Waterloo in London, is the busiest railway station in the United Kingdom with a quarter of a million people traveling through it every day. How do we find a secret place in London to photograph, in one of the most crowded cities and areas in Europe? I discovered this place by accident a few years ago while out exploring and have visited to take photographs again many times. Yesterday, Ally and I took our cameras to photograph a secret place in London where she had never been before. Let me tell you about it and how to find it.

What is this secret photographic place?

It’s a tunnel covered in graffiti!
“Really Tim? You expect me to read a post about a grubby road tunnel next to an overcrowded station?”……
Now before you stop reading let me explain a little more …

Banksy tunnel or to give it its correct name Leake Street Arches is an incredible photographic paradise.

It is nicknamed “Banksy tunnel” because the well known street artist called Banksy organised The Cans Festival there in 2008. He invited graffiti artists with stencils to paint their own pieces.

Street Artist hard at work in the Banksy Tunnel unaware of us taking photographs.

Banksy Tunnel is now a spiritual home to some of the best street artists in Europe and the best thing about it is, you can usually find some of them working on a huge piece there. Most of the artists work freehand rather than stencil so the scope for interesting images with artist doing big sweeping movements is immense.

The tunnel is just an amazing photography opportunity for people and textures as none of the artists object to being photographed while they work.

Another Street Artist creating a very large piece. The smell of aerosol spray paint can be overwhelming. We were surprised he wasn’t wearing a mask.

Low light

As this is quite a dark tunnel we put the ISO on the camera up to 1600. A bit grainy but I feel the grain adds to the secret London place feel of the image. It’s grungy, dirty and in your face so the grain seems to work really well. See our post on low-light photography.

The Vaults, Leake Street, London where you can safely photograph a secret place

Is it safe?

Absolutely. Despite what you might read in the press, London is very safe. Unless you go to totally deserted areas at unsociable hours you’re highly unlikely to have any problems. I have been photographing in and around London for the past 25 years and have never once had a problem. Be sensible, and like anywhere in the world don’t flaunt your equipment in dark deserted areas late at night when nobody is about and you’ll be fine.

A bonus not quite so secret place

When I was out exploring areas of London with our son Jethro (excellent Illustrator – see his illustrations here), he took me to this most awesome, quirky and cool little bar/café. It’s just outside the far tunnel exit and is called the Scooter Caffe. You might walk right past it without a second look.

You could walk right by the Scooter Caffe London, Waterloo, and miss a phenomenal experience

Coffee with Jethro (left) and pan of  the interior of the Scooter Caffe, Waterloo, London

The theme of this beautiful grungy bar is old Vespa scooters and all the details that go with them: helmets, number plates and appropriate film posters. Go in and you’ll be rewarded with a unique experience.

The staff are so friendly and whether you have a quick coffee or spend a few chilled hours with several bottles of very good cider (yes I did both), you will be rewarded with some interesting details to photograph.

Lighting is a challenge as there is darkness with neon lights inside but daylight streams through both ends of the building.

Wander down the tiny spiral staircase for more interesting details to photograph. We had a similar issue when photographing Truth Coffee in Cape Town.

Beautiful textures and shapes that you can photograph when you find a secret place 

To quote from the We Are Waterloo website, “It featured in the third Bourne film, Johnny Depp has dropped in for a drink and Ethan Hawke is a regular when he’s in the area.”

Where to find these secret London photography places

When exiting Waterloo station (there are at least 4 main exits) you need to head around to the back of the station. The easiest way is to go out out the front, turn left and find York Road. A very short way down York Road (you’ll see the London Eye on your right) you’ll find Leake street. Turn left into it and after a short walk you’ll be there.

Once you’ve finished creating amazing images and wondering how some artists painted the ceiling, head out the opposite end of the tunnel and turn right into Lower Marsh Road and you’ll see the Scooter Caffe.

Ally inside Scooter Caffe after a long day of photographing a secret place in London

Two secrets for the price of one

If you are just passing through Waterloo station and have some time before you next train or your visiting the London Eye (five mins walk away) be sure to take a tour of the Banksy Tunnel, and once you’ve finished making images there, give your creative soul a treat and head over to the Scooter Caffe. You will not be disappointed.

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Embocraft are the the local South African heroes who are empowering local entrepreneurs with skills training. Making portraits of these amazing people was a bit difficult due to the low and very extreme lighting conditions involved and required low light photography techniques.

What is Embocraft

Situated just up the road from the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust / Woza Moya. Embocraft was started in 1986 to alleviate poverty in the surrounding areas. They do this by conducting skills training to help local entrepreneurs develop and launch their own craft businesses. Training offered there is in sewing, basic computer skills and the internet, welding and screen printing. Work is assessed as they go and feedback given to help improve where appropriate. They are the local heroes who are empowering local entrepreneurs.

Embocraft Sewing Class

As well as these, there is a conference room for hire and a shop where Woza Moya / Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust also have their products for sale.

Making Images

We had the privilege of Goodness showing us around and we were free to make our own images. There was a sewing class and a welding class going on at the time. The lighting conditions in the welding class particularly called for low light photography techniques.

The classes are product based and the entrepreneurs learn how to make clothing, bags and kitchen accessories. As they go along, they receive feedback from their tutors. There was an excitement amongst those where they were able to learn something that would really benefit them and bring in an income.

Thandi inspecting some work – Embocraft Sewing Class

Welding Woes

The main issue we had with photographing was with the welding. It was very dark in that area and then we had the problem of the bright light of the ‘sparks’ in contrast necessitating us to pump up the ISO and using other low light photography techniques. Once finished though, it can give a very striking image. If we exposed for the welder before he started welding, then the image would be totally overexposed when the bright welding sparks kicked in.

One way around this is to set your camera to Auto and then compensate using the exposure compensation buttons. What we did though, was to shoot manually. We took a reading from the scene and then stopped down a few stops to compensate for the light from the welding. We then did a test to see how much we needed to change it. The final resulting images look very dark, but with some Raw adjustments, we were able to pull back a lot of the details whilst still keeping and showing details in the welding sparks. See our tutorial on exposure compensation and how you can do all this in Raw.

Welding class at Embocraft

Welding class at Embocraft – necessitated low light photography techniques

Embocraft is another model example of the way that South Africans have found to help one another in tough times. It is staffed by people who care deeply about what they do and although money is always needed to make these organisations run, it is secondary to the well-being of everyone involved.

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Woza Moya Upcycling is a key part of Woza Moya and the Hillcrest AIDS Centre trust and not only brings in well needed funds for the centre but is also playing a huge role in the recycling of unwanted waste that would otherwise go to landfill. Have a look at the amazing products these recycling masters create!

Woza Moya & Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust

In case you haven’t seen Part 1 of our Woza Moya post, here’s a quick rundown. Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust and Woza Moya are a lifeline of support and hope to hundreds, (thousands if you include their dependents), of otherwise desperate people. All whilst masquerading as a beautiful little craft shop. Although specialising in traditional beadwork, they also sell all types of African art and craft. This includes  painting, sewing, wirework, crochet, pottery, fabric painting and woodwork. As well as this, repurposing and upcycling waste to make beautiful products.

The Masters of Woza Moya Upcycling

During our visit, we met Francis in the Upcycling Centre at Woza Moya / Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust. Now Francis has the most amazing job for which he is perfect. He upcycles stuff! And when I say stuff, I mean all those random things that we think are useless and throw away.

Francis – Upcycling King

He is so incredibly creative he makes all sorts of beautiful house accessories, and bags out of anything – plastic, glass bottles, even old teabag packets are just a few examples. These are made into a variety of bags of different sizes, light fittings and lamp stands which then go up for sale in the shop! There was even a large box of bottle tops, awaiting such inspiration from Francis!

Glass Cutting Supremo Frank

We also met Frank, who painstakingly ‘cuts’ down old donated wine bottles with a hot and cold water process. The edges are filed down so they’re safe and these are then sold as drinking glasses and lights! Ingenious!

Frank – supremo glass upcycler

Entering Verna’s Magical Haberdashery Grotto!

Textiles are donated which are then painstakingly sorted by Verna and her team into colours and types. These are then sold on to those who can make items that then also go up for sale in the craft shop. To buy these textiles, are to us pennies and cents, but to a rural South African, it can still be a large amount.

Verna – Haberdashery and Textiles Queen

Supporting the Gogos (aka Granny Support Group)

Very sadly, much of the older generation have outlived their children and there are just under 2 million orphans due to the AIDS crisis in South Africa. Grandparents are left to look after their grandchildren, and understandably are ill-equipped to cope with the emotional, physical and financial issues that come with looking after children. Not only that, they could have as many as 20 grandchildren to support. So, the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust gives lessons to the grannies, (or gogos) in their local area, to empower, educate and uplift them in caring for their grandchildren.

In addition to all of this, the grounds are set in a garden nursery. The nursery features some of Francis’ upcycling shoes with great shrubs and flowers.

Upcycled shoes for sale in the nursery

Respite Unit

There is a 24-bed respite and care unit for those affected by the disease which is free – something that’s uncommon in South Africa. The number of patients who came out of there in the early days, was very limited. This was when HIV and AIDS were taboo and there was neither the understanding of the disease, nor the drugs to help. Now, it’s about 75% who come out and can go on leading a ‘normal’ life.

All the fundraising that Woza Moya and the HACT raise, goes towards the running of this.

Photography: Francis the king of the Upcycling Container and Glass Cutting Supremo Frank

In the Woza Moya upcycling centre, there was bright light streaming into the container that Francis is king of! This makes photographing quite difficult because of the extreme exposure values. Therefore, we had to position ourselves in a way that we weren’t picking up the super bright sunlit areas we knew would just blow out. In contrast, in the room of glass bottle supremo Frank, it was quite dark and small. To overcome this, we had to up the ISO on our cameras, as we were handholding and he was moving. Thankfully, the low light ability of digital SLRs now is exceptionally good. The little bit of grain you do get is easily removable in a Camera Raw converter or Photoshop. We both actually find, that a little bit of grain adds to the organic-ness, look and feel of an image.

Cut bottles to upcycle at Hillcrest AIDS Centre

We spent quite a while being shown around Woza Moya and photographing, but no images can do justice to the incredible work that the Woza Moya team are doing. As you can see, all the wonderful people involved in HACT and Woza Moya have a passion: a passion to empower and uplift those who have been affected in many ways by HIV / AIDS.

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