Autumn colours at Westminster by Manish Prabhune
2021-2025 UK Commons Parliamentary Library uses my photograph in their documentation
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When a Photograph Finds Its Own Audience
When a Photograph Finds Its Own Audience
Big Ben, Revisited - 36+ Trips Later, One Autumn Stayed
Big Ben, Revisited - 36+ Trips Later, One Autumn Stayed
Between 2013 and 2024, I travelled from Tokyo to the UK more than 36 times. Work, meetings, conferences, deadlines, the usual cross-continental grind to help with the digital transformation of a major Japanese based automotive brand. And almost every single time, I stayed in the same place: Park Plaza Westminster Bridge. Not because it’s fancy. Because it’s predictable.
And because every morning, Big Ben was just there - unavoidable, constant, almost boring in its reliability, right from the room where I stayed.
Familiarity Is a Strange Thing
Familiarity Is a Strange Thing
When you see something iconic once, you’re impressed.
When you see it ten times, you photograph it.
When you see it thirty-plus times, you stop trying.
I’ve photographed Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster in:
harsh winter light
flat grey London drizzle
summer evenings with tourists blocking every clean line
jet-lagged dawns and post-meeting twilights
I have hundreds of frames. Most of them technically fine. Many of them forgettable. I personaly thought that this one with the traffic trails was my best and it took a whole while to take so many iterations from my room, to get it right. This photograph worked great on my Instagram, but it ended in three days after the initial engagement burst that I had. Then on it went to the natural content decay.
And then came this autumn moment.
Why This below Frame Worked (my guess)
Why This below Frame Worked (my guess)
It wasn’t planned. That’s the honest part. Autumn leaves formed a natural frame - not dramatic, not staged. The sky was heavy, British, undecided.
The Thames was doing what it always does: moving on.
What changed wasn’t the monument. It was distance. After seeing the same subject for over a decade, I wasn’t chasing a “shot” anymore. I wasn’t proving anything. I just waited, and let the scene assemble itself. Out of the millions of Big Ben photographs taken every year, this one didn’t try to compete. The below snap just fit.
UK Parliament Research Briefings with Your Image Credit
UK Parliament Research Briefings with Your Image Credit
Autumn Statement 2023 – Background briefing (CBP-9891)
Includes the same explicit image credit to you. Research Briefings
🔗 PDF: researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9891/CBP-9891.pdfBackground to Autumn Statement 2022 (CBP-9649)
Again credits your image under Image Credits. Research Briefings
🔗 PDF: researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9649/CBP-9649.pdfAutumn Budget 2024 – Background briefing (CBP-10122)
Your photo appears with credit here too. Research Briefings
🔗 PDF: researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-10122/CBP-10122.pdfAutumn Budget 2025 – Background briefing (CBP-10400)
Latest version also uses the same photo credit. Research Briefings
🔗 PDF: researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-10400/CBP-10400.pdfParliamentary Research Briefings (session overviews)
Other thematic research briefings also list your photo under Image Credits, e.g., sessions spanning 2022-25. Research Briefings+1
All of these are hosted on the official UK Parliament site and show that this image is reused in House of Commons Library research briefings over multiple years. Thankful for the legitimate recurring credit.
As always, I released it under a Creative Commons license, making it freely usable with attribution. That openness allowed the photograph to travel, quietly, organically, and on its own merit into public, editorial, and civic contexts.
Why This Matters (To Me)
Why This Matters (To Me)
Photographers often watermark, lock down, copyright aggressively, or try to sell every frame.Ironically, that’s often self-defeating.
This image travelled because it was open.
Licensed openly. Attributed properly. It found its way into places I never aimed for- including UK Parliament research briefings, reused year after year(2021-2025).
No pitch. No outreach. No chasing institutions. Just patience, openness, and time.
Creative Commons as a Force Multiplier
Creative Commons as a Force Multiplier
Publishing under Creative Commons is a deliberate choice. I traded control for reach and relevance. When a photograph is useful, it will be reused. When it’s well-made, it will be reused correctly. Thats what I am learning. Seeing this image surface in places that value credibility over aesthetics alone reinforces why I should take photography beyond myself.
A Quiet Satisfaction
A Quiet Satisfaction
There was no notification from Wikipedia. No email from the House of Commons office. I discovered both usages later. Honestly, that’s the best part.The photograph didn’t need me in the room.
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