographers who have created the expanse of work that Colin O’Brien has done, documenting the changing life of London over seven decades – beginning as a child with a Box Brownie in Clerkenwell in 1948 and continuing today as a regular Spitalfields Life Contributing Photographer, taking the digital photos of the Druids for yesterday’s story.
A retrospective of Colin’s photography entitled London Life opens at Hackney Museum this week and today we preview a small selection of pictures from the show.
Car Breakers, Hackney Wick
Fish Shop, Chatsworth Rd in the eighties
Finsbury, 1951
Hackney, 1998
Old Dalston Station
East Enders Cafe, Hackney
Brick Lane in the eighties
Cafe, Battersea Park
Chatsworth Rd in the eighties
The Griffin, Shoreditch, on the last day of smoking in pubs
Tapping Harlem, Hackney Empire
Regents Canal, Hackney
Victoria Dwellings, Clerkenwell, in the fifties
Hackney, last day of the Routemaster on the 38 bus route
Old Kent Rd
Covent Garden, 2004
St Martin’s Lane
Battersea Power Station
Median Rd, Hackney
Rag & Bone Man, 1959
Colin O’Brien (left) at Sir John Cass School, Aldgate 1954
Raymond Scallionne & Razi Tuffano, Hatton Garden in 1948
Photographs copyright © Colin O’Brien
London Life runs at Hackney Museum until 30th August, Admission Free
Take a look at more pictures by Colin O’Brien
Colin O’Brien’s Clerkenwell Car Crashes
Travellers’ Children in London Fields
Colin O’Brien’s Brick Lane Market
Interesting photos. He has a fine eye for detail that captures the essence of the moment.
Thank you for sharing. Very nostalgic. Means much more as one grows older!
As always, what I notice, having lived through this period, is how DIRTY everything is or was – especially before 1970.
And how run-down London was in the 80’s ….
Greta shots of moments frozen in time. Valerie
Wonderful time capsules from the 1940s up to now!
(PS: When was the “last day of smoking in pubs”…?)
Love & Peace
ACHIM
Love the lady in Chatsworth Road and the two men on the park bench, not forgetting the rag and bone man’s horse of course!
As a Finsbury boy myself, I was especially taken with the EC1-themed photographs. I look forward very much to seeing the whole exhibition.
Fantastic selection, several of which I’d never seen before, and I’ll certainly be going to see the exhibition. The one of the couple with the baby in the baby carriage, looking in the window of the white goods shop and taken when Colin was nobbut knee high to a grasshopper, is nigh on perfect.
Hard to single one pic out above another, but liked the cocky companionship of the last one. Oh yes and the horse 🙂
Wonderful pictures, and as i’ve said before, Colin’s work is comparable to that of the great Roger Mayne who sadly passed away this month.
Colin has such an amaing archive! More please……
Hi Colin
It looks as if you have done well. Seeing you on the roof of the old school certainly has brought back some memories.
I didn’t know you ended up head boy but I’m not surprised that you did.
I notice there is a photo of you and, I think, it was Colin Wines. It seems only yesterday.
If you wanted to it would be good to chat with you and hear more about how you are doing.
A blast from the past Tony