Ramping Up…
It’s been a while since I’ve posted any pictures of the waterfront so I thought that whilst I was on the Wirral I’d take a new one – I actually thought I’d managed to get a shot of the skyline without a crane in sight but closer observation of the full size pic reveals two! I suppose it’s a sign that the city is still growing despite difficult economic times and as such is a good thing – it’d be nice to get just *one* pic without any in though!
How Now Brown Cow!
Next in the series of images that I’ve had on my hard drive for a while, this was shot from the 78 bus, late on a sunny crisp October afternoon last year – I much prefer the autumn/winter for shooting as you get longer shadows & more interesting light, as opposed to the British ‘summer’ which alternates between overcast, very overcast & rain (although sometimes rain does present it’s own opportunities).
Inspired by the excellent website From The Upper Deck, a collection of images taken from the top deck of London buses.
Littlewoods Building, Edge Lane
The Littlewoods building, off Edge Lane. Awesome building, shame it’s still empty.
Hanover/Gradwell
3rd in the series of reflections – this was one of those occasions when you get a lot of funny looks – if people can obviously see what you’re taking a photo of then they don’t seem to mind much but if it’s not immediately obvious, like here where it appeared I was taking a photo of a corner of a window of an empty shop, it really confuses people. Definitely a location with scope for more shots this one.
If you’re in the St.Helens area, I’ve got some prints showing at a new gallery opening there – the Mash gallery is open from Thursday daytime onwards – they’re just around the corner from the railway station, on Haydock Street. It’s a great space and I’m really excited to be displaying there.
Bold Reflection
Next in the series of off-centre reflection shots. A lot of the shops that are now based in Liverpool One have left empty shops dotted around the rest of the city centre area – this is one such shop on Bold Street. It’s a shame to see so many empty shops but it gives you a chance to get shots like these without being hassled.
Radiant Reflection I – Hanover Street
I took the opportunity of being in Liverpool city centre on a gloriously sunny Saturday afternoon to take some reflection shots – the combination of good weather and being the weekend at the same time compelled me to make a special effort!
I’ve tried to avoid my typical symmetrical shots and go for something a little more left or right of centre – this is the first in a series of four, all reflections, all black and white.
Dream, St.Helens
I finally managed to get to see the Dream statue at St.Helens – I’ve been past it on the motorway dozens of times and each time I promise to myself that I’ll go – last weekend I finally did. I was hoping for a nicer day, I’d like to have done some blue sky shots but as it was the weather took a turn for the worse and I’ve had to go down the moody black and white route.
Located on the site of an old colliery, the actual statue itself is very weird – it really messes with your head as you get close up to it as the white concrete surface doesn’t appear to have shape or definition. It’s hard to explain here, it’s best to go and have a look yourself!
Lutyens Crypt, Metropolitan Cathedral
Lutyens Crypt, underneath the Metropolitan (Catholic) Cathedral. Edwin Lutyens original design for the Cathedral would have made it the second largest in the world but the onset of World War II stopped construction (the unfinished crypt was used as an air raid shelter during the war). After the war a lack of funds meant that a new design was necessary and the new cathedral stands on top of the crypt.
This was my first time down in the crypt and it’s a beautiful space. I’m only really familiar with it as CAMRA hold a beer festival down there every year – seems like an odd place for a beer festival? It’s definitely worth a visit, beer drinker or not.
Bishop Eton & St.Peter’s, Liverpool
These shots are taken in two churchyards local to me – Bishop Eton, Childwall and St.Peter’s in Woolton. I noticed how fetching Bishop Eton looked in the snow and then decided to walk to Woolton to have a look around St.Peter’s, which seemed like a good idea at the time but by the time I’d back I was absolutely in bits!
I’m not religious myself but I’ve got an endless fascination for churches, churchyards, graveyards etc – I think this stems back from being taken to see the two cathedrals in Liverpool when I was little by my grandparents, I particularly remember the sheer scale of the Anglican and the unusual light in the Catholic cathedral. Anyway, both churches have lovely churchyards and are well worth taking a look if you’re ever in the area (St.Peter’s also has the ‘Eleanor Rigby’ grave)
Cains Brewery
Last on in the series of dubiousness. This is Cains Brewery, right on the edge of the city centre. It’s a weird but fantastic building – I’ve had a few attempts at doing the long exposure thing here and this is the best I’ve managed. It’s difficult to try and do the long exposure shots here as it’s on the edge of a very long road and standing at the side of it with a tripod makes people think you’re a cozzer with a speed gun – been called a few nasty things trying to get this shot!
Peace
Second to last in the series of photos I’ve not been sure about posting this year – this shot was taken in Allerton Cemetery and is a long exposure. I don’t feel I’ve done the location justice but I’ve not had chance to return. The tree is full of wind chimes that have been placed there by relatives and so is not very peaceful at all, it’s quite eerie in fact.
Foggy Dock
Another shot I wasn’t sure about posting – taken on a extremely cold January evening at the Albert Dock.
Minimalist
I created a smart album in Aperture for 2009 – it lets me look at the year as a whole, almost as a timeline, lets me see what I’ve been doing all year. It’s cool to look back like that – shows you what you’ve been up to & it also lets me see shots that I’ve not posted for one reason or another so the next few shots will be dug out of the archives for this year.
This particular one is of the interesting sculptures/lampposts that line the beach front at Southport.
Liverpool ONE Wheel II
Again, I’ve gone for different shots (or different processing at least) of the big wheel. I had a fun afternoon wandering around it – was great to see how pleased people were with it. There’s rumours we might get a permanent wheel – I hope so.
Calderstones Park, Allerton
Calderstones Park, Allerton. I really need to get into town to take some shots!
Chester Station – Black & White
Went to Chester on Wednesday on the train – Chester station is a proper old fashioned train station with long platforms, big arches and these big pools of light – nice place to take photos.
Rainy Days – Liverpool
The recent atrocious weather has been putting me off getting outside with the camera which is silly really – the rain makes for some interesting shots.
So I reasoned that I should get out and get some rainy day shots – it was only spitting when I left the office but by the time I got into town it was torrential so most of these shots are taken huddling under some sort of cover!
West Kirby Walk II
Another shot from West Kirby, taken on a typically blowy autumn day. It’s a great place to go to blow the cobwebs away.
West Kirby Walk
West Kirby Marine Lake on a very blowy Sunday afternoon. It’s been a good while since I’ve been – the white lines and additional stones on the wall are new since I’ve last been, I assume they serve some sort of drainage purpose – don’t know really but they add to the leading lines in this shot quite nicely.
Going to start doing something that I’ve been meaning to do for a while and start linking to other photo sites and blogs from the area that I follow – the first one I’d like to share is Matt Thomas’ site – Matt lives in West Kirby and has just updated his portfolio site, his shots of local band The Hot Melts are particularly worth keeping an eye out for.
Bricks removed – Mathew Street
Spotted this sign on Mathew Street – walk past this wall all the time and I’ve never noticed it.
Exchange Flags at Night
Exchange Flags at night – someone has put up these cool spotlights that seem to get moved around a fair bit, so every time I go back the light has changed. They’re currently pointed at the floor in front of the statue and at the newsroom war memorial in the wall near the walkthroughs. Was after an old black and white movie feel here.
I’ve also started working on a 365 project – for those who don’t know what a 365 project is, the idea is you take a photo every single day for a year. There’s no particular theme to mine but to keep it interesting (to me anyway!) I am sticking to the one camera body (my old D40, assuming it lasts the course) and an old Nikon 50mm 1.8 lens – manual metering, manual focus, nothing automatic in other words. You can find the first six days of my 365 here.
Emerge, blinking, into the daylight….Exchange Flags
I’ve googled the life out of it but I still can’t find an original source for the quote “They emerged, blinking, into the daylight….” – maybe my search engine skills ain’t what they used to be, any help much appreciated….this is the walkthrough from Exchange Flags to Old Hall Street – I’ve got loads of ideas about how to best shoot this space but this is the only one I’ve tried so far.
Whilst I’ve got your attention, I’ve completely rebuilt the portfolio side of my site – please have a look. All feedback & comments welcome!
