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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
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
This April I treated myself to a few days in Liverpool, with the aim of focusing entirely on pinhole photography. The day I arrived I checked into my AirBnB and then headed straight over to Jamaica Street to meet up with my friend Rachel Brewster-Wright who has her darkroom space here. After a cuppa and a catch up I had some time to spare before the light faded and I’d spotted some great street art in the area - the perfect excuse to crack open some Kodak Gold 200 film and take some colour pinhole images.
The area around Jamaica Street is full of interesting faces, colours and shapes. The portrait above, of Jurgen Klopp, was the first one to catch my eye - one of Liverpool’s footballing heroes.
This reminded me of ‘Back to the Future’, even if it’s a Ford Capri rather than a Delorean!
I discovered these curious characters around the local skate park…
It just wouldn’t be a complete visit to Liverpool without a connection to the Beatles.
Photos taken 15 April 2025
I never pass up the chance to visit a Cathedral, even if it’s one I’ve been to many times before. In April we passed near Salisbury on our way to a concert so naturally we popped in for a look around. I’ve photographed here in detail before, so on this occasion I ended up shooting two mini projects - the first was to explore the many different animals I found lurking among the choir stalls.
My other mini project was looking for interesting light and as the sun came out there was no shortage of that…
Photos taken 19 April 2025
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
Back in March I borrowed the new Pentax 17 half frame eye, film camera to take part in a photowalk at the Photography Show in London. I shared the photos at the time and was very impressed with the quality of the images from such a small film size. Ultimately I gave into temptation and bought one - a decision I haven’t regretted. It’s become a regular companion when I’ve wanted to travel light as it’s compact and lightweight. I’m usually a fan of medium format film but I’ve been surprised how much I’ve enjoyed the smaller format and the way I can be more spontaneous when I know I’ll get at least 72 photos on each roll of film!
At the start of May I had a whole week away for work, taking in a concert, a course and a couple of rehearsals so I took the opportunity to go minimalist and my Pentax 17 became my only camera for the week. It was my constant companion and I used it to snap anything that caught my eye, starting with a couple of frames from Bosham Church where we were giving our concert.
From there I headed west to Somerset and took a stroll through the village of Meare, where I stayed for a couple of days.
The village church was looking very pretty in the sunshine and I even managed to take a few photos inside, despite using fairly slow film - Ilford FP4+.
Further down the road I found the Fish House, a monastic building originally used for salting and drying fish.
The following day I headed off to Cannington Court, near Bridgwater, for my recorder course. The timetable was pretty full but I sneaked an hour to catch some photos around the house and the walled gardens. The house was covered in beautiful purple wisteria so I also kicked myself for loading monochrome film in my camera!
My final destination was Maidenhead for one of my regular monthly rehearsals. By this stage I was getting towards the end of my roll of film but I was still able to squeeze out a couple more frames!
Photos taken 4-11 May 2025
It was inevitable we’d visit both of Liverpool’s Cathedrals while we were there last November. It never fails to amaze me that both of these buildings were completed during my own lifetime and they’re so different. When we arrived at the Anglican Cathedral the sun was gradually dropping in the sky, creating some beautiful effects as it hit the stonework.
Downstairs in the Lady Chapel.
The seats had all been removed from the nave, creating a very uncluttered view as I looked back towards the crossing.
When in Liverpool it’s only correct to photograph a Liver Bird!
The last time I visited the Metropolitan Cathedral I took lots of photos, documenting the modern architecture, so this time I decided to take a more abstract approach, using the shapes and light I found around me.
One thing I missed out on last time was seeing the crypt as it was being used for university exams. This time it was open and it was wonderful to finally see a glimpse of what Edwin Lutyens had in mind in his design for the Cathedral. This huge crypt was built from millions of bricks, but the advent of World War II stopped construction and the Cathedral which was eventually built above it is very different (and much smaller) than Lutyens’ original design. It’s estimated that is Lutyens’ design had been built in its entirety it still wouldn’t be finished today!
Photos taken 19 & 20 November
Yet again I find myself horribly behind on my Photoblog posts so I’m starting another attempt to catch up with more regular posts. Some photos will be recent, while others, like these, were taken several months ago!
One of the places on my ‘must visit’ list when we went to Liverpool last November was the central library. Admittedly, not a typical holiday destination, but I’d see photos of the modern atrium and the 19th century circular reading room online and they struck me as places I’d like to photograph. I didn’t get very far with the modern part of the library as I could really have done with having a zoom lens on my camera to make more of the shapes. But that gives me a good excuse to come back sometime!
The Picton Reading Room, on the other hand, suited the two small prime lenses I had with me just perfectly and I spent a happy half hour exploring its beautiful lines.
Photos taken 21 November 2024
When Pentax announced their brand new film camera, the Pentax 17, last year I was intrigued. Aside from my pinhole cameras, all the film cameras I use are old ones - some of them older than I am. With parts for old models gradually becoming scarcer it’s great to see a manufacturer like Pentax investing in the development of fresh cameras which aren’t just cheap as chips plastic point and shoot models.
One of the events at the Photography Show this week was a photowalk with photographer Dan Rubin, with Pentax 17 cameras and film provided for us to try. £10 for an hour’s walk with a great photographer, a new camera to try with film and developing (plus a goodie bag containing badges and stickers) - how could I resist that! The 17 is a half frame camera so I wasn’t sure I’d be that excited by it, but I went with an open mind and listened to Dan’s creative suggestions. One of these was to take some of our photos as thematically connected pairs, on the basis that two frames take up the same space as a single 35mm film frame - like the one above. This was an interesting way to shoot and made me think in a different way about the sights I was seeing.
Alongside the paired images I also kept my eyes open for anything that interested me, such as these rippled reflections in the water.
A shared joke…. These two men were having lunch together and something had mad them laugh - perhaps it was the sight of 15 people all running around with the same camera!
Shooting through a pipe in one of the dockside cranes.
Another suggestion of Dan’s was to shoot the same subject on consecutive frames - one with the camera the correct way up and the second with the camera inverted. This creates an interesting geometric effect and is particularly effective where you have some negative space in the photos.
Looking through the reeds towards the O2 and London’s cable car across the Thames.
Two more connected images, but these wouldn’t work as a diptych as they use different orientations.
Suspicion…
The steps to where?
Two more diptyches - the first two views of the dock, using the crane to frame the scene in different ways.
The second was taken from some steps, using the buildings either side of me to frame the view, shooting one of them upside down. Turning the camera upside down is a bit of a brain teaser as the controls are suddenly on the wrong side!
Another diptych, using a contrasting views of the same buildings.
At the end if our hour I’d worked my way through a 24 exposure film (although that netted me about 50 images as you get two photos on each 35mm frame) and I’d got a good feel for the Pentax 17. While it has its limitations, I really enjoyed the spontaneity of half frame shooting and the way it made me think slightly differently.
Photos taken 10 March 2025
When I visit somewhere unfamiliar for work I often try to sneak some photography in too, but that brings the challenge of finding the right location. For my trip to Bristol in February I asked Google for suggestions of ‘interesting architecture in Bristol’ and it came up with Clifton Cathedral. To be honest, until that point I had no idea there even was a cathedral in Clifton so my curiosity was piqued. I discovered it’s a Catholic Cathedral, completed in the early 1970s in the brutalist style, so that was all the information I needed to put it at the top of my ‘must visit’ list!
Inside I found a cavernous space, designed to seat 2000 people, with no one’s view obscured by pillars. The concrete spire stands above a large geometric space, supported by a huge concrete ring beam, and that alone created some amazing combinations of shapes and lines.
Around the cavernous central space are areas with a lower ceiling, but even these offered some fascinating lines and dramatic contrasts of light.
Some of the stained glass has beautiful colours, but even here I was drawn to the contrasts of light and shade, so monochrome seemed the right choice. On a sunny day I might have decided differently!
More hexagonal accents…
The ceiling above the central part of the Cathedral is decorated with three dimensional wooden triangles and the soft light was catching them perfectly to create add more depth than one would expect from a two dimensional photograph.
Photos taken 14 February 2025
