The Urbis exhibition, Manchester

Earlier in the year, I visited a photography exhibition at the Urbis Manchester. Its not very often I go to photography exhibitions and on top of that not very often I am blown away by the works. At my first viewing of the group known as 'Urban explorers' and their photography work I was hooked. The exhibition layout was cleverly completed using back-lit plastic frames to make the photos 'glow'.

The visually attractive, highly contrasted, wide-angled photography was stunning. What I was most impressed by was the concept. Such a stunning concept; to explore the hidden parts of a seemingly well-known city such as Manchester.

On my recent trip to London it got me thinking about the same project being executed in London. There are many underground tube stations which were closed during the war due to damage and to find and photograph these could produce visually interesting results!

Brompton Road is one of these abandoned platforms situated between Knightsbridge and South Kensington stations. It started service in 1906 when the Finsbury Park to Hammersmith stretch of the Piccadilly Line was opened. It was decided it wasn't needed as there were larger stations nearby and closed on 29th July 1934. It is situated on the Piccadilly line and tubes still pass through but how many people know they are passing through an unused tube station? The station is still lit and remains exactly how it did when it was built in 1906. It still has cinema screens and wartime materials down there from when it was used as a shelter in the war. Since its closure 2 people have accidently fell down the lift shaft and have died, proving how dangerous these unused shafts can be. I wish the Urban explorers could have photographed this station before it was bricked up, unlike the photographer below.