I always thought that the M1 going over Tinsley Viaduct in Sheffield, with those majestic cooling towers in the background, made a good photo, and I photographed it again and again in the 1980s. Then they went and demolished the cooling towers. You could still take the photo today, I suppose, but you would have … Continue reading Artificial Towers
Category: Calendar
Officer Of The Watch
Today's image comes from an album of 1920s photographs I acquired last year. The photographs seem to be German in origin - the captions are certainly in German - and they must at one time have been precious holiday photos. This particular photograph is from a North Sea cruise undertaken in 1924 and shows Second … Continue reading Officer Of The Watch
Sepia Elland
I took this photograph of the lower Calder Valley near Elland back in the early 1980s. There is no scientific reason why digital photographs should turn sepia with age, and such a transformation is normally due to some semi-smart Photoshop filter. I have not, however, knowingly used such a filter on this image; perhaps the … Continue reading Sepia Elland
Bleached-Out Brid
Bleached-out sand and shadows as black as Whitby jet. I can still remember spotting this view in Bridlington over fifty years ago and thinking, "That would make a good photo!" It did back in 1971; it still does in 2025.
Merry Gone Round
This is the children's merry-go-round outside Marks and Spencer's in Halifax. The rain was falling and the scene was sad, so I thought it could do with a little cheering up. Is it art, or is it AI kitsch? By the time I'd thought about it, the merry-go-round had gone round.
Spires And Steel
I spent most of the 1980s living in Sheffield. The decade and the location are irredeemably linked in my mind: when I think of the 1980s, I think of the decline of heavy industry and cheap buses. When I think of Sheffield, I think of the proud resistance of working class communities and the need … Continue reading Spires And Steel
Mill In Lee Mount
The caption I have for this photograph simply says "Mill In Lee Mount". The mill was obviously in a bad state when I took this photograph over 50 years ago, and I can't be certain whether or not it has survived to this day. The wonderful thing about social media, however, is that someone will … Continue reading Mill In Lee Mount
Blinded By The Light
Sometimes you fall in love with an image: an accident, an unintended click of an unrecognised shutter. The image doesn't seem to make sense: no subjects, no composition, no known meaning. But it sticks in you mind, it occupies your senses like some unwelcome guest. You are blinded by the light.
Memories Of Brid
The image is from a 1950s picture postcard of Bridlington. Neither the details (did cars ever look like that?) nor the colours are particularly realistic, but just seeing them transports me back to family holidays in Bridlington in the early 1950s. If you zoom in far enough you can almost see me and my mother … Continue reading Memories Of Brid
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