Gallery: favourite city life photos of 2021
My travels may have been somewhat curtailed in 2021 but I did manage to visit two beautiful cities abroad. One, Paris, is well known to me (this was my seventh visit, I think), while the other, Seville, was new. They proved a rich source of photos, as did my home city of London.
For Tina’s Lens Artists challenge this week I am posting a series of galleries, each on a different theme and with a selection of my favourite images taken in the past year. Some have featured in previous posts, many have not.
My chosen themes reflect some of my favourite subjects for photography:
- Nature and landscape
- City life
- People
- Details
- Miscellaneous
City life
As well as the visits to Paris and Seville, and photos taken at home in London, my selection for this theme also covers visits to Newcastle and Liverpool, and a day trip to Brighton. The featured image was taken on a cloudy day in May, on the South Bank of the Thames in London, where a street entertainer was blowing giant bubbles for passing children. The remaining shots, below, are all in chronological order.
Snow in Lammas Park, Ealing, January 2021
Street sculpture in London’s Docklands, May 2021
On the Mayfair sculpture trail, London, June 2021
The Queen’s House, Greenwich, London June 2021
Elephants in Green Park, London, July 2021
A shop in London’s Soho, July 2021
The Port of Liverpool Building reflected in the Museum of Liverpool, August 2021
The Rue Saint-Rustique, Montmartre, Paris, September 2021
The Pont Alexandre III, Paris, September 2021
The High Level Bridge in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, September 2021
Street art in Brighton, October 2021
Seville Cathedral, November 2021
A street in Triana, Seville, November 2021
Watch out for my next set of favourites, showcasing people shots and street photography, in a few days’ time!
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46 Comments
Gradmama2011
Your entries never fail to capture my full attention. Sarah. Well this post today not only provided the gorgeous picture show…but it also gave me an idea which I may start on this afteroon. I have thousands of photos, mostly slides, but it never occurred to me that now I can examine my photos (and my late husband’s) to see what I can find in close-ups. Thanks.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you so much for that lovely comment 😊 It’s a great idea to choose something specific to look for in those thousands of old photos – it will give you focus and make the task more interesting and therefore less daunting, I hope.
Anne Sandler
Another wonderful post in your series Sarah. I especially like the elephant sculpture and the children. Wonderful photography throughout.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you again Anne 😊 I was lucky with those elephants that the mother posed her children just as I was passing and didn’t seem to mind that I took photos too!
Annie Berger
Glad that you were able to escape to Paris for your 40th anniversary – belated congrats to you both! Enjoyed seeing what your favorite city shots were from your 2021 travels. I would love exploring the Mayfair sculpture trail given my druthers! Also loved the colorful doors shot in the Triana section of Seville.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Annie. The Mayfair sculpture trail has become an annual event and always showcases some interesting pieces as well as others that are frankly weird!
JohnRH
Ha! LOVE that banner shot with bubbles in the air. Otherwise, a SUPERB collection. VERY photogenic. VERY well done.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you John, I’m very happy you liked these so much 😊
wetanddustyroads
Beautiful photo’s in Seville! And just because we don’t experience snow, your snowy photo in Ealing is another favourite 😊.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you again 😀 I’m not a big fan of snow but it does create some good photo opportunities as long as you can catch it when it’s just fallen!
Tanja
Great photos!any travel plans in store for this year?
Sarah Wilkie
No firm plans as yet but lots of ideas. Once Omicron is fading (hopefully soon) we may start to firm them up a little 🙂
rkrontheroad
Excellent collection, artfully framed. The narrow streets in Montmartre and Triana especially speak to me.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Ruth 😊 I love narrow city streets because you never know what’s around the next corner!
rkrontheroad
There’s a sense of mystery too. What’s behind all those doors?
Sarah Wilkie
Very true!
gaiainaction
Sarah you presented your beautiful and interesting photos in a very nice way, enjoyed them much!
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much, I appreciate the feedback 🙂
Alison
I love how you’ve framed these photos Sarah. Especially the black and white ones. I will have to visit those places in London shown as I don’t think I’ve seen these before.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Alison 🙂 I’m happy to help you hunt out any of these places! The Queen’s House in Greenwich is a particular favourite, but the elephants are unfortunately long gone from Green Park 🙁
Alison
I haven’t been to Greenwich for years, will put that on my list
margaret21
Some crackers here, though surprisingly it’s the British ones that most appeal here. Is there ALWAYS a bubble man on the South Bank? You’ve used him to great effect!
Sarah Wilkie
Haha yes, I believe there IS always a bubble man, and at low tide a sand sculpture man near this spot too 🙂
margaret21
Ooooh. Never seen him!
Sarah Wilkie
Often on the ‘beach’ by Gabriel’s Wharf, at low tide (obviously!)
Rose
I found the “Elephants in Green Park” very moving, especially with the little children sitting next to them. All of your photos belong in Guidebooks. I love those long looks down streets or halls. Your Paris shots are simply gorgeous, they re-ignite my wish to visit.
Sarah Wilkie
Wow, thank you Rose – that’s such a lovely thing to say 😊 Paris is so beautiful, I hope you get the chance to visit!
thehungrytravellers.blog
Great selection of shots, but that’s hardly unusual for your posts! We do like a quick city break, everywhere has something to offer.
Sarah Wilkie
That’s so true! Thanks to football and to Virtual Tourist I’ve visited several cities that I might not otherwise have discovered and have always found things of interest and/or beauty 🙂
thehungrytravellers.blog
I should probably have added….”except Coventry”….ha ha…only joking!
Sarah Wilkie
Ah, but Coventry Cathedral has that Graham Sutherland tapestry!
thehungrytravellers.blog
Do you have a city which you felt failed to deliver? I only really have one – Stockholm, which was all a bit too clinical and characterless, despite its fabulous natural setting.
Sarah Wilkie
Good question! Possibly Boston, which although it has some interesting history somehow didn’t really grab me as much as I’d expected. And having been to Amsterdam once I feel no real desire to return, unlike some people I know who are real fans of the city.
Christie Hawkes
Beautiful photos, all of them! We live in an amazing world, and you captured some of its cities beautifully. Thank you, Sarah. Happy 2022!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Christie, and Happy New Year to you too!
the eternal traveller
This post makes me want to pack my bags and fly all the way to London. Hopefully we’ll get there again one day…
Sarah Wilkie
I hope so! Let me know when you’re coming 😀
the eternal traveller
It won’t be 2022 but definitely one day again in the future.
Manja Maksimovič
Lovely all, especially the art pieces. Looking forward to your people!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Manja 🙂 The ‘people’ will be here later in the week, after a break for Sunday Stills!
maristravels
Wonderful. I especially love that street in Triana but really that’s because I love Seville so much. Impossible to choose one out of those because they are all so good.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Mari, I’m glad you liked seeing Triana again 🙂
Yvonne+Dumsday
How on earth did you manage to narrow them down to just those wonderful few? I wonder of anyone else thought, “Schindler’s List” when first seeing tour January photograph?
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks Yvonne – I do really struggle to choose just a few shots, hence having to post a whole series of themed selections 😆
Tina Schell
Wonderful images Sarah – I envy your ability to travel a bit this past year! Colorful streets, fun street art and sculptures, and lovely snow-covered scenes….they all make me yearn to be on the road again! Here’s to more travel in 2022 and above all a return to “normal” whatever that is!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Tina 🙂 Yes, we were lucky to be able to get away at least for those couple of weekends, although nothing like the amount of travelling we would really want to do! Maybe this year … The snow photo however was taken just five minutes’ walk from my house on a rare snowy day in London last January 😀