The Hugger, V & A Courtyard, London

Decided to take a short trip up to London today to go and see the Taylor Wessing Prize at the National Portrait Gallery and then go on to the V & A to view the displays at their new photography centre.
I always love going to see the portrait images that make up the Taylor Wessing Prize exhibition because they are nearly always some of the best photographs I'll see all year. Often they are simple (in a good way), direct and nearly always have an emotional pull to them. Plus, the exhibition only costs a fiver to get into - a bargain!
It was then time to pop on the Underground to South Kensington to reach the  V & A and go and see the galleries that make up their new Photography Centre. It was fascinating to learn about the history of photography but also see it's artistic development from the Victorian period right up until the present day. Having feasted my eyes on a wonderful selection of photographs I thought it only right that I got my camera out and started to take some of my own. The V & A has a stunning courtyard that I always visit when I go there but it's also a brilliant place to go people watching! As I was walking around I spotted this man in a sort of foetal hug and so I felt I just had to capture him. I also really liked the family in the background and the woman in the glasses off to the left of the frame. Luckily, there were these ornamental bushes that I thought worked rather well as a framing device.
All day the light was terrible (hence shooting at 1000 ISO) right up until I got on the train back home, at which point a glorious winter sun popped out - bloody typical! Still, I thoroughly enjoyed myself so that's all that matters in the end!