A few years ago I went through a phase of buying glass plate negatives off eBay. It was a hit or miss pastime as a good proportion of the purchases would arrive in pieces. Luckily this particular image did not suffer that fate and therefore can provide us with an almost perfect phial of pure … Continue reading The Cyclists
Uncle Harry
Everyone should have an Uncle Harry in their family. He performed in seaside concert parties in the 1920s and at holiday caravan parks in the 1950s. He played the Working Men's Clubs, grew his hair fashionably long in the 1960s and wore platform shoes to make him look taller. He was frowned upon by the … Continue reading Uncle Harry
Pinball Skidding
I took this photograph in Doncaster Market a few years ago. I think it works rather well as a monochrome image - the lack of colour doesn’t simplify it, it turns it into a pinball machine where your eye is sent skidding from one side to the other.
Brighouse Market Time Markers
Another shot from that same strip of negatives from 50+ years ago. I’d obviously moved on from Bradford Road to the site of the old Brighouse Open Market which, I think, was where the bus station is now. Another shot full of time markers.
230 For 6
This is from an odd little album of some 100 photos from the 1920s and 30s that I bought a few weeks ago. I have no idea where the cricket ground is - but knowing the power of social media, no doubt someone will tell me - along with the date and the name of … Continue reading 230 For 6
Yorkshire Mixture
A photo of Halifax taken four years ago rather than forty. What I like about this strange little shot of one of the back yards leading off Horton Street and looking towards Square Church, is that it is a right Yorkshire mixture: dark and light, rough and smooth, formal and informal, work and prayer.
Sky And Wall
Take a wall in Sheffield rather badly photographed forty years ago and a sky from a Photoshop filter pack. Add a touch of feeling bored and half watching the TV whilst messing about on my computer - and voila!
Rain Hats And Chocolate
Back in the days when the road went straight through, when women wore plastic rain hats, and - if you look carefully - when Cadbury’s chocolate was made from a glass and a half of full cream milk.
Heading North
Several years ago I bought an old photo album at an antique market. It contained photos taken on a cruise of “The Northern Capitals” in 1925. I decided to republish the album as a book with some background notes on the ship, the cruise and the people. This lovely image is comes from that album. … Continue reading Heading North