I have no idea where some of the old prints in my collection come from. This particular picture, however, comes from Tatler's Candid Camera Studio in Katoomba, New South Wales. I can also tell you that it features the unmistakable features of William O'Neill. How William got from one side of the world to the … Continue reading The Mystery Of William In Katoomba
Author: Alan Burnett
Drainpipes At The Charity Gala
I took this photograph over fifty years ago at the Halifax Charity Gala. Even though it was the infamous "swinging sixties"; times were simpler then, and high-tech entertainment consisted of a hardboard bowing alley and some half drainpipes.
Sea, Sky And Seagulls
The British seaside: sea, sands, sky, fish and chips, ice cream, and seagulls.
Yawningly Boring Postcard Of The Month
My entry for this month's "Most Boring Picture Postcard In the World" competition is this postcard from the "La France Touristique" series which features a car parked outside a house: all in stunning monochrome. According to the caption, it is a photograph of the town of Les Matelles, which is an ancient town in southern … Continue reading Yawningly Boring Postcard Of The Month
History Seeps In Lowestoft
I was in Lowestoft a couple of weeks ago and I probably walked past the studio where this portrait was taken 140 years ago. Like so many Victorian photographs, history seeps out of its sepia salts.
Waiting For Arthur
It was the early 1980s: a time when Arthur Scargill was King and the NUM believed it was invincible. I took this shot at a Yorkshire Miners' Gala as preparations were being made for Arthur to speak.
Back Street, Halifax
All I have about this old negative from my collection is the hint of a caption which is "Back Street, Halifax"; and even this I suspect I invented 20 years after taking the picture. This makes it about as reliable as stories of Robin Hood written in the 19th century.
Big Jimmy
Sometimes photographs of unknown provenance come with a minimalist caption. In this case we are told that the subjects of this photograph - which dates from the late 1920s - are "Harold, Florence and Big Jimmy". Big Jimmy: could any name be more suitable?
The Lot Of The E-Flat Bass Player
This is a rescan of a negative from 35 years ago, taken at the Yorkshire Miner's Gala. Pit bands from all over the North were there, and as they chatted with other bandsmen, instruments in hand, the lot of the trumpet player was far preferable to that of the E-Flat Bass player.
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