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.
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.
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.
Calderstones Park, Allerton
Calderstones Park, Allerton. I really need to get into town to take some shots!
Coffee?
Washed up coffee jar at Formby. Went there for a walk today – got properly togged up expecting the worse from the weather, being November and all – what a gorgeous day. Slightly windy and not very cold at all – stayed until it was dark, great day.
More Grafton Street Graffiti
Alternative view of the graffiti from the last post – I wish I’d found this fella before Halloween!
Grafton Street Revisited
Graffiti on Grafton Street – I’ve posted graffiti from this same wall before (one two three), every single time I go past there’s something added or changed, I love it.
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.
Autumnal Calderstones Park II
Second in series from the very autumnal Calderstones Park – love the streaming light from the low sun at this time of year.
Autumnal Calderstones Park
Having lived around here for a good while now, I’ve always wanted to get a shot of the park in it’s full autumnal glory but I’ve never had the chance – dull skies, earlier sunsets etc but I managed to get down there earlier in the week when there was blue skies and long shadows.
I’m glad I did – a walk around the park with the gorgeous autumn colours reminded me how lucky I am living where I do – there’s several of these parks within walking distance from where I live and it’s fantastic to have so much green space so near.
No stopping (Clearway) – Liverpool Airport
A RyanAir flight descending into Liverpool John Lennon Airport obeys the Highway Code.
Buried along with her name – Eleanor Rigbys Grave
In honour of this weekends Mathew Street Festival, I thought I’d do a Beatles based photo. This grave is located in St. Peter’s Parish Church in Woolton which is where the Lennon & McCartney first met but Paul McCartney has denied ever seeing the gravestone. Cool snippet from Wikipedia:
“In June 1990, McCartney donated a document dating from 1911 which had been signed by the 16-year-old Eleanor Rigby to Sunbeams Music Trust [1], instantly attracted significant international interest from collectors because of the significance and provenance of the document.[22] The nearly 100-year-old document was sold at auction in November 2008 for £115,000.[23] The Daily Telegraph reported that the uncovered document “is a 97-year-old salary register from Liverpool City Hospital.” The name E. Rigby is printed on the register, and she is identified as a scullery maid. Her great grand-daughter is actress Emma Rigby.”
Going to try and get out around the festival this weekend so hopefully the weather will stay nice! Not holding me breath though….
Speke Sunset – Liverpool
The waterfront at Speke – it’s a weird contrast down there between the natural waterfront and the industrial units behind it. I keep promising myself that I’ll spend a bit more time down there but never get round to it (I’d like to have a proper look at the yacht club now it’s finished). There’s some lovely views over to the Welsh mountains and the sunsets are quite often lovely.
Caught By The River – Crosby Waterfront
One from the archives – this was taken on a very cold, very stormy January day at Crosby, one of the first shots I took with my Sigma 10-20 lens. Still love the different dimension it brings to photos.
Wash & Go
A local laundrette from Allerton, Liverpool. I’d spent all night down at the waterfront taking photos and spotted this on the way home – I’m probably happier with this shot than with anything from the rest of the night. There’s a lesson there somewhere, I’m sure of it….
Do You Want Fries With That?
Saw this little fella in the car park of a popular fast food restaurant – seems he’s fed up with nuts and has moved onto fries. It’s only a matter of time before they move onto burgers and nuggets and then God help us all…:)
