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2022 was the year when a semblance of normality returned. After the lockdown years, events came back. It was my most productive year, with over 60,000+ photos shot. Over 300 events visited/invited to.
Below you will see a couple of photos from each month which are my favourites; it’s tough choosing when 1000s were shot during the month. You can see a full review of the year on the link below.
This was a tranquil start to the year. One of the three events that I shot was the Battersea Light Festival. Various light installations were at different locations around the Battersea Power Station, which was the year that all the work was finished to restore the area. I also photographed the Fashion Flash mob by Pierre Garroudi, and I had my first light painting workshop of the year in Cassiobury Park, Watford.
More events started to happen in and around London this month. It was the return of my Light Painting Photography, this time in Battersea Park with a model, Kasia. Art gallery previews of Louis Bourgeois – The Woven Child exhibition at Hayward Gallery. February’s Colourwalk at Smith fields Market. London Fashion Week shows started back at Selfridges plus other locations. Like the LAN fashion show at Bishopsgate and Hip Curve & friends at St John the Baptist Church. During the shows, it’s also great to capture the people who went to various fashion events. The next event to photograph was the Surrealism Beyond Borders at Tate Modern. Then the war started in Ukraine, and there were protests in London.
There was more Ukrainian protest at the Russian embassy, which I photographed. Once in a while, I photograph the skateboarders in Hyde Park. Light Painting Workshop in Cassiobury Park also returned with a nearly full house. Each month is the Colour walk in Spitalfields Market, which I try to come along to. At the Southbank Bank in London, my friend Kadija Kamara played in her band at an evening called Out Spoken, consisting of poetry and music at the Royal Festival Hall…..
April started at the boat race between Oxford v Cambridge in west London. Buckingham Palace was next for the Japanese exhibition called Courts and Culture. A history of all the gifts received from Japan over hundreds of years to the Royal Family. My first nature walk in Cassiobury Park of the year was mid-month.
It was cherry blossom time, and I took a model called Omotayo to Greenwich to take some shots of the trees. At low tide on the Thames, I regularly run a Light Painting workshop on the beach at Tower Bridge…..
The bluebells were out in May after a hot month. I first visited the Grove Hotel grounds to photograph the bluebell woods. Always an amazing time of colour in the woods. On the 4th, I held another nature walk in Whippendell Woods for the bluebells. Another march occurred later but with Russians against the war at Westminster this time….
The big event of the month was The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. It started on the 2nd with Trooping the Colour; later that day, beacons were lit around the country. I covered the one in Watford. A few days later, that weekend was the Platinum Jubilee Pageant. In Watford, a centenary event in the park celebrated 100 years of the Watford borough.
Mid-month, there was a rollerskating disco at the Southbank centre. The weather was brilliant for another photo nature walk and the colour walk in Spitalfields Market….
This month started with a new mural of Elton John Watford Library’s outside wall. Created by Murwalls for the farewell concerts of Elton John. Next was my monthly nature walk in Cassiobury’s Peace Garden and the nature reserve. One of my favourite events to photograph in Watford is the Imagine Festival, which didn’t disappoint this year.
On the 21st was another exhibition for the Platinum Jubilee celebration at Buckingham Palace. It was a press preview of the State Rooms opening after three years. Later in the month, I ran a model photoshoot in the Mayfield Lavender fields in Surrey.
This month started with Fashion In Motion at the Victoria & Albert Museum. The fashion designer was Daniel Lismore, known for his fabric sculptures. The next event was Brightland at Somerset House, a fun exhibition in the courtyard.
I had another of my photography shoot events, but this time with birds. Taking place at the Grove Hotel, and it was called Falconry Photography. Mid-month, I was on holiday in Christchurch on the south coast of the UK and came upon an ABBA tribute band, and I took photos of them. The next day I also took shots of the annual Life-Saving Competition on the beach in Bournemouth. Random events that I wouldn’t have known about if I didn’t explore….
On the 2nd, I was invited to Birmingham to take some photos of the opening of PoliNations. A lovely event with impressive structures and people. While up there, I took pictures of the mechanical Bull used in the Commonwealth games. Later that week, there was a dance performance in Cassiobury Park by New Adventures.
On the 9th, I photographed Liz Truss entering Downing Street for the first time as Prime minister. This was the start of a tumultuous time in British history. I wrote on the day in an article that there would be chaos. Little did I know!
Then the Queen died on the 8th. On the 9th, there was a 96-gun salute in Hyde Park for each year of the Queen’s life. Then I headed to Buckingham Palace to capture shots of people coming to mourn the Queen and the arrival of King Charles. Over the next few days, I covered the funeral and the Proclamation of the King. There were also flowers in Green Park left by thousands of people….
This month started at the Science Museum with an exhibition called Voyage to the Edge of Imagination. Then at the Exhibitionist hotel in Kensington, QandA from LUAP, the man behind the pink bear. LUAP was interviewed by Vestalia Chilton, and Saskia organised the event. Another event at the Victoria & Albert Museum, Fashion In Motion with Thebe Magugu. He showed 25 looks for his first fashion show outside of South Africa.
On the 10th, I was at Barbara Chase-Riboud, Infinite Folds exhibition at the Serpentine North Gallery. An exploration of her sculpture technique and materiality, defined by the interplay between folds of cast bronze or aluminium and coils of wool or silk….
First was the opening of the Battersea Power Station lift called 109. The iconic Battersea Power station was opened in October, but on the 15th of November, the eagerly awaited lift 109 was opened. The lift goes up one of the iconic chimneys; once at the top, you get around 10 minutes to look around the scenery from up on high. The reason it’s called lift 109 is because it’s 109 meters high.
Also, there was the opening of an exhibition at the Tate Modern by Magdalena Abakanowicz. This exhibition is made of massive woven sculptures; Magdalena was a Polish artist and the exhibit centres on her early career between the 1960 and 1970s. This was the most transformative period in her career.
A significant cold spell occurred in the UK, and I took photos around Watford and along the canal. Creating the coldest start to December since 2010, with around 7cm of snow falling and lasting a week.
It was the end of an era at the Museum of London when it closed on the 3rd of December, 2022. It has been in this unusual location on the London Wall. After 45 years, it closed but will reopen at a new location in West Smithfield soon….
Thank you for reading, click below for the full review of each month in 2022. A productive year of photography, with lots more to come.
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All photographs © Andrew Lalchan
Welcome to my space on the web, I am a professional photographer based in the London area. I run my own design agency for the last 25 years.
This blog highlights my photography adventures and my interest in the weather. I have been recording weather data since the 1980s.
You will also find the list of photography workshops/shoots I run each month.
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