Regent Street, London. The Quadrant

Photograph of Regent Street in London with horses and carriages on the moan thoroughfare and people walking on the pavements. The view shows the sweeping curve of the quadrant.

This photograph was probably taken during Wilson's excursion to England in the Spring of 1860 after which he made his second tour of Scotland in the Autumn. Wilson preferred these times of year to photograph owing to the clarity of the light in making instantaneous photographs that relied on faster exposure times. Eager to exploit the instantaneous effect of freezing moving subjects, Wilson turned his attention to street views and the transient features of nature to capture subjects that early photography could not.