The starting point of this image was a photograph I took in Brighouse Canal Basin thirty years ago. The shapes seemed more important than the details, so I messed with it a bit. The result is, I think, strangely satisfying.
Month: October 2025
The Beehive And Cross Keys
The Beehive and Cross Keys in King Cross Street, Halifax was built in 1932 following the demolition of two earlier pubs: yes, you guessed it, the Beehive and the Cross Keys. The new pub was a functional 1930s affair designed by local architects Walsh and Maddocks. Functional it may have been, but in addition to the … Continue reading The Beehive And Cross Keys
Walking Snaps
In the days before smartphone selfies, many personal photographic archive would be populated by "Walking Snaps". Professional photographers would line seaside promenades and take random shots of passing visitors, and prints would later be displayed in shop windows and be available for purchase. There is a wonderful naturalness about such photos - as in this … Continue reading Walking Snaps
Faith On Rhodes Street
It's a funny thing, faith. It asks you to park reason up a side street and wander the streets looking for meaning. Maybe there is meaning, but there again, maybe there is just an infinite greyscale of uncertainty. Or maybe there is just an old photo of Cross Rhodes Street in Halifax.
Number 82,637 : Spanish Chair Carrier
My Lightroom Catalogue currently has 105,369 photographs I have taken stored on it. A quick calculation suggests that is in the region of 1,368 and a half photos a year, which is a fair old number. Such calculations are an exhausting and slightly pointless exercise - something akin to carrying a chair in the hot … Continue reading Number 82,637 : Spanish Chair Carrier
Is Water Best?
The image is taken from an old picture postcard from my collection, and it is a scene that most Halifax folk will be familiar with. The water fountain was presented to the town in 1869 by the temperance campaigner, Joseph Thorp. Carved on it is the slogan, "Water Is Best". Those wanting to test the … Continue reading Is Water Best?
Priceless
I've spent a fair amount of my life taking photographs, and whenever I am tempted to question whether I would have been better off doing something else, I look at photographs like this one. It's far from being a great photograph; it's badly cropped and full of distracting shadows. But it's my father, and it's … Continue reading Priceless
Inconsequential Shed
Given enough time, even the most inconsequential images acquire value from a social and historical perspective. Walking under Halifax's North Bridge over half a century ago, I was taken by the hanging measuring bar on the old railway sheds. Within a couple of years, the building, the lines, and the hanging bar were but memories, … Continue reading Inconsequential Shed
Torn History
Every picture tells a story, but very often, half a picture tells even more of the story. The picture tells the story of that moment in time when the shutter fired - the family gathered on the doorstep. I have no idea who they are - the photograph was part of a batch of unwanted … Continue reading Torn History
alanburnett.com 