Prior to heading to London I checked out the top attractions at TripAdvisor and discovered the Hairy Goat London Photography Mystery Tour [www.tripadvisor.com]. Essentially a photographer lead walking tour of the City of London, I thought that it would be great to have a professional help inspire me early on so I booked a tour for my first full day in town.
Hairy Goat Photography [www.hairygoat.net] offers a number of different tour options, including educational camera workshop tours and night shooting tours. I went with the mystery tour [www.hairygoat.net] because I already know the basic functions of my camera and it was also the cheapest option.
On the morning of my tour I woke to find a forecast for rain. Not showers and not drizzle, but rain. And wind. Having read the website I knew that they go rain or shine so I threw a jacket and umbrella in my Dakine Sequence camera bag [averagetraveller.com] and headed for the tube station. The tour was set to start at the Royal Exchange near Bank station.
The sun actually peaked out from behind the clouds on my way to the tube so I was optimistic. When I got to the Way Out at Bank Station there was a backup of people in suits standing just inside the doorway. As I approached I realized that they were all trying to wait out the torrential rains that were now coming down so I took out my rain gear and flipped on the raincover for my camera bag.
I met up with my tour guide Steve who gave us a quick quiz about what kind of pictures we like to take and which settings we’re most comfortable with on our cameras. He then gave us a quick history of the City of London [wikipedia.org], the city within a city that we would be exploring. Realizing that we could not stall any longer to wait for the rain to stop, Steve told us that we should keep our eyes out for actions shots of people trying to avoid the rain as well as good reflections in the all of the newly formed puddles. Any time someone with a brightly coloured umbrella or jacket would walk by he would excitedly point them out for us to photograph.
He lead us from location to location, all places where there would be interesting things to photograph. At leach location he gave us some ideas and pointers and then set us free to go shoot before gathering us up to move again.
The whole time that I was in London it rained for exactly 3 hours, and those just happened to be the three hours of our tour! I hadn’t ever shot in the rain and it was an adventure holding my umbrella with my left hand and my camera in my right. It was cold, wet, and windy, but the tour was still exciting. At the start of the tour I mentioned to Steve that I was not very confident taking pictures of strangers and he told me that it is a lot easier to do in the rain because people won’t be paying attention to your camera and he was right.
At £35.00 for a three hour tour this was a reasonably priced activity given that I had a lot of fun and learned quite a bit about both the City of London and photography. I strongly recommend Hairy Goat Photography tours and hope to try one of their night shoots the next time I’m in London.
![Don't try to see the zoo in a day. The zoo has 9 different animal zones and covers 100 acres in Balboa Park. If you only have one day to spend there you won't be able to see everything, especially if you have kids in tow. To make sure that you don't leave disappointed, check out the San Diego Zoo website before you show up and come up with a list of must-see attractions. Once you know what you want to see check out the online Park Map [sandiegozoo.org] to come up with a rough plan of attack.](http://averagetraveller.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/IMG_0597-36x36.jpg "San Diego Zoo Tips and Tricks"){kind=small}
It all sounds good, including the rain, which ended up giving you the chance to catch some special scenes.
It all sounds very good, including the rain, which allowed you to catch some distinctive scenes.
Great idea – I did not know this even existed in London. Glad to hear my tips came in handy!
It was really cool. And thanks again for your help. I’ve still got more food reports coming!
Well, London is my favorite city. So I think I would love this photography tour. I really love the iconic shots, the photo booths, big ben, thames.
Sounds like a wonderful tour and one I will put in my London files. Thanks for some good tips about picture taking in the rain here – really like the phone booths and multicolored umbrella man.
Interesting article
i love these anusual shots…you took an approach very similar to my own when photographing places and people.
What a great idea with a photography tour – and LOVE the last shot you got of the man in the suit. It’s interesting how something we perceive as bad (rain) actually works to your advantage.
I’ve never done a photography tour, but it sounds like a really cool way of getting to know a city better (and getting some great shots in the process). Sorry you got rained out, but you got some reallt neat pictures!
I have agree with other comments, this sounds like a very interesting and unique tour. I especially like the way they combine the tourist part with photography tips and hints! Your pictures turned out great despite your juggling. Mine would have come out all shaky and blurry.
What an intriguing name for a photography company – I think I would have booked their tour for that alone! Sounds like a great way to get an insider’s look at London – despite the rain.
Anything called Hairy Goat is bound to catch your attention. I love the photos-especially the shot down the alleyway. I have always wanted to take one of those photo tours.
Interesting. I’d like to take that tour next time I’m in London.
That is AWESOME! I would have loved a tour like this – how fun!!
~Becca
I love walking tours, and to combine with having a profession photographer as your guide is a real bonus. I saw a brochure for walking photography tour in Granada, but it was low season and the tour was not happening on any day that I was in town. You got some great shots.
The rain sounds disappointing but you did manage to make the best of it! I love the multicolored umbrella with the guy in the suit there.