Like most other local photographers, I have always been drawn to Old Lane, Halifax, just for the privilege of walking in Bill Brandt's footsteps. No-one can match his classic 1930s images of the scene, so I have messed about with this 1980s effort of mine to provide a more colourful representation.

I probably took this in the early 1980s at a time when the Dean Clough was about to start a journey of transition from a redundant carpet mill to the busy complex of offices, galleries, restaurants and bars we know today. I wonder what the horse would have made of it all?

I'd like to think of it as an experiment in impressionism, but, in fact, it was the result of a cheap camera, a badly focussed lens, a dark night, and a lot of rain. Those with long memories might recognise the shops around George Square, Halifax fifty years ago.

This "image" of the old power station near North Bridge, Halifax is a version of a photograph I originally took over fifty-five years ago. I may well have featured this photograph before - if I was half the organised person I should be, I would know - and just in case I had, I thought … Continue reading Filter-Foolerings

When you build a town on a hillside, steps become a way of life. Even when the front door faces out at street level, the back door might leave you in near earth orbit. These strong stone steps were on Union Street, Halifax, forty years ago - and they are still there today. Countless bags … Continue reading Union Beyond Hope

If you go beyond Hope Hall in Halifax, you get to Hope Hall Terrace. If you go beyond Hope Hall Terrace, you get to Back Hope Hall Terrace. That is where I took this photo forty or more years ago. It was cold and icy and for some reason the standpipes were out. You can … Continue reading Halifax Beyond Hope?

A photo I took 40 years ago and added some colour to 40 minutes ago. It shows what remains of the front of Hope Hall, Halifax, which is now the back of the Albany Club. 200 years ago it was the home of Christopher Rawson of Gentleman Jack fame. It's seen better days - but where there's … Continue reading Hope

The welcome news that Bradford is set to be the 2025 UK City Of Culture got me thinking about what on earth culture is? Whilst definitions abound, they all tend to be constructed from words and concepts that are about as sound and structured as a jellyfish's ribcage. Clearly culture occupies a seat right next … Continue reading Slam And Slide : Towards A Definition Of Culture

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.