When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life, said the author Samuel Johnson. The same could be said of many of the world’s great cities: New York, Paris, Berlin, Tokyo… Photographer Alan Schaller grew up in London and has explored a long list of global metropolises, but he isn’t tired of capturing city life yet.
Street photography marks a major shift from Schaller’s previous career writing music for television and film, including commercials. He started taking photos on the London Underground network during journeys in and out of London, the visual art providing a creative release from producing music that his heart wasn’t in. His distinctive high-contrast photographs of people and architecture, which often play with light and perspective, have since been exhibited worldwide, Schaller picking up a million Instagram followers along the way. He’s also an ambassador for Leica and co-founder of the Street Photography International Collective.
His first book, Metropolis, brings together many of his finest images from London and global expeditions to Venice, Seoul, Melbourne, Dubai and more.
Read more about Alan Schaller’s love of architecture and extreme contrasts in issue 284 of B+W.