Framed panoramic and black and prints of Albert Bridge.
Albert bridge or the ‘pretty bridge’ as my daughters called it when they were young connects the Battersea Park end of Battersea with Chelsea. I’ve been making prints of it for years.
Years ago in London, when I first began selling my prints on Northcote Road market on Fridays and Saturdays, that black and white Albert Bridge image was already a favourite. Because it was released as a limited edition, I quickly ran through the number of prints I had available to sell. An estate agent once joked that most of the houses they had for sale in Clapham seemed to have that Albert Bridge print hanging somewhere, which gave me a good laugh and a sense of how well it resonated locally. Over the years the limited edition runs would gradually be used up, and I would keep returning to the market with fresh photographs and new editions. I normally produce each edition in runs of 100 or 150, so you can imagine how popular the image became. The print shown in the photo above is a large panoramic that I shot in 2023, and there are still quite a few left in this current limited edition. You can view it here in the shop.
I remember printing the image you can see framed above. Up until then I had only made a few black-and-white pictures of the full width of the bridge, and they had all been taken from the Embankment on the Chelsea side. I wanted a direct view straight down the bridge but it didn’t work at first. I had hoped to capture a beautifully symmetrical composition, yet the passing traffic repeatedly spoiled the clean glow of the bulbs. Eventually I decided to embrace that traffic light pollution and turn it into a feature, using the moving cars to create elegant light streaks. It also meant I could position my tripod safely on the side of the road instead of the more dangerous middle of the carriageway.
I love this print and you can see it here. I printed this particular one in a more panoramic shape to fill the wall space. You’ll see the current limited edition of this image is more rectangular.
