There is something about old black and white photographs - the way they flatten and simplify scenes; the way they mask so much and reveal even more. I'm sure we saw scenes in black and white as soon as we looked through the viewfinder back in those days - we had monochrome eyes. Colour was … Continue reading Monochrome Home
Category: Scanned Negatives
An Excursion To Burslem
We all have ways of passing the hours; exercises in pointless occupation that relax and revive our troubled minds. I like to wander through my old negative albums trying to track down where I took photographs half a century or more ago. Today's excursion on Google Earth took me down Newcastle Street, Burslem - fifty-four … Continue reading An Excursion To Burslem
Ring O’Bells
I took this photo of the Ring O'Bells pub in Halifax over 50 years ago. You can tell it's old, not because its a black and white photo (there are filters that can fake that), nor because the building is old (it's even older now). It's partly the signage - or lack of it - … Continue reading Ring O’Bells
The Leaving Of Halifax
This is a recent "messed-about" version of a photo I originally took back in 1968, which features the railway line out of Halifax. My father worked in the factory on the left and for a time, I worked in the mill on the right. Around the time I took this photo I left Halifax for … Continue reading The Leaving Of Halifax
Neon Memories
This is a photograph of George Square in Halifax, taken - as far as I can remember - in the mid 1960s. You don't get to see much, just a few neon signs and fuzzy shop windows, but you don't need to see much to spark a memory. This is Halifax's answer to Times Square … Continue reading Neon Memories
A Different Picture
If you go to Sheffield these days, one of the most vibrant parts of the city is Kelham Island - an area awash with bars, restaurants, and modern apartments. If you go back 40 years, it was a different picture - as my picture shows.
Copley Conversation
Extracts From A Conversation 60 Years Ago: Someone Else : "Why are you taking a photograph of Copley Bridge?" Me: "I don't know, perhaps it wont be there one day and it will be interesting to look back and see a picture of what it used to look like". SE: "Don't be silly!"
And Then They Left
It was 1982, a couple of years before the miners' strike. It was the annual Yorkshire Miners' Gala which, that year, was taking place in Doncaster. The pit banners had already been paraded through the town to the tune of a dozen brass bands. And then they left.
Fire, Fire!
Yet another photo from that "Fire In Halifax" sequence of mine from 59 years ago. Do firemen still have helmets like this? Do kids still gather around to watch the excitement? These days they would be filming it for a TikTok video - but wan't I doing just that all those years ago?
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