Luke Collins
Guided by a deep curiosity for everyday human encounters, Collins’ photographic practice explores fleeting moments of connection and candid expression—transforming ordinary spaces into arenas for collective storytelling.
“People’s reactions surprised me, but at the same time didn’t surprise me. Londoners are known for giving off a ‘don’t talk to me’ vibe, but actually it’s not really that, people just want to get where they are going. If you engage with them though, they actually really like it.” Collins, a full time cardiac nurse took up photography five years ago and shortly afterwards captured a series of incredible photographs of Tube commuters in Bank station, one of which won the Evening Standard photography competition.
“I have been living in London for about six years and I remember thinking one day, a long time ago, that Bank station has a really nice curve. I thought it would make a really nice shot, you can see everyone down the line.”
Armed with a loud speaker and some charm, Collins managed to get the whole station to look at the camera during rush hour. The shot, taken in a four minute gap between trains, has since been liked tens of thousands of times and has been praised for capturing London at its best: diverse and welcoming.
“Having used London Underground’s Bank station countless times, it became clear to me that the curve of the Central Line platform would make for a superb picture. Building on the idea, I envisaged a packed platform full of commuters engaging with the camera. What better reason to try it, I thought, than the @London competition. One afternoon, I enlisted the help of three friends, also amateur photographers, with whom I was able to get the winning shot. We arrived at Bank and after what seemed like an hour of umming and ahhing, the critical moment came and I just didn’t have the guts to address everyone in waiting. The trains were also coming too rapidly, therefore the platform kept dissipating too quickly but a 4-minute gap between trains presented the perfect moment. It was at this point my friend Elliott, took it upon himself to stand on platform chairs and assertively address the people, of which there were hundreds, telling them of our plan and asking them to pose for us. The platform fell silent. But after a few shots and a few seconds of bemusement on their part, we got an amazing set of images. Elliott is the true hero of that day.”
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