100 years ago you would have had difficulty seeing the hills that surround Halifax because of the smoke and the smog. 50 years ago you would have seen them but they would have been bare and battle-scarred, testament to what industry can do to land. Now they are green with stone-coloured highlights. You can say … Continue reading 14 August 2024 : Green
13 August 2024 : Patterns
The second of the series of photos taken while waiting for my wife to emerge from the dentist's. These are the steps leading up to Broad Street Plaza in Halifax - a delightfully curve-less concrete and steel prospect that faces off against the classical elegance of Halifax's Victorian Town Hall on the other side of … Continue reading 13 August 2024 : Patterns
The Imaginary Archaeologist
I like to think of myself as an archaeologist of images (or an imaginary archaeologist if you prefer). I like nothing better than digging up old pictures, dusting them off, and bringing them back to life to see what they can tell us about times gone by. We are not talking about the equivalent of … Continue reading The Imaginary Archaeologist
Forgotten Scenes And Forgotten Stamps
1905 Postcard Of Bradford Road, Brighouse : Dear Dorothy, It is only about three week off Easter now. Do you know you forgot to put a stamp on the postcard you sent me and I had to pay a penny for it. From Walter. (It is interesting to note that whilst this stretch of Bradford … Continue reading Forgotten Scenes And Forgotten Stamps
Issy
They say an image is worth a thousand words but anyone who has saved a computer file knows you can squeeze a decent novella into the space needed to save a grainy photo of your Aunty Nelly on a deckchair. It is the detail that is so expensive in terms of bits and bytes, but … Continue reading Issy
That Face
There is something so simple about this little image that comes from an early twentieth century picture postcard from the German publishing firm, Meissner & Buch. The card hasn’t been used in the century and a quarter since it was printed, so I could dash off a message to someone and pop it in the … Continue reading That Face
Bus Station Dynasties
History is sometimes measured in dynasties - the Tudors or Stuarts, the Tangs or the Yans - but for most folk a more prosaic way of marking the passage of time is called for. Having grown up in Halifax and having lived in these parts for large periods of my life, for me it’s bus … Continue reading Bus Station Dynasties
Can’t See The Moores For The Trees
This family photograph from the 1930s perfectly captures a marriage of style and elegance. It also captures a marriage between two people, but I am a little uncertain as to who they are. The one person I can identify is the man seated second from the left, the man with a hairstyle of sculptured grandeur, … Continue reading Can’t See The Moores For The Trees
Sandstone Palaces
Sometimes the lines are better blurred. Usually the signs are better blurred. We can forget the message, be it about fake tans or coffee cups, and concentrate on this stone monument to the gods of commerce, a sandstone palace fit for a Coffee King.
alanburnett.com 