No Longer Seeing The Point, Tate Britain, London

I decided today to try and fit in all three of the photography exhibitions I wanted to see in London (two of which are finishing this week).
The first was the Martin Parr at the National Portrait Gallery (see first three extra images). I was very pleasantly surprised. There were a lot less of his garish in your face flash driven images he's known for and a much more nuanced essay about Britain and how diverse, strange, glorious and surreal it is. I've become a bit of a convert to the way he sees this country.
I then headed to the Southbank to see the Diane Arbus exhibition at the Hayward Gallery but before I did so I popped into a branch of Eat for a quick coffee and a croissant (for which I was charged the new world record of £5.15!!!). Arbus's images were fascinating to look at as they were from the earliest stages of her career. You could see even at that age (her early twenties) she had an assured, almost gothic way of seeing things. There was one image, though, that really stood out for me. It was a beautiful, haunting picture of a small girl in her winter coat and woollen hat standing all alone on a sidewalk lost in her thoughts. It was very simple but totally bewitching. I then decided to take some shots by the river (see extras four and five) before heading to Blackfriars to catch the tube to Pimlico where Tate Britain is based.
At the gallery it was time to see the Don McCullin exhibition. Bloody hell it was busy - a snaking queue (sometimes two or three deep) forming it's way all through the exhibition and out through the gift shop. It was a magnificent show and to realise he had printed every single image himself blew me away. Just a wonderful photographer who has produced so many searing, important photographs over the years. As well as the war and famine images I also found myself drawn to his brilliant, brooding landscapes as well.
On the way out I took today's image. This woman was talking away to her husband and trying to point at something in the distance but he looked exhausted and shut his eyes for a few seconds and that's when I took the shot.
After all of that I needed to get my train home, my mind still filled by all the evocative images I'd seen. A day I'll remember for quite a while.