London's Maps

A year ago I was living in London and taking a few classes through Florida State University. My apartment/dorm was in Russell Square (which you might remember from the London Bombings), which was a perfect location for easy access to all parts of the city. My time there was amazing, for obvious reasons. But what I loved most was the hours I spent exploring the city on foot, trying to see experience everything possible. I soon started to fall into the flow of the city and near the end of my time, I started to feel like a Londoner myself and noticed the tools available for tourists. Primarily, I became interested in the standing maps that populate nearly every street corner. I began photographing the maps while they were being read by tourists, and I soon started going map to map waiting for tourists to find their way. I really enjoyed the different languages, clothing, gestures, facial expressions, shopping bags, clothes, hair styles, etc., and tried to make a photograph at a moment of focus, confusion, or understanding.

Unfortunately, I didn't start this project until the last week of my time in London, so I didn't have the opportunity to make more photographs than the one's below. While I think this is a strong set, there are certainly more lost tourists I would have liked to have photographed. I should also mention that during the first few weeks of my time in London, I didn't travel anywhere without a Tube map, city map, and of course I found my way many times using the same standing maps I photographed. 

PS. This is now a gallery on the site.