Welcome to the Website of Alan Burnett: writer, blogger, collector of old photographs, and devotee of all things pointless and inconsequential.
Halifax – New York – Halifax
Where can you find Halifax in New York? The answer is on the fifth floor of the Museum of Modern Art on West 53rd Street. There, you will find a copy of Bill Brandt’s 1937 photograph, Halifax – a clear indication that it is regarded as one of the finest twentieth-century photographs. My interpretation, taken forty years ago and the fifth image from my chosen strip of negatives, is but a pale imitation of the original.
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In The Steps Of Genius
Old Lane in Halifax was the setting for two of the finest photographs of the twentieth century. The fourth frame on my forty-year-old strip of negatives is my rather mediocre recreation of…
Bus On A Bridge
The second image in my strip of six negatives, taken 40 years ago, shows a bus on a bridge. The bridge is, of course, Burdock Way in Halifax. If you look closely,…
Lest we Forget
Lest we forget the days when images were chemical stains on translucent cellulose acetate, and photographic imagination was limited by the number of frames left on a roll of film.…
What Goes Around ….
My postcard this week takes us back to a time when political cartoons were considered suitable content for picture postcards. It also takes us back to 1903–04, when the idea…
Friendly Fire
For the past 848 weeks, Sepia Saturday has offered themes that allow lovers of old photographs from around the world to share their favourite images. This month’s themes are working…
