Author: Alan Burnett

SKEGGY

This image is based on a photograph I took in the early 1980s. Back then, I would take the train from Sheffield to the east coast, and wander along the sands in Skegness, Cleethorpes and the like, trying to capture the atmosphere of the place. This particular image has been subjected to filters, grain and … Continue reading SKEGGY

IMAGINED LANDSCAPES

Another imagined landscape. Our walk through the woods this morning and we were still on the cusp of spring. I keep a spare set of summer foliage in that jar by the door, so I put it to good use.

CELEBRITY LOVE

We tend to think of "celebrity culture" - and all the tissue-paper thin emotions and over-dramatic excesses which accompany it - as a recent phenomenon. But as any self-respecting elephant will tell you, few things are new in this world of ours. Step forward into the limelight Miss Mabel Love. Born in the English seaside resort … Continue reading CELEBRITY LOVE

FAKE VIEWS

This photograph was taken ten years ago, back in the days when travel was easy. The sky didn’t really look like this - I’ve added it from a selection I keep in a jar by the door. #fakeviews

BOTTOMS

I’m not sure what I intended the focal point of this photograph, taken forty years ago, to be. It probably was the unseen event that was monopolising all their attention, but, in retrospect, it has become the spectral seagull in the sky and the curious reflection in the crash helmet.

LILIES

A vase of lilies stands next to my TV. With a slight rotation of my head, I can move from war to peace.

AUTHENTICITY?

UNKNOWN WOMAN WITH A LARGE HAT : Whyte & Sons Studio, Union Street, Glasgow. Authenticity is a strange concept when it comes to photography. Even the best photographic image is far from authentic. Repairing old photographs does not destroy their authenticity, it merely shifts it onto another plain. So bring on the filters and get … Continue reading AUTHENTICITY?

SPRING INTO STYLE

HALIFAX DAILY COURIER & GUARDIAN, 9 MARCH 1932 : Thumbing through a 90 year old newspaper and I find an advert that appeals to me. I think I would look good in that overcoat, and it is a bargain at only £3.15p. But, hang on a moment: according to the Bank of England's On-Line Inflation Calculator … Continue reading SPRING INTO STYLE

VICTORIAN REALITY

VICTORIAN STUDIO PORTRAIT OF UNKNOWN WOMAN (BROWN, BARNES & BELL, LIVERPOOL) : The Victorians would have loved those smartphone apps where you can brighten your smile, get rid of your piggy eyes, and dissolve blemishes. Look carefully at any old Victorian studio portrait and you can see where eyebrows have been extended and spots scraped … Continue reading VICTORIAN REALITY