Writing about street photography is complicated for me because I feel personally invested in being a street photographer myself.

So it’s not always easy to separate my personal tastes and way of working from my ability to comment on the work of others.

Paul Harrison’s work is undoubtedly interesting, and his perseverance and enthusiasm in his search for images are evident.

The result is that, looking at these photos, we are transported to the Piccadilly area in London and can witness the atmosphere there and get a sense of the people who walk there.

“It was about testing myself.

I always walk miles on end with my camera but the thought of staying in one place for too long terrified me.

What if I was spotted? I’ll stand here for five minutes and then move on.

That would be okay surely? It looks like I’ve not died so lets try another five minutes.

Doing street photography calms me but at the same time terrifies me.

These photographs are the results of staying put.

I’ve been a street photographer for as long as I’ve had a camera. Late January 2020, a second hand camera from eBay.

Such a great year for being out and about enjoying life in a busy city.

Oh well.

I’ve been trying to play catchup ever since.

On/Off Piccadilly is the name of a project that I’ve been working on for five years.

The road has the Ritz Hotel, the Royal Academy, the old money of St James’s, the new money of Mayfair and the out-of-towners with their hope of abandon under the lights of Piccadilly Circus.

After the 2024 Bump Books release of a zine of some of my photographs taken inside London’s major art galleries/museums, I self released my Piccadilly photographs as an extended zine in March 2025.

The idea is to now release two zines each year to eventually form a series whilst working on turning my gallery/museum photos into a full length photobook. “