Echo Wheel of Liverpool III
Last of the shots of the big wheel, for now anyway. Trying to find a different angle of the wheel, this shot was taken from the Liverpool Marina.
The Echo Wheel of Liverpool II
Second shot of the new wheel on the waterfront – still disappointed it’s not the other way round so it’ll be more visible from the Wirral side (the Liverpool One wheel was mostly obscured by other buildings) but no-one ever thinks of the photographers….
The Echo Wheel of Liverpool
One of two shots of the wheel I managed to get before being moved on by Arena security (very politely, it must be said.) The wheel is 60 foot high and you’re supposed to be able to see all the way to Wales on a good day – not been on yet so I’ll reserve judgement.
I can’t make my mind up whether this looks better in colour or black and white, so have a look at the mono version here.
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.
For The Lovers
I’ve had this shot kicking around for a while but given that’s it Valentines Day on Sunday, I thought it was appropriate to post now.
This shot was taken at the beach at Formby and I’d like to dedicate it to my gorgeous fiancee Sian, who puts up with me wandering around places like Formby for hours at a time, normally in the freezing cold, looking for interesting shots and does so without complaint. She’s my biggest fan and my biggest critic and I’d be lost without her.
Waterfront
I wanted to get a photo of the Liverpool skyline with the Liverpool One wheel in it before it was taken down but only managed to get over to the Wirral on Friday night when it was very windy and the river was very choppy, so no nice reflections and I couldn’t get an angle to get the wheel without a building in front.
There’s going to be a new wheel in front of the Echo Arena but I think it’s a real shame that the Liverpool One wheel couldn’t have stayed where it was – it was a real attention grabber, a talking point and gave Chavasse Park some purpose. The site in front of the arena is only going to afford a good view of, well, the Arena and the Albert Docks. Interesting if you’ve only come to see a concert and have 15 minutes to spare but it’s not showing the city off in the best possible way (having said that, if they build it side on in front of the Arena it’ll be a lot easier to see from the Wirral…:)
Calm
I took this photo at Hoylake a couple of weekends ago – I haven’t been so cold in a long time! I was struggling to get steady shots with a tripod as I was dithering so much – there was a mother and daughter there at the same time trying to get the same shot but with a tiny compact camera – after many attempts and much swearing, they eventually gave in. I like the dampening effect that fog has on the surrounding area – it was so quiet it was eerie. Bitterly, bitterly cold day.
Discarded
Last of the snow posts – it’s weird how permanent the snow seems when it first falls and yet it’s gone so quickly – it’s also odd how fast the snow goes from “Oooooh, pretty!” to “Pain in the arse this snow, can’t wait for it to melt!”.
Anyway, back to the shot – I liked how the blue of the umbrella stood out against the snow but sat nicely with the sky. This is another shot from Calderstones Park, a madly popular place when the snow falls.
Brrr-anching Out
Apologies for the puntastic title – not had a chance to get out shooting for a while so have one from the snow days, this is one of the lovely old trees in Calderstones Park.
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)
Foxy!
Spotted this little fella frolicking in the snow in the back garden – I didn’t want to go out in the snow as I’ve seen plenty enough of it recently so he’s saved me from going outside (and no doubt falling on my clumsy arse!)
Goodbye 2009!
Bit late this as usual but that’s 2009 been and gone – looking back over the year (photographically speaking), there’s been some obvious personal highlights – taking part in the Fab Collective exhibition in August was awesome (there’s more to come from Fab – stay tuned) and the lovely folk at Cromwells in Irby showing my photos in their restaurant and then also giving me an open night to show them off was absolutely brilliant and gave me my first glimpse of what it might be like to work as a photographer professionally, it’s something I’ll always be eternally grateful to them for.
Looking back at the photos I took over the year, a few favourites jump out – On Reflection and Our Lady and St.Nicholas in Unity – both purely for the fact that I’ve seen the potential for the shot in each a long time before I managed to capture them how I wanted, an aspect of photography I’ve enjoyed since I’ve taken it up. The other shot I like is of a smashed up pinball machine off Hardman Street – I love this one as if I’d seen the same scene the year before, I would have struggled to know where to start shooting it but straight away I had ideas about the way I wanted to capture it, how I would process the shots and so on – in my head it’s a nice little indicator that I’ve made some progress.
As for this post, it’s been a good while since I’ve posted a signature puddle shot or anything of the Royal Insurance Building and I like the mad perspective on this one.
All the best for 2010 everyone – thanks for reading.
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.
Say Hello & Wave Goodbye…
Taken in mid-March, this is another shot I wasn’t entirely happy with, mainly due to annoyance with myself! I only had the one lens with me this day, an old 50mm that I don’t use enough and was trying to force myself to get acquainted with properly – would have loved to have seen this shot when I had the 10-20 with me!
Foggy Dock
Another shot I wasn’t sure about posting – taken on a extremely cold January evening at the Albert Dock.
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.
Liverpool ONE Wheel
I’ve had a go at getting some different shots of the wheel – I’m sure someone has already taken all of these shots as the wheel has been togged to death but it doesn’t hurt to try….there’s a short video down there as well, which is a new thing for me.
Calderstones Park, Allerton
Calderstones Park, Allerton. I really need to get into town to take some shots!
Sefton Park Palm House
I’d gone wandering in Sefton Park hoping to catch some autumnal sunsets a couple of months back but I’d annoyingly missed the nice light so settled for taking photos of the Palm House instead. I’ve never spent much time investigating this lovely building – it’s on my list of “things I really must spend more time photographing”.
I also bumped into fellow Fab Collective photographer Will – his website is here. Check out his stuff from the Lake District and his time-lapse photography from the top of the Anglican Cathedral. I keep forgetting that I said I’d link to other sites that I follow – that needs to go on another to list!
Hats off
Shot from when the QM2 was in town a while back – can’t get enough of the big ships, the cruise liner terminal is one of the best things to have happened to the city in the past few years.
The only problem with this ship was it’s sheer size – everything else that comes in afterwards is going to look like a tiddler in comparison.
