After spending 17 days in Iceland, my domestic partner and I went to Nottingham to spend time with her sister and two nieces who recently relocated from Hong Kong.  Nottingham is located 110 miles (180 km) north-west of London, and is the legendary home of Robin Hood and to the lace-making, bicycle and tobacco industries. 

I lived in London for a certain period, until 2009 and visited many cities in the UK, but never made it to Nottingham.  We planned to spend time in London before heading back to our home in California USA.  Going to London was an exciting idea because it’s a well known location for Street Photography.  Unfortunately, I was not a Street Photographer when I lived in London and have had a strong desire to return with my camera. Nottingham, on the other hand, was not a location where I was expecting to get very good street photos and I arrived with extremely low enthusiasm.

To my great surprise, Nottingham turned out to be an excellent Street Photography location for me.  The city is not too large, had plenty of sunshine, provided interesting backgrounds and architecture, attracted a relatively good amount of foot traffic, has gathering points where people sit and stand still, was not too touristy, and the city centre is a safe place to walk around with a camera.  The main challenge was being discrete and taking photos without upsetting people. I saw only one other person using a camera in the city centre during my two week visit.  I stood out like a sore thumb.  My brightly colored winter puffy jacket didn’t help in this regard!

Using my camera in an unfamiliar city was very helpful.  You see, I tend to explore the same locations over and over again when using my camera and searching for street scenes in San Francisco (the place where I usually take street photos).  I tend to go to the locations where I had previously taken good street photos, hoping to repeat that success again.  At times, I get bored of shooting in San Francisco and this prevents me from seeing the city with fresh eyes.  In San Francisco, because I go there so often, my occasional lack of enthusiasm is counter productive, and my self-restricted route tends to block my artistic flow.

Nottingham opened my eyes, provided a fresh and unique opportunity, and taught me a very important lesson.  When using my camera in familiar locations, I will try to act and feel as if it’s my first time in the locations. In addition, I will endeavor to expand my photography territory, explore new streets, rather than taking photos on only the streets where I had some prior success.

Here are some of my favorite street photos from Nottingham during my stay in October 2023.