Category: Scanned Negatives

Gog Hill

A photograph of the delightfully named Gog Hill in Elland from 45 years ago. Even then, it was a shadow of its former self, cleared of the layer after layer of houses that used to cling to this hillside. Generations of my wife's family had lived on or around Gog Hill, their stories woven into … Continue reading Gog Hill

Snicket In Halifax

No photographer worth his (or her) silver salts can pass this pathway off Old Lane in Halifax without taking a photograph like this as a tribute to the great photographer, Bill Brandt. Brandt's 1937 version of the scene ended up in New York's Museum of Modern Art. My 1980 version ended up as my calendar … Continue reading Snicket In Halifax

That’s Progress For You

I have a vague memory of taking this photo somewhere around Luddenden some 45 years ago. Back then, it would have been unthinkable that I could make up for my lack of record keeping by tracking down similar buildings using on-line street-view maps. But that's progress for you - and, if I'm right, the mill … Continue reading That’s Progress For You

Kinlochleven

My photograph dates from the early 1960s when we spent a holiday at Kinlochleven in Scotland. Clearly visible is the aluminium smelter, which was still operational at the time - it was eventually closed in June 2000. The dam and hydro-electric power plant, which were built to power the smelter, still exist and provide power … Continue reading Kinlochleven

And A Bit In Between

You could probably take a similar photo today of a bus crossing Burdock Way in Halifax, but there was something starker about the scene when I took this 45 years ago. In those days colour was for holidays and weddings and folk who had too much money. For the rest it was black and white … Continue reading And A Bit In Between

Up And Down Blake Street

This is one of my photographs from the time we were living in Sheffield in the early 1980s. Blake Street is reputedly the third steepest street in England, and the handrail was an essential part of navigating up and down the street on wintry days. The handrail was still in place the last time I … Continue reading Up And Down Blake Street

A Passage To Halifax

It's goodbye to the fens and the farms, the sea and the sand, and a return to more familiar landscape of mills and moors, chimneys and chapels. Here's one I took earlier - about sixty years earlier, in fact. It was taken looking towards Halifax from Haley Hill, from a spot that I suspect no … Continue reading A Passage To Halifax

Sticking With The Coal Wagon

I must have taken two versions of this particular scene back in the 1960s because I have one in colour that features a rather classic 1950s car. I used that as my calendar image on 14 June 2024, so you are stuck with the monochrome version featuring a coal wagon for the 12 May 2025.

Framed In Stone

Halifax Town Hall framed in stone. Both the town hall and the half-demolished building on Winding Road (which was probably the works of Haigh, Allan & Co, Brass Founders and Finishers) must be of a similar vintage, but when I took this photograph in 1969, one was going, and one, thank goodness, was staying.