Street Photography in Newcastle

Grey's Monument stands at the top of Grey Street, where the main shopping streets meet, and it is where Newcastle arranges to meet. That makes it the busiest people watching spot in the centre. Buskers and campaigners set up around its base, and shoppers cut across in every direction. Stand on the steps side and shoot along one street at a time so the Georgian facades line up behind your subject. Midday is busiest. The Monument Metro station below brings bursts of people up the stairs, which gives you a rhythm to time your shots. It gets crowded on Saturdays, so keep your bag in front.

Grey Street curves down from the Monument toward the Quayside, lined with stone Georgian facades and the columns of the Theatre Royal. John Robert Charlton, a Newcastle street photographer profiled by Living North, names its architecture as a favourite and likes low, wide angles with detail in the foreground. Try that here: get low at the top of the slope and let the curve lead the eye down. Late afternoon light catches the west facing side. The Theatre Royal steps before a show give you groups in their best clothes. Buses and cyclists come down fast on the slope, so watch the road.

The Grainger Market opened in 1835, designed by John Dobson, and it was the largest covered market in Europe at the time. Today it holds over 100 small businesses, from butchers and greengrocers to street food. Opening hours listed in 2023 were 9:00 to 17:30, Monday to Saturday, closed on Sundays. The aisles give you long views with traders framed by their stalls. Saturday late morning is busiest. It is a place of work, so ask traders before a close portrait, and many will say yes after a chat. Mixed light from windows and shop lamps can confuse auto white balance, so check your colours.

Central Arcade is a Grade II listed Edwardian shopping arcade with mosaic floors and a glass barrel vaulted roof, a few steps from Grey's Monument. It is a short, bright tunnel, which makes it a natural frame. Stand at one end and wait for a single figure to walk into the light from the roof. The tiles and the curve of the ceiling give you leading lines. It is best on grey days, when the roof softens the light. The arcade is private property with shops inside, so keep it quick and discreet, and stop if staff ask you to.

The Quayside Sunday Market runs along the river every Sunday, listed as 9:00 to 16:00, with independent traders and street food under the Tyne Bridge. Newcastle Sparkles, a local blogger, calls the Tyne Bridge the city's most defining landmark, and here you can put it behind people eating and browsing. Shoot along the row of stalls with the green arch of the bridge in the top of the frame. Late morning is when the crowd builds. Stallholders are working, so ask before close portraits of them. Riverside wind can be cold even in summer, so bring a layer.

The High Level Bridge carries trains on its top deck and a road and walkways below, 112 feet above the high water mark. Newcastle Sparkles recommends it for moody, dramatic urban shots. The walkways are lined with iron, which makes a repeating pattern around anyone walking through. Use a wide lens and wait for a cyclist or walker to reach the middle of the frame. Morning light comes in low from the east. From the Quayside below, the bridge is a strong backdrop for figures by the river. Keep to the footpath and give cyclists room.

St James' Park is Newcastle United's stadium, holding 52,000, and it sits right in the city centre. On matchdays the streets around it fill with black and white shirts, from Gallowgate to the pubs of the centre. Arrive a couple of hours before kickoff and walk with the crowd. Fans in groups and the queues at food vans give you plenty to work with. Stay on public streets: inside the ground, photography rules are set by the club. Crowds are good natured but dense, so keep your camera on a short strap and avoid blocking the flow.