Big Ben

Say “Big Ben” and almost everyone pictures the whole tower — although the name technically belongs only to the great bell hanging deep inside the neo-Gothic Elizabeth Tower. I liked that small contradiction from the start: London doesn’t quite take itself as seriously as the stern look of Parliament might suggest.

Standing right on the Thames next to the Palace of Westminster, the tower looks entirely different depending on the light. Under an overcast sky, the spire nearly disappears into the grey; with the sun low on the horizon, the pale stone glows gold and the clock face becomes a small event in itself. I spent a fair amount of time waiting for the moment when light, water, and architecture would line up.

The Palace of Westminster beside it, seat of the British Parliament, adds a different kind of weight to the scene: this is not merely a place to photograph but one where politics has been made for centuries, and you can feel that history in the stone. For a photographer, that combination is rare — a building that is landmark, workplace, and living symbol all at once.

In the end, what stays with me about Big Ben is simple: it manages to feel both familiar and surprising, no matter how many times you’ve already seen it.