Britannia In The Trees

Britannia has sat on top of the rather ornate former bank at the end of Elland Bridge for 133 years. You might think she'd get bored, but I suspect she enjoys the ever-changing view. I've been regularly taking her photograph for the last 56 of those years. I, too, enjoy the view. Here she is … Continue reading Britannia In The Trees

Prescience

I took this photograph a couple of days ago, gave it a title, and scheduled it in for my calendar for the 1st of March. Prescient, or what?

Still Collecting

My passion for collecting old photographs recognises few bounds, and a few years ago I managed to acquire a small collection of the original negatives of "stills" from British films from the 1940s and 50s. Such photographs were taken during filming in order to prepare the publicity photos that would be displayed outside cinemas. You … Continue reading Still Collecting

Times Certainly Change

Getting somewhat annoyed the other day by some toxic pronouncement by a global potentate, I banged my fist down on my desk, and my smartwatch informed me that it looked as if I had taken a fall and that it would send for an emergency ambulance. Just think, sixty years ago I would have had … Continue reading Times Certainly Change

Sheffield Shapes

I took the photograph back in the early 1980s, and I messed around with it early yesterday. It snowed a lot back in the early '80s, and I wandered up and down the back streets of Sheffield taking photographs. It was the shapes that attracted me then, and they still attract me now. Sheffield shapes.

Any Lane

My photograph dates back to the early 1970s and shows one of those streets near the bottom of Lister Lane and Hopwood Lane in Halifax. The precise location doesn't matter - it could be any lane in almost any northern town: with cobbled streets and an obelisk of a mill chimney.

Street Photography

These days, this photograph would come under the heading of "Street Photography". When I took it over half a century ago, it came under the heading of "Using The Last Few Shots On A Film Up Before It Was Developed." These inconsequential shots of random scenes are always the most interesting when viewed from the … Continue reading Street Photography

Treasured Map

My brother contacted me from the other side of the world yesterday to suggest that my "monumental sculpture" photo was not taken in Sowerby Bridge. I have since been able to persuade him that it was. His memory of Sowerby Bridge and the Calder Valley is not what it used to be, so here is … Continue reading Treasured Map

Monumental Sculpture

One should be able to nominate buildings as items of monumental sculpture, thus ensuring their preservation not for what they contain, but simply for the way they look, the shape they make, and the emotions they engender. I would like to nominate this group of buildings in Sowerby Bridge. Let's pickle them in aspic and … Continue reading Monumental Sculpture