Welcome to the Website of Alan Burnett: writer, blogger, collector of old photographs, and devotee of all things pointless and inconsequential.
Night Shots
You need an old camera, slow film, and a decent downpour to get a good night shot. Modern digital cameras are hopeless: they sharpen the focus, bring up the shadows, and tone down the glare, leaving you with something about as dramatic as a soggy digestive biscuit. Luckily, when I took this photograph of Commercial Street in Halifax back in the 1960s, my camera was old, my film was slow, and it had rained for days.
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Industrial Cubism
I took this photograph in Sheffield more than forty years ago. After all this time, I’m not certain where it was taken – possibly around Kelham Island. The exact location does not…
Developments
This map may not mean much to most people, but it shows Northowram, the village where I grew up. It is dated 1920, although it may be based on data from a…
Images Are Magical
For as long as I can remember, I have been in love with images. They offer the ultimate freedom of expression and interpretation, allowing you to explore a moment, place, emotion, or…
Guess The Building
Here’s a fun diversion for a miserable Monday morning: take a photograph of a famous Calderdale building, ask a friendly AI bot to turn it into an architectural drawing, and…
Neoplasticism And Halifax Borough Market
The Dutch painter Piet Mondrian was one of the founders of the art movement known as Neoplasticism. His palette was limited to the three primary colours – red, blue, and…
The End Of The Film
I like to think that, when Bill Brandt walked up Old Lane in Halifax in 1937, he took his famous Snicket in Halifax photo. He then climbed to the top…
