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

Goodwood nostalgia

While I love the cars at Goodwood, one of the things which makes the Revival so atmospheric is the way most of the visitors come wearing clothes appropriate to the period between 1948 and 1966, when the circuit was in active use. This creates a wonderful feeling of nostalgia and I love lurking in the paddocks, people watching.

There are always familiar faces to be spotted in the paddocks - in this case former rally driver and broadcaster Tony Jardine, looking very dapper.

The rain at last year’s Revival made added some variety and made for some interesting scenes.

For the 2024 Revival I made a change to the camera kit I used. Normally I’d take a selection of prime lenses, but this time I spent most of my time using my 35-100mm f2.8mm zoom lens. This gives the look of a 70-200mm lens on and was perfect for capturing candid shots of people without being too intrusive.

I’d love to know what these two chaps were discussing!

This was snapped during a downpour when everyone dived into the paddock shelters. It’s one of my favourite photos from the weekend - so timeless and atmospheric.

I had to dodge the rain and the puddles to capture these two mechanic with their “don’t get in our way” expressions!

Motorsport fans are getting younger and younger!

Looking to the skies during one of the early morning air displays.

The work never stops for the Duke of Richmond…

A very stylish young lady.

Photos taken 6-8 September 2024

A moment of calm

During my busy working life there are times when I just need to slow down for a moment and pinhole photography is a great way to make that happen. Back in April I headed over to St John’s Church in Duxford and spent an hour or so chasing the light. I’ve photographed here many times before but the light is never the same as the seasons change. On this occasion I started in the churchyard where the cowslips were flowering. Of course my photo doesn’t capture their vivid yellow tones, but I decided to shoot from a low perspective to catch them in the foreground anyway.

Inside the church, the light was as glorious as ever, creating pools of illumination around the building.

This was one of my slower shots (an eight minute exposure) but I couldn’t resist the textural details of this door and its latch.

Two different perspectives of the nave…

More pools of light, this time from the west window.

The light in the porch was very contrasty, creating some very graphic lines.

My final photo of the afternoon, taken from a higher perspective beside the pulpit.

Photos taken 11 April 2025

From the South Downs to Birling Gap

Way back in February we’d planned a short trip to Eastbourne to be part of a podcast recording, after which I was then heading west for work. I had a free day in between though, and there were two locations on my photographic agenda.

The first was the Church of the Good Shepherd in Sullington, up on the South Downs. I learnt about this tiny little church from the YouTube channel of a fellow pinhole photographer, Will Gudgeon, and it’s been on my list of places to visit ever since. Will was kind enough to give some tips on where to park and how to find the church was it stands in the middle of farm land, some distance from the nearest road.

The Church of the Good Shepherd is genuinely tiny, with perhaps room inside for a dozen people. It originally formed part of a larger church, but all that remains of this larger structure are a few fragments of wall.

You wouldn’t expect the weather to be wonderful in February, but with the church’s exposed location on the South Downs it felt even more blustery and cold. To top things off we then had a hailstorm, so I was very grateful the door was unlocked. While I waited for the stinging hailstones to peter out I made the most of the opportunity to take a slow photo inside!

A small slit window in the stub of one of the walls from the original church.

After I’d meandered back to the car I headed once again towards the coast and stopped of en-route at the church in Litlington to finish off my roll of film.

My second destination for the day was Birling Gap. After a warming lunch in the cafe I loaded up a fresh roll of film and braced myself for an hour on the beach below the chalk cliffs. By now it was blowing a hoolie and keeping my tripod stable was a bit of a challenge - sometimes I had to place my body strategically to create something of a windbreak!

The beach at Birling Gap is a mix of chalk and flint which made for some very striking patterns. I’d timed my visit for low tide, just as the sea was beginning to return so I kept my eyes peeled for places where the water was running back in between these stony ridges.

Capturing the ridges of chalk and flint as the waves came in took a good sense of balance and timing. As I stop atop the larger rocks I waited for the waves to come in and hoped I didn’t lose my footing or find the water had inundated my return path to dry land!

Photos taken 7 February 2025

Museum light

There are certain buildings which never fail to get my photographic juices going. Sometimes that’s down to the architectural lines; on other occasions it’s because of the way the light falls within the space. The Museum of Liverpool falls into both these categories, and when we visited last November I found some new angles on a space I thought I’d already explored pretty fully.

Photos taken 21 November 2024

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?

Towards the end of our April holiday in Yorkshire I had a few frames of film left in my pinhole camera so naturally I took it along with me. Our day out in Scarborough seemed like a good pinhole photo opportunity so I brought along my mini tripod and an open mind and kept my eyes peeled for scenes which might work from a low point of view.

Down at the harbour…

Getting up close and personal with a selection of ropes from boats moored at the harbour.

Steps not in use…

A worm’s eye view of the lighthouse.

Photos taken 25 April 2025

Christmas Eve on the beach

It’s become a bit of tradition over the years for me to visit the seaside on Christmas Eve, usually with one of my pinhole cameras in hand, and in 2024 I did exactly that. The Sussex coastline isn’t know for its drama, and on this particular day I had a double dose of calm in that the tide was out and it was misty too - no dramatic crashing wavescapes for me!

One lovely thing that West Wittering does have though is some sand dunes and I couldn’t resist featuring the marram grass in some of my photos.

There may not have been many folks using their beach huts, but the owners of this one were getting in the festive spirit.

There’s always time for a slow motion selfie…

Photos taken 24 December 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