Enough of all this modern stuff, with seagulls screaming and tall ships leaving. It's back home and back in time, back forty or more years, back to a Halifax in transition. Carpets had gone but commerce hadn't arrived, the chimneys were smokeless, but the trees hadn't grown. Ponies grazed on regenerative pastures.
Tag: Scanned Negatives
Street In Brighouse
I've always called this photograph "Street In Brighouse" because I have never been quite sure which street it was. I'm pretty certain it was Brighouse - the rest of the photographs on the same strip of negatives were certainly in and around Brighouse. As I travel through the town, even to this day, I try … Continue reading Street In Brighouse
Pawn Brokers, Heel Breakers And Empty Prams
This was taken in London more than half a century ago. My future wife was living in North London at the time, and I would make my way there from the station, as always, taking pictures as I walked. These "nothing in particular" photographs turn out to be rich sources of social history: pawn brokers, … Continue reading Pawn Brokers, Heel Breakers And Empty Prams
Copy Right
This is a photograph from at least sixty years ago, taken outside the Withens Hotel in Wainstalls, Halifax. The building is no longer a pub; it was converted into a private residence shortly after being gutted by fire in 2001. I have a feeling that I am one of the hooded figures in the picture … Continue reading Copy Right
Desktop Publishing
I seem to have quite a collection of photographs of my desktop. Back in ancient times, these would be means of using up the last frame or two of a film before developing it. These days, it is the result of pressing combinations of keys on a computer keyboard by mistake. This, however, is a … Continue reading Desktop Publishing
All Change At Brighouse
As I drive into Brighouse later today and glance down at the River Calder from Bradford Road Bridge, I will be checking the river levels rather than the aesthetics of the view. Perhaps, however, I should take a moment to compare the current scene with this photo I took almost 60 years ago. The river … Continue reading All Change At Brighouse
Melange Messing
Melange Printing is defined as the printing of textile fibres with bands of colour alternating with unprinted areas. This is one of my old photographs taken from North Bridge in Halifax, which shows Fletchers' mill. Fletchers were specialists in melange printing. I have messed with the photo so that we have a melange print of … Continue reading Melange Messing
Industrial Superglue
I've always admired the way that builders of mills and factories in these parts were never put off by an inconvenient hill. Industrial workplaces were often almost superglued to the sides of valleys - like Crawford-Swifts on Claremount Road, Halifax in this photo of mine from 35 years ago. Commercial premises of the modern era … Continue reading Industrial Superglue
A Photographic Sports Jacket
Someone asked me the other day whether I had any photos of the Daily Tailors shop in Halifax - and going through my archives, I discovered I had one - or at least half of one (think of it as a photographic sports jacket rather than a suit). The photo must be one of my … Continue reading A Photographic Sports Jacket