Category: Scanned Negatives

Back Yard, Sheffield, 1980

I took this photo in the back yard of our house in Sheffield 40+ years ago. It's sometimes said that Sheffield was built on 7 hills, but, in truth, it's more like 70. Most folk had hills in their back garden and washing banners flying from clothes prop flagpoles.

Market Days In Brighouse

My scanning project this week takes me back further than I almost care to remember, back to the late 1960s when England were World Cup winners, Carnaby Street was fashionable, and Brighouse still had a Council. At some stage I was walking around Brighouse with my camera, and I went into the Open Market, which, … Continue reading Market Days In Brighouse

Looking Inside … To Find An Elephant In The Room!

The wonderful thing about old 35mm negatives is that they come in strips. I used to always process my own, and cut them into strips of six negatives for storage, and this has preserved a degree of continuity when it comes to the relationship between individual photographs, half a century or more down the line. … Continue reading Looking Inside … To Find An Elephant In The Room!

Railway Shed, Halifax

This is a scan from the same strip of negatives I have been featuring this week. Based on clues from its neighbouring shots, it must have been taken in Halifax around 1972. It is clearly an old railway siding, and it could have been in one of two possible locations: either the railway sheds which … Continue reading Railway Shed, Halifax

Stamping Ground

Yet another strip of old negatives enters the scanning machine and immediately comes up with a long-dormant memory. It dates from fifty years ago when it was quite common to find these strange looking cast-iron machines on station platforms. This one, if my memory serves me right, was on the platform of Halifax Station, and … Continue reading Stamping Ground

Memory Maps Of Halifax

They should call old photographs “memory-maps” because that is what a half-decent old photograph is. You should be able to sit down with a cup of tea and a magnifying glass and, in your mind, walk down streets that are long gone and look at buildings that are equally long-demolished. Take, for example, these photograph … Continue reading Memory Maps Of Halifax

Reflections On Bull Green

Yet another of my photographs of Bull Green back in the 1960s. This one presents a bit of a challenge, however, because Bull Green and all its shops are seen as reflections in a car showroom window. You may recognise DOOWNEERG, the well-known bookshop, or you may be drawn to SNIWEL (but only if you … Continue reading Reflections On Bull Green

Berlin, 1983 (I Think)

I hid from the rain today by delving into the endless files of unsorted and unscanned photographs I have amassed in some 65 years of photography. The strip of four 35mm colour negatives that found itself on the top of the pile provided an entertaining diversion and a pleasant trip down memory lane, although it … Continue reading Berlin, 1983 (I Think)