Best Place to Snap photos in East London

[bigbusdutz]

I am not from London but have a keen interest in London Buses, I have snapped pics in Hammersmith, Marble Arch and most touristy places but I am looking to the East and would like peoples opinions on the best/safest place to take pics?

I was thinking Romford / Canning Town

[Eastlondoner62]

Nov 9, 2015 11:38:56 GMT bigbusdutz said:

I am not from London but have a keen interest in London Buses, I have snapped pics in Hammersmith, Marble Arch and most touristy places but I am looking to the East and would like peoples opinions on the best/safest place to take pics?

I was thinking Romford / Canning Town

Romford isn't the nicest place to take pictures as you always have people walking around all over the place. But if you do happen to go there then Western Road is a place where pretty much all bus routes can be found passing through one road. Romford Station is also an alright area however the routes all stop in different places depending on where they are going. Queens Hospital is a really nice place to snap buses however you do not have as much variety with roures over there.

Canning Town isn't the easiest place to snap buses. You could probably snap the 5, 147, 323/309, 300 and 330 while they are on stand but for through routes it's not easy to photograph there as well as the 69. However Stratford is a good alternative as the bus station layout there is much more photographer friendly. However you might need to pop to Stratford Broadway to snap a few routes. 

A personal reccomendatopn of mine would be Beckton Bus Station as it is nice and spacious and it gives you some great opportunities to stretch your photography skills. You also have a nearby Asda to grab some lunch.  I do like standing near the exit and snapping buses as they leave. You also have the 173 just standing in front of you there waiting to be photographed

I woildnt suggest that you go to Ilford, the place is too crowded for photography half the time. It's also quite a mission to find out where all the buses go as they terminate in different places and routes stop at different stops depending on where they are going. However should you decide to go there I would reccomend Redbridge Central Library Bus Stop to photograph from however it will mean that you wouldn't have the opportunity to photograph the EL1, EL2, 396 or 296 as they terminate around the ring road.

[vjaska]

Nov 9, 2015 16:55:44 GMT Eastlondoner62 said:

Nov 9, 2015 11:38:56 GMT bigbusdutz said:

I am not from London but have a keen interest in London Buses, I have snapped pics in Hammersmith, Marble Arch and most touristy places but I am looking to the East and would like peoples opinions on the best/safest place to take pics?

I was thinking Romford / Canning Town

Romford isn't the nicest place to take pictures as you always have people walking around all over the place. But if you do happen to go there then Western Road is a place where pretty much all bus routes can be found passing through one road. Romford Station is also an alright area however the routes all stop in different places depending on where they are going. Queens Hospital is a really nice place to snap buses however you do not have as much variety with roures over there.

Canning Town isn't the easiest place to snap buses. You could probably snap the 5, 147, 323/309, 300 and 330 while they are on stand but for through routes it's not easy to photograph there as well as the 69. However Stratford is a good alternative as the bus station layout there is much more photographer friendly. However you might need to pop to Stratford Broadway to snap a few routes. 

A personal reccomendatopn of mine would be Beckton Bus Station as it is nice and spacious and it gives you some great opportunities to stretch your photography skills. You also have a nearby Asda to grab some lunch.  I do like standing near the exit and snapping buses as they leave. You also have the 173 just standing in front of you there waiting to be photographed

I woildnt suggest that you go to Ilford, the place is too crowded for photography half the time. It's also quite a mission to find out where all the buses go as they terminate in different places and routes stop at different stops depending on where they are going. However should you decide to go there I would reccomend Redbridge Central Library Bus Stop to photograph from however it will mean that you wouldn't have the opportunity to photograph the EL1, EL2, 396 or 296 as they terminate around the ring road.

Agree although I'll add in Romford Market as a good spot as well. I suspect Whalebone Lane North at the Marks Gate roundabout is good for more scenic shots though you only have a few routes serving the area.

[snoggle]

I find Canning Town station to be quite an awkward place to take photos because almost all buses depart heading north meaning the light is wrong. Getting to a sensible place to snap them arriving is not easy given the way the footpaths are configured. There are only the 147, 241 and 474 that depart south but they may be worth snapping - depends what you want to click.

I would say Walthamstow Central is OK as all buses run via the bus station and all leave pointing south meaning there is a reasonable chance of snapping vehicles with the light being OK. Yes there are quite high volumes of people milling around but I've managed hundreds of successful photos there. Leyton Bakers Arms will give you some extra options but light wise afternoon is best to give you buses heading southwards or those coming down Lea Bridge Road.

I don't disagree with the remarks about Romford - I tend to prefer near the station as there is flexibility about where to stand meaning morning or afternoon can give you reasonable photo ops. Everything, bar a few school services, runs past the station.

Don't discount places like Chingford Station Road which will give you a few local options and different vehicles like single door E20Ds on the 379 or longer ones on the 313.

I tend to avoid Stratford simply because the bus station controllers can be bolshy and there are too many police who feel its their duty to decide all photographers have explosives strapped to their bodies and are about to commit some heinous crime. The roads are also fairly wide with buses being in all lanes and cars getting in the way of decent snaps. I'm sure others will have different opinions. There are some routes which run from Stratford City bus station - over the big footbridge to Westfield Shopping Centre and then down the escalator to road level. It's easier to snap those routes than the main ones.

[Jack]

Nov 9, 2015 18:38:32 GMT snoggle said:

I find Canning Town station to be quite an awkward place to take photos because almost all buses depart heading north meaning the light is wrong. Getting to a sensible place to snap them arriving is not easy given the way the footpaths are configured. There are only the 147, 241 and 474 that depart south but they may be worth snapping - depends what you want to click.

Canning Town is easy - you can do nearsides on the roundabout as they enter the bus station, and you can get offsides of routes turning around the bus station by the lights.

[britishguy54]

I’d say Marks Gate with the 62/247/362, along with Romford Station terminus, with buses waiting to leave