Ferry across the Mersey

The morning after my blustery day on the waterfront at Liverpool the wind had dropped and grey skies were replaced by glorious sunshine - time for a jaunt on the River Mersey! On my speedy walk downhill to the water I passed the concrete luggage which sits on the pavement in Hope Street and just had a to stop for a quick photo.

I made it to the river in time for the first of the day’s river cruises on the Mersey Ferry and loaded my pinhole camera with film ready for some action photography as we travelled up and down the river. With so much sun none of my photos took long, but a shutter speed of a second or two was still enough to capture a sense of movement.

I received a few inquisitive looks as I walked around the boat with my wooden camera and tripod, but in general most people were focused on enjoying the views across the Mersey…

Of course, with so much sunshine there were bound to be some dramatic flare in at least some of my photos….

As we headed back to where we started people began to gather on the deck to grab one last view and some sunshine.

Photos taken 17 April 2025

Waterfront wanderings

My few days in Liverpool back in April were very contrasting. My first day down on the historic waterfront was grey, windy and (at times) wet. My plan was to take a ride on the Mersey Ferry, but the river looked so choppy I quickly dismissed this idea out of hand - that could wait for another day! Instead I used the architecture of the Museum of Liverpool and the Royal Albert Dock as my base - somewhere I could escape the wind and rain as necessary.

Inside the Museum I was immediately advised that I wasn’t permitted to use the tripod I was clutching as I was blown through the entrance by a strong gust of wind. Of course gat wasn’t going to stop me at least trying to take pinhole photos inside this eye catching building! Stealth tripod use in the face of security guards who say they’re banned is a challenge I enjoy, so first shot was taken in plain sight in the lobby downstairs, with my tripod kept low, between my knees, with the camera facing directly upwards. As a I suspected, no one noticed me and I was able to capture the concentric shapes of the roof light above me.

Upon the top floor I tried again, this time with my large format camera, using the large panoramic window to frame the Port of Liverpool and Liver Buildings. Again, no one tried to stop me and by the time a member of music staff came into the room I had all but packed up my tripod again in readiness to leave.

By the time I left the museum the rain had passed so I took the opportunity to catch this view, looking back towards the window I’d just been looking through, before heading off to explore the Royal Albert Docks.

Using the different height pinholes on my Ondu 6x6 Rise camera gave me opportunities to frame some of my images in a different way - in this case using a high viewpoint to frame the view across the water with the arches.

By the time I took this photo the light was beginning to fade, lengthening the time my shutter needed to be open, allowing for some movement in the boats bobbing on the water.

Bicycle and fairy lights…

Photos taken 16 April 2025

Sunkissed pews

During our holiday in Yorkshire, back in April, we visited the town of Pickering and took a look in the Church of St Peter and St Paul while we were there. I didn’t take many photos but the light was glorious and I couldn’t help but marvel at the wonderful wall paintings.

It was difficult to decide which parts of the wall paintings to photograph but I went for this section, featuring St George slaying the dragon.

A pool of light on the terracotta floor tiles.

Beautiful light in the south aisle.

Photos taken 22 April 2025

A project rebooted

Over a decade ago I started a project to photograph all the churches within the Square Mile of the City of London. Once upon a time there were over 100, but the Great Fire, a dwindling resident population, historical town planning and the Blitz have gradually whittled this number down. Yet even today over fifty remain and before Covid struck I’d visited about four fifths of these with my camera. After the pandemic many of the churches were slow to reopen so I’ve focused my photographic interests in other areas for the last five years.

Last week I decided the time had come to reboot my dormant project and I began with a revisit to St Dunstan in the West, in Fleet Street. Over the intervening years my skills and style have evolved so I fear this could become the photographic equivalent of painting the Forth Bridge, but I’m looking forward to improving upon some of my earlier efforts.

St Dunstan in the West is one of two churches with the same name, but St Dunstan in the East, near the Tower of London, remained an empty shell after being bombed during the Blitz and is now a beautiful garden space. Its western cousin is an unusual building. From Fleet Street it looks like a typical, rectangular City church, but when you head inside you find an octagon nave! Although an Anglican church, it shares its space with the Romanian Orthodox Church and London’s Romanian community. This is evident on one of the eight sides, which has an ornately carved wall, creating a private chapel, as you can see above. The three photos below show more details from this corner of the church.

Looking up at the beautiful vaulted ceiling, with the organ below.

The sword rest is a curiosity of most of the City Churches - intended as somewhere for the Lord Mayor to place his sword while at prayer.

The ornately carved pulpit, covered with angels and with a canopy above to help project the speaker’s voice to the congregation.

I found a moment when I had the church to myself to lie on the floor and take this photo!

Smaller details from around St Duntan’s.

Above and below - details and beautiful light among the pews. Each pew is equipped with a number of wooden pegs to hang one’s hat!

Photos taken 28 June 2025