London in Black & White // 2014

At the end of summer 2014, I had the opportunity to travel abroad in London for four weeks studying Art History. It has been one of the highlights of my life. London embodies the past and present and future. This beautiful place has captured my heart and one day I hope to live there.

London's color palette consists of demure colors, which made sense to put these particular pictures in black and white to capture the essence of that moment in time. Cheers!

The Millennium Bridge and St. Paul's Cathedral happened to be one block away from our home. It was a two minute walk to the Thames River. This happens to also be one of the many locations in One Direction's "One Thing" music video, something I constantly reminded people of. 

Every night, a few girls and I would meet up on these Bankside stairs when the tide was low to sketch and talk about our day. In this particular picture, there was an incredible sunset. I showed Noa, one of the girls, this black and white version to which she remarked "Who black and whites a sunset???". Touché, Noa, touché. 

A family looks out over The City at the top of St. Paul's Cathedral. Let's just say there were lots and lots of stairs to get to this point with a sprinkle of 3 spiral staircases and a dash of claustrophobia. 

Another great night on the Bankside stairs looking across the water. This place holds a special place in my heart. I believe this was around a restaurant/pub called the Founder's Arms in which we had our first group dinner and I made friends for life. 

Captured by the lovely Claire Peckham, a peer who majored in photography, I sit on the ground in the middle with two other classmates at the Saatchi Gallery sketching the artwork in front of us. 

This photo was taken moments before entering the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square to be taken on a whirlwind tour of the amazing collection. We focused on the impressionism which remains one of my favorite art movements.  

Evening walks along the Thames on the Jubilee Walk were apart of my regular day. The London Eye was only a mile from our home for the study abroad. The walk took me through some of the most iconic and culture places in all of London. Bankside was full of art and restaurants among the iconic and historic landmarks. 

A candid moment of classmates admiring the rotunda at the Tate Britain. These are some of the most artsy kids I know. 

Prior to my trip, I had seen this view on Instagram many times and vowed to find it. It was quite satisfying to accomplish this shot. 

Another location learned through social media. At the time, I was following British vloggers who happened to frequent Kaffeine, a hip coffee shop tucked back near Piccadilly Square. The coffee was excellent and I found the BBC near Kaffeine. 

The first time I saw Big Ben in person confirmed the fact that I was actually in London. I was finally living out one of my lifelong dreams to travel here. 

Another gem by Claire, who captured Maddie, Sarah, and I conversing near the Thames River awaiting for our boat to Greenwich to arrive. Moments later we got splashed by the gross tea-colored water. It's honestly one of my fondest memories.

A quick snapshot of Tower Bridge in the distance as we head for Greenwich via boat. It was quite a foggy morning and some of the taller buildings like the Shard are hidden. 

How very London. I adore this place.