The Cabarazzi - Cabbie with a camera - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Big Ben, Parliament Square and the Tower Bridge are the world famous and uniquely British images that millions of tourists capture with their cameras. But there is a photographer in London who has a unique vantage point for photographing the Olympic host city. He is a cabbie with a camera.

"I really enjoy taking pictures of what I see from the seat of my cab," said Dominic Shannon. "There's no set up, there's no tripod. If I see it, I snap it. It's my angle. Everyone's seen pictures of Big Ben, the London Eye, all big nice shots from above, from the side of the road. But with me, it's my angle. It's my view. I love the wing mirror shots because it shows what's in front of me and what's behind me," said Shannon.

He initially bought a camera for insurance purposes. Shannon thought he might need the images in case of an accident.

"I went and bought a disposable one and I left it in my glove compartment," said Shannon. "One day I had two passengers in the back. And, as I was sitting in traffic, I looked to the left of me there was a homeless chap sitting down. He was asleep. He had a dog between his legs and the dog was asleep and I said to my passengers 'that would be a good picture wouldn't it?' They looked and said 'yeah'. I said, well I have a camera here so, I went over took a picture," said Shannon. "That was the very first picture I took and I thought from that point, I stated seeing road views other stuff and said, that's interesting, and it went on from there, it just evolved. I went from a disposable onto a picture phone onto a digital camera and the rest is history," said Shannon.

"If I see something when I'm at the traffic lights, or pulling up to drop someone off, I take a picture and I know I can't go back and get that picture again. There was one chance of getting that and I got it," said Shannon. "When I look back at all these pictures that I'm getting, they seem to be getting better over the years with my eyes getting better for a picture. That's why I enjoy it. It's good looking back at the pictures and seeing how you've caught London over the years."

The pictures allowed Shannon to share his travels with family.

"When I get home and say 'look at this' here's where I was tonight. This is what happened. It's a way of showing them what my evening, what my day was like, where I've been in the day," said Shannon.

Shannon says he only takes pictures when he's stopped.

"So, if I stop at a set of traffic lights, and something catches my eye, I'll take a photo of it. When I'm dropping people off, anytime I'm stationary and I see something nice, I'll take a picture," said Shannon.

"All the iconic shots are lovely. But I do like the shots of busy London moment like St. Pancreas station with outside with no flash at night when it's starting to go dusk, people rushing past, the focus in on the building itself and see all these moving images. They're all busy, busy busy. Go get 'em. It's just nice. I do like," said Shannon.

Over time, the pictures became clearer and so did a nickname.

"Someone said to me 'paparazzi the cab driver.' Something wasn't ringing. That doesn't sound right. Let's pull it together and get it right. And that just stuck. So, Cabarazzi that's what I started getting known as," said Shannon. "It's a cabbie who takes pictures. I photograph everything. It's not the paparazi. It's the Cabarazzi. People love the name. They just seem to love it."

The "Cabarazzi" may drive around London's most popular attractions but that's not his only focus. He's also photographing the grittier, darker side of the city.

"On a Friday night when they're fighting, they're getting sick, there's people asleep. It's not what people want to see, but it is part of London."

The "Cabarazzi" has become so good at taking photos, his work has been featured in an exhibition.

"I've done an exhibition, everyone said 'oh, you're a photographer. And I say 'not really. I just photograph from my taxi. I'm not really a photographer," said Shannon.

But the "Cabarazzi" maintains he won't park his taxi permanently to become a photographer.

"Cab driver is my job. That's how I make a living. And, it's a hobby taking pictures," said Shannon.

He's photographing signature shots of England's most famous city. Photos taken by a man getting paid to drive with a camera to capture it all.

"They're unique because they'll never be seen again. You can't go back and get them pictures again. They're passing, moving moments," said Shannon.