In taxi ranks and service stations across the capital he is known as the cabarazzi.

While London black cab drivers share an ability to recount tall tales, Dominic Shannon is in the rare position of being able to back his up with photographs. For the past nine years Mr Shannon has taken a series of pictures while he ferried people around London.

What began as an insurance measure, when he bought a disposable camera so that he could provide proof for accident claims, has grown into a vast documentation of life on the streets of the capital.

Mr Shannon, 39, has accumulated thousands of photographs, from tourists standing in heavy rain outside the main attractions in the city to homeless men sleeping on benches as workers rush past.

“I see everything from my seat, so I just kept snapping. I love this city, there's loads going on and I'm never short of a photograph. Every cabbie has got a story, but I'm the only one who has photos to prove mine,” he told The Times.

One passenger had been at the hairdresser when it started to rain. Because she did not have an umbrella she took off her shirt and used it to protect her hair when she ran from the taxi.

“I thought 'What are you like?'”, Mr Shannon said. “What's more important, getting your hair wet or showing your taxi driver and the neighbours your smalls?”

Many passengers were impressed by the quality of the pictures, which led to his first exhibition in Camden, North London, this month. Mr Shannon has talked to a publisher about creating a book of his photographs, which are to be included in another London exhibition this year.

Although he has moved into digital photography, Mr Shannon is content with a £150 camera instead of expensive equipment. “Point and shoot, that's all I need. I wouldn't know what to do with all those lenses. That's what the concept is. It's a bit rough. That's why it's different,” he said.

Some of his images show the darker side of London life: a drunk sprawled in the back seat of his taxi, a homeless man passed out in his own urine with an empty bottle of cider next to him, a man with a bloody nose after being in a fight.

Most capture the diversity that distinguishes London: autumn colours in Kensington Gardens, landmarks bathed in sunshine, a tattoed man at Camden Lock, taxis lined up outside Westminster Abbey. “I think it really shows what London is all about: from new buildings to old, posh people to street people, Soho against churches,” he said.

At first Mr Shannon, who has lived in the same street in Somers Town his entire life, was taken aback when he was approached about exhibiting his work. “I thought it was crazy. Now the other guys call me cabarazzi, or Digital Dom,” he said.

He will not be giving up his day job, however. “I love it. I meet so many interesting people and I love to have a chat. I'm not one of those cabbies that drives people mad, though. I'll give them space, but if someone wants to have a chat, I'll talk for England,” he added.

Driving ambition

— Taxi drivers who have also succeeded in alternative careers:

— Clive Efford The Labour MP for Eltham put his taxi up for sale when he was elected to Parliament in 1997

— Brian Hall The actor, best known for his role as Terry the eccentric cook in Fawlty Towers, became a taxi driver for several years after school before a chance meeting with his future agent

— Fred Housego Became a television personality and presenter after winning Mastermind, the BBC television quiz programme, in 1980. He continued to drive a cab throughout his subsequent media career

— Joe Janiak An Australian taxi driver who is the owner and trainer of Takeover Target, a racehorse that has performed well in Britain, including at Ascot

— Simon Khan An English golfer who turned professional in 1991

Source: Times database

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