A few weekends ago, I did some test shooting with a new camera. Following a digital videographer’s advice, I rented a Canon 5D DSLR, with a microphone, tripod and a 50mm lens.

Having shot for over ten years with mirrorless film and digital cameras, the DSLR was a beast: big and heavy, the camera intimidated me from the moment I took it out of the box. Sat on a bench near the Leadenhall building, I tried taking my first picture: one of the skyscrapers nearby. A few mistakes later, I got it.

My aim was to go to the Royal Exchange, because it tended to be pretty deserted on a weekend. This Saturday, however, it was hosting a thousands strong march for the environment. A number of photographers and videographers were documenting the event, but I decided to duck out until I had an at least rudimentary knowledge of this camera.

Once at home, I transferred the camera to a case of my own and headed out to shoot some video at the Woolwich riverside. From there, I shot tests at a railway crossing in Charlton and on the South Bank.

@jonathanbartvideos

Camera test shoot with a Canon 5D #video #photography #southeastlondon #woolwichriverside #testshooting #videography #filmmaking

♬ In C [Terry Riley] – Dylan Henner

What struck me on this excursion was what I saw as I walked between and around these sights, looking for something to photograph. I’ve been on photo walks before, both with friends and by myself, but I was really fascinated by the things I didn’t see when I had driven or taken public transport past them many times before.

Building, shops and accommodation I had barely glanced at before were there in all their detail. Different neighbourhoods with their residents and visitors. Different topography and sounds. As I walked, I thought about the photographer Don McCullin’s advise to photographers who wanted be war photographers:

“I say, OK, if you want to be a war photographer, go to the inner cities in England. You don’t have to get on a plane to the Middle East or wherever. There are social wars in our cities: homeless people, poor people, people begging outside of banks. You will find the most incredible poverty and that is a war as big as any other.”

While I didn’t feel as if I were documenting any kind of war, I did feel like I was walking through parts of the city that were ignored: the alleyways and neighbourhoods considered not pretty enough for an Instagram story; the people I may avoid, or who may avoid me; the unobserved. I wondered what I’d learn if I visited these areas more rather than just passing them by.

I finished the my first day shooting video on Waterloo Bridge and the South Bank, before bringing the gear back home.