Unlike Paris or Rome, London has never been bright and saturated with color—blame it on the weather. It’s best captured in greyscale, and that is exactly what photographer Jake Verzosa does as he allows the city to consume him, producing breathtaking black-and-white photographs of his subjects in the London light and shadows.

“Gloomy, vibrant, melancholic, exciting, historic, modern all at the same time,” says Verzosa about the city. London is indeed a city of paradoxes, with bright red phone boxes standing out in the gloomy fog of the city and modern skyscrapers towering over buildings centuries old. Here, the future coexists with the past, under a sun that momentarily peeks out from behind heavy clouds and fog.

Fresh tourists can be easily overwhelmed by the business of the city, and we don’t blame them. Our advice? Let your instincts take over. Take lots of aimless strolls around the city. Sure, watch the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace or have that tea with clotted cream and a side of scones—after all, those are quintessentially British things for foreigners. But London is best experienced via its back alleys, abandoned schoolyards and old houses heavy with history—owned by the likes of Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens and Jimi Hendrix. Lose yourself in the cold mist. It’s all part of London’s charm.

Source: Meg Manzano and Trina Razon for Red Magazine, “London Eyes,” August 2014