Stories abound about so-called primitive tribes who would shun photographers in the belief that cameras can capture the spirit of the photographers' subjects. As with many such stories, it is of dubious veracity: but if such tribes ever did exist I have a degree of sympathy with their beliefs. Nothing comes close to capturing the … Continue reading Experiments With A DNA Camera
Tag: Burnett Family
Why Not Have It Enlarged?
What a wonderful invention: a machine that takes your photograph and weighs you at the same time. And even better - it prints the resulting weight on the photograph so that you have something to remind you of that day you had an extra large portion of fish and chips, not to mention the knickerbocker glory.
Talking To Gladys
Scanning and retouching old photographs is a little like doing a jig-saw puzzle - it allows you to get up close to detail. Cast a passing glance at a photograph from eighty-odd years ago - you can use this photograph of my mother, Gladys, on the seaside sands as an example - and you might … Continue reading Talking To Gladys
Happy Birthday Albert
It would have been my fathers' birthday today - he would have been 107 years old! This photograph must have been taken in the late 1920s in Bradford, Yorkshire when, as a teenager, he would have been looking forward to what life would bring him. It brought him a long and happy life and a … Continue reading Happy Birthday Albert
Constantly Updating Amy
This photograph of Amy and Wilf Sykes must have been taken in the mid 1930s. Amy Beanland was born in August 1904 in Keighley, Yorkshire, the eldest daughter of Albert and Kate Beanland (my mother Gladys was Amy's younger sister). Wilf was born in the Yorkshire town of Pontefract, the son of a local policeman. … Continue reading Constantly Updating Amy
The Language Of The Mill And The Stone Terraced House
I have always found old photographs to be the best stimulus for rekindling memories. This is a photograph of my grandfather, Albert Beanland (1875-1948) which must have been taken in the 1930s or 1940s when he was living along with his wife, Catherine, in Bradford. Albert died in the same year I was born, so … Continue reading The Language Of The Mill And The Stone Terraced House
Abe, The Set Piece-Taker
This photograph was taken on the occasion of the retirement of Abraham Moore, which - according to the date stamped on the back of the print - was in January 1947. Abraham was the father of my uncle, Harry Moore, and it would appear that he was 73 years old when he retired. All I … Continue reading Abe, The Set Piece-Taker
Young Albert
ALBERT BURNETT (1916/17) This is a scan of a tiny old photograph (only 3cm wide) of my father, Albert Burnett. At a guess I would say that he was about five or six years old when this photograph was taken which would make it either 1916 or 1917. The clothes are more than a century … Continue reading Young Albert
Coalman John
This photograph of my uncle, John Arthur Burnett (left), must have been taken in the late 1920s or early 1930s. By that time, John had served in the Great War in France, been taken prisoner by the Germans, been married and divorced. The vehicle looks like it might have belonged to a coal merchant. Such coal … Continue reading Coalman John