The iron man

Crosby beach has been a location I’ve long wanted to visit, to see Antony Gormley’s Another Place. During our short break in Liverpool last November we headed there on our first morning - a very crisp winter’s day, with snow still lying on the hills beyond the bay. The 100 cast iron sculptures of Gormley’s own body are spread across the beach, looking out to sea and we were lucky enough to arrive when the time was still very low, so we could walk among them.

An hour later, as we walked back to the car, the tide was rising quickly, offering up an entirely different perspective on this amazing art installation.

Photos taken 19 November 2024

Chasing the light

When I was a student I often used reading week as an excuse to make the most of cheap morning tickets for the cinema to catch up on films I wanted to see - a decadent luxury I haven’t enjoyed since then - until this week! When I discovered that I Am Martin Parr, a documentary about photographer Martin Parr was showing at the Picturehouse in Cambridge I booked up for an 11.15am showing and it reminded me of my student days.

Martin Parr is particularly known for his colour photography, but the film included some of his gritty monochrome photos from his younger days in Hebden Bridge too. Around Cambridge the sun was out much of the time, so I decided to go black and white for the rest of the day, exploring the city centre, seeking out curious scenes and beautiful light.

I could have cropped out the solitary leg from this image, but I decided that leaving told more of a story - as thought the cyclist was chasing her out of his lane!

Why did the pigeon need a bicycle?

Caught in the spotlight

Mind the stripes…

I can’t resist a cute dog and these two were both looking very alert as I bent down to photograph them.

The light along Senate House Passage was interesting and as I waited to catch the shadow of a cyclist in the pool of light this little girl came skipping along, without a care in the world.

I finally caught my cyclist, and captured the shadow of the man behind him with the spoke of his wheel too!

Photos taken 25 February 2025

Rustival

At some of the classic car shows we attend there are restrictions on the types of car you can bring, or perhaps a decree about the age of the vehicle. At the end of September we went to a different sort of show, held at the British Motor Museum at Gaydon, where anything and everything was welcome - Rustival.

Alongside the usual classics there were also more modern cars and the one thing they all had in common was they they were their owner’s pride and joy. I particularly liked this Citroen DS - a car which looks as modern today as it did when it was first launched in 1955.

I have no desire to own a big American classic like this, but I’m always drawn to their curvaceous lines and shining chrome!

My favourite photo of the day for its simplicity.

Photos taken 28 September 2024

Bodies of work

When I was invited last year to go and conduct a recorder group in Manchester I immediately decided to use the trip as an opportunity to do some long overdue architectural photography around Salford Quays while I was there. When I arrived there was still a couple of hours left before sunset so I set off to look around and get my bearings, as well as figuring out some possible locations for the following morning.

On the Friday morning a heavy autumn mist had descended on Salford Quays, but that just made things even more atmospheric…

I’d gone to Salford with an open mind about what I might photograph, but I found myself creating several small bodies of work around various parts of the Quays. One of the things that caught my eye was the way the modern architecture on the waterfront was reflected in the shimmering water of the Quays creating colourful abstracts.

While most of my images focus on single buildings, with a vista this dramatic I felt a panorama was also needed to capture the scene, from the Lowry Centre on the left to the Imperial War Museum on the right.

My attempt to create some abstract shapes from the exterior of The Lowry was foiled by this pigeon!

The interior of The Lowry is a riot of colour - a mix of complementary shades of orange and purple. The stark lines of the modern architecture just called out for some minimalist abstracts

Elsewhere in the building the tones are more muted, but no less photogenic.

Another panorama of the Quays - these are the buildings you see in the background on the BBC’s breakfast television show each day!

My circuit of Salford Quays eventually brought me to the Media City Bridge, a cable stay swing bridge which crosses the Manchester Ship Canal, which seemed to call for a monochrome look to highlight its string lines.

Finally I ended my day at the Imperial War Museum. The interior didn’t particularly inspire me, but the curving lines of the exterior have lots of possibilities. I can’t help but wonder what these swooping lines might look like with some low, raking sunshine - a sight I’ll have to hope for on my next visit.

Photos taken 15 November 2024

The magic of candlelight

Last autumn an event popped up on the Southwark Cathedral website which piqued my interest - a candlelit photography evening. I assumed there would be at least some electric lighting so I was surprised to find the Cathedral entirely lit by candles - quite a photographic challenge. Fortunately tripods were permitted, so that made life easier and the slow nature of the photography did at least mean I would have a limited number of images to edit at the end of the evening!

There were only a few dozen of us taking photos so it was easy enough to keep out of each other’s way, and the gloom at the back of many of the scenes made it easier to camouflage the odd photographer who did walk into shot!

As I set up for the photograph below I was initially frustrated when the verger walked into the frame and sat down to check his phone. With hindsight though it’s actually my favourite image of the evening and I think he adds a welcome focus to the picture.

Candlelight reflected off parquet flooring.

Photographs taken 13 November 2024

Evening classics

Yet again I find myself with a backlog of photos to share here on my photoblog and I can’t quite believe that this particular set comes from way back at the beginning of October - better late than never! The regular classic car gathering in the village of Barrington happens on the first Friday evening of the month, so this one was the last of 2024 as after this the evenings become too short.

On this occasion I took just one lens with me - my 75mm prime - with the aim of finding scenes to photograph where I could shoot through objects in the foreground to create a sense of depth. Some of these worked better than others, but using just this longer lens made me look at the world in a slightly different way, which is always a good thing.

Photos taken 4 October 2024

A hidden gem

It’s been a while since I took a diversion from one of my work trips to explore a new church, but when I realised my route down to Sussex took me within easy reach of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Warminghurst on a sunny day I built an extra hour or so into my travelling time for a spot of church hunting.

With most churches that I visit capturing a good shot of the exterior is usually scuppered by a lack of space or dreary weather. On this occasion, I didn’t have me either of those problems as the sun was out and a short stroll down to the end of the Churchyard gave me this lovely view of the building.

Inside, I found some equally beautiful light, pouring through the windows, and throwing shafts of sunshine across the box pews. This gem of a church may be tucked away in the depths of the Sussex countryside, but the welcome was as warm as the sunshine that day. As well as the beautiful harvest festival displays, there was a large flask of hot water for visitors to make themselves a cup of tea or coffee and even some home-made flapjacks for those who were peckish, presumably provided by the volunteer who opens and closes the church each day.

Above my head, I spotted some beautiful wall paintings – I’m not sure how old they are, but I suspect they’ve been there for several centuries.

The leaded light windows cast such beautiful patterns across the floor in combination with the autumn sunshine.

Naturally, my eye was drawn to some of the small details around the church, such as these mouldings on the box pews, a solitary chair and light flooding onto one of the wooden pillars.

Photos taken 11 October 2024