This is a wonderful photograph - so much more eloquent than the usual smiling-face mugshot. That's my mother pointing, my brother Roger digging in the sand, and me looking attentively at what she's indicating. I suspect that could be Liverpool as the background suggest the photo was taken in New Brighton. Even the sloping horizon … Continue reading Liverpool!
Tag: Seaside
Fishy Shapes
Like a cross between Halloween-costumed children and monsters auditioning for Doctor Who, these smokestacks dominated the skyline at Grimsby Fish Docks 40 or 50 years ago. I visited the docks whenever I could and took photographs of what was clearly a way of life living on borrowed time.
Yes, It is Me
What finer representation of 1950s Britain can there be? It's the summer holidays and the family's annual week at the seaside (in this case, Bridlington in Yorkshire). The weather is such that plastic raincoats and heavy overcoats are standard issue. People sit on deck chairs and stare out at the grey, rain-soaked clouds. And the … Continue reading Yes, It is Me
The Quiet, Rhythmic Beauty Of Cleethorpes
There is a quiet, rhythmic beauty to the seaside that only reveals itself when the tide retreats, and this photograph captures that fleeting interval with striking architectural precision. The image is framed through the industrial skeleton of a Victorian-style pier, using the heavy, dark ironwork as a literal and metaphorical lens through which we view … Continue reading The Quiet, Rhythmic Beauty Of Cleethorpes
The Birth Of Aphrodite In Cleethorpes
There is something about the arrangement of the bodies - the way they stand, the way they interact. You almost feel that if Botticelli were seeking the birthplace of Aphrodite today, he would abandon the seashell in favour of a one-armed bandit. You suspect that Leonardo might seek out The Last Supper in an amusement arcade in … Continue reading The Birth Of Aphrodite In Cleethorpes
Skegness Rock
You can cut this picture up into a dozen pieces, and each one will have Skegness running through it. It will have a bracing wind blowing sand up from the North Sea beaches, it will have slot machines and dodgem cars, plastic buckets, and caravan parks. A bargain bundle for only one pound.
Three For The Price Of One
I wanted something cheery for Friday the 13th - there is enough bad luck and misery going on around us at the moment without me adding to it. We also have a Sepia Saturday prompt this week that features family groups, so here is my brother (left), my mother, and I (I'm the cute one … Continue reading Three For The Price Of One
Do Seagulls Screech In Cleethorpes?
Whenever I look back at the photos I took in Cleethorpes in the 1980s, I am reminded of the trauma caused by the gradual loss of my hearing during that decade. For whatever reason, I seemed to be drawn to open spaces, to that hinterland between land and sea where vision was king and hearing … Continue reading Do Seagulls Screech In Cleethorpes?
That Look
My love of images is very much a love of static images rather than moving ones. I'm not a TikTok type of chap; I've never been comfortable with films and videos. With a single photo, you are forced to survey the scene and then focus on the content: the caller's microphone, the attendant's raised arm, … Continue reading That Look
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