This year, I experienced May Day in Oxford for the very first time – a tradition steeped in centuries of history and music. As the city stirred before sunrise, I joined the gathering crowds and brought along my cameras to capture the unfolding of one of Oxford’s most iconic annual events.
May Day, celebrated on the 1st of May, begins at the break of dawn when the Magdalen College choir sings the Hymnus Eucharisticus from the top of Magdalen Tower. This ritual dates back over 500 years, and draws thousands of people to the High Street below to welcome the new season.
From there, the city truly came alive. Morris dancers in ribbons and bells performed along cobbled lanes, and the atmosphere became a unique mix of celebration, tradition, and lightheartedness.
I brought along two Canon R6 cameras, which allowed me to move quickly and adapt to the shifting, vibrant scenes. I mostly used a 50mm lens for intimate street moments and a 135mm for expressive, distant shots without disturbing the scene. Occasionally, I switched to a 24mm wide-angle to capture the full sweep of the crowd or the dramatic silhouettes of Oxford’s towers. This setup gave me the flexibility to frame both the grand spectacle and the fleeting, human-scale moments.
The early morning light, filtered through the soft haze of spring, gave everything a surreal, golden glow.
As the morning wore on, the crowds began to drift toward cafés, picnic spots, or back to bed — the city gradually easing into its daily rhythm. But for those few hours, Oxford was alive with music, movement, and flower crowns.
