Through the Lens - Photographers Journal (Week 22)

Photographing art fairs might seem simple on the face of it, but when you do them, you get sensory overload. It is very hard to photograph all the interesting art and the artists. For the London Art Fair, which spans three sections at the Business Design Centre in Angel, London, it is too much to cover in a single day.

It was a late morning start for the press preview; there was a talk by the Event Director and some of the partners. Plus, a bonus breakfast was provided, which was nice. I then visited most of the headline artists to get photos with them for the newspapers. I like talking to the artists and getting a feel for their work, so it can take some time. I had another/magazines event later in the afternoon, so I was on a strict deadline to get as much as I could.

The first artists I met were three Ukrainians: a painter, a gem artist, and a sculptor. You can see them in the last row of the group of nine photos below. Hopefully, I will write a longer article about the ten artists I met there in the coming month.

You can see more of the events I went to, including Winter Lights in Canary Wharf and a photography photowalk for my photography group.

London Art Fair has returned to London for its 38th edition, recognised as a platform for connecting the best galleries from around the world with both seasoned and aspiring collectors, providing a unique opportunity to discover and champion outstanding modern and contemporary art. The Art fair at the Business Design Centre opened from 21st to 25th January 2026.

More Photos - Flickr | Facebook | Alamy

Winter Lights at Canary Wharf is in its 10th edition. With 16 spectacular light installations by acclaimed artists from around the world. Number 4 In Bloom by Kumquat Lab, UK. The Winter Lights is on until 31st January 2026.

I went around on the first day to see the various lights after the art fair, and the first day usually has the artists and designers on hand to photograph. The lights were turned on as soon as the sun set, so I got there at 5pm to meet the PR person, who told me which artists had come to the light installation that they had created. It used to be a bit of a trek to get to Canary Wharf, but now it has the Elizabeth and the fast Jubilee line.

More Photos - Flickr | Facebook | Alamy

Winter Lights at Canary Wharf is in its 10th edition. With 16 spectacular light installations by acclaimed artists from around the world. I had arranged a photowalk with Marissa and Julia, who were posing with the lights. Thanks to everyone who came and to the models for braving the cold. It is always amazing doing portraits with the lights. It was on a Friday night, so it was packed, and you had to be patient to get the shots. But the photos came out alright; it's sometimes hard to judge whether each light installation is good for a model. The route I choose is determined by the ones I went to on the first day and how quickly I can get between them. Plus, how busy I think they will be by Friday.

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That’s it for this week. The Substack membership is now open and includes a calendar of 2026 events; more guides will be added each month. These resources, coming soon, include a standard model release form for you to copy, a guide to my process for exporting and editing photos for News Agencies, and more. You can see a list of upcoming articles here.