I took this photograph in Akroyd Place, Halifax, in the early 1970s. It was fairly bleak and somewhat ominous even then. Fifteen or so years earlier, I remember being bussed to the Akroyd Place School Baths when it was even bleaker. I still have involuntary shivers when I pass where it used to be.
Chimney Pretensions
I was sorting through some old photos, and this one, which I took in Almondbury about ten years ago, seemed to demand my attention. There is something about the proportions of the mill that makes it stand out - short and squat with a chimney that has pretensions of grandeur.
Crystals And Glass – Barnsley
It was supposed to rain the other day when we visited the lovely Elsecar Heritage Centre near Barnsley. It was supposed to be bleak and stormy and grey and depressing. But the sun shone like it was on a seasonal farewell tour and lit up the colours that surround us.
Change In Siddal
Like so many pictures of these parts from a century or more ago, much has changed in this view of Siddal near Halifax from an old picture postcard. So many of the buildings - the houses, factories, and schools - have gone, and the canal has long since been abandoned. The backdrop remains relatively unchanged, … Continue reading Change In Siddal
I Wonder
I wonder what they were thinking when they stood there and had their photographs taken 120 or 130 years ago? Perhaps they were thinking of the bride and groom, or maybe the wedding breakfast they were about to enjoy. I bet they weren't thinking that in over a century's time people from all over the … Continue reading I Wonder
Concentrated Nostalgia
Brown paper bags, pounds, shilling, and pence, headscarves and overcoats - it's almost as though someone had bought a tube of concentrated nostalgia and squeezed it all over this photograph of mine of Halifax Borough Market back in the 1960s. And if they really did sell tubes of concentrated nostalgia, you would have been sure … Continue reading Concentrated Nostalgia
Yorkshire Paradise
I took the photograph that became the basis for this image of Paradise Square in Sheffield back in 1980. There was snow on the ground, which was slowly being transformed into mucky slush. My digital messing has given the whole thing a brownish tint, which somehow suits it. Paradise - Yorkshire style.
Nostalgia Post
These days, local newspapers seem to be dominated by a pointless mix of clickbait and nostalgia. So let us engage in our own little festival of nostalgia for the days when there were daily local newspapers that received letters and had the kind of adverts you could reply to, all finished in copper and bordered … Continue reading Nostalgia Post
Bradford Texture
The printing technology used in the production of so many early twentieth century picture postcards was somewhat crude and resulted in many local scenes looking as though they had been produced by the French pointillist, Georges Seurat, on an off-day. However, if you Photoshop them and go to town with the "Texture" control, you can … Continue reading Bradford Texture
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