From the South Downs to Birling Gap

June 23, 2025

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

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?

June 13, 2025

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

Finding colour on the streets of Liverpool

June 12, 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

Exploring Chichester…. Slowly

October 15, 2024

With a free day to use as I wished last month while I was down in Chichester for work I decided it was time I finally explored my home city with a pinhole camera. I went with no particular agenda, but had a few ideas of locations I might explore and I mulled these over with a cuppa in my favourite coffee shop. The cafe owner is a keen photographer himself and was very curious about my wooden camera so we had a great chat about my plans for the day.

I began my photographic explorations at the city’s market cross, which is a popular meeting spot and always busy with lots of passersby. From there I headed to a Priory Park, where the sun was bursting through the trees. Elsewhere in the park, a couple was soaking up the sunshine on one of the benches, and a group of people were enjoying a game of bowls.

Priory Park is circled by the city’s Roman walls, so I climbed the steps to the top and took a stroll, enjoying the sunshine and being up among the branches of the trees.

After lunch I headed back into the centre of the city, catching a slow photo of the crowds in East Street, looking back towards the market cross. From there I headed to the Cathedral and spent some time loitering in the cloisters. There were lots of people wandering by, but by the magic of long exposures they’ve all disappeared!

With one photo left on my roll of film I finished my day in what was once a church - now turned into a charming little garden - including myself in the photo to complete the idyllic scene.

Photos taken 13 September 2024

Slow wanderings in London

September 14, 2024

After a long break I finally found time for some more slow photography last month. I wanted to catch an exhibition of pinhole photography at the Barbican Library so I used that as an excuse to take a leisurely stroll around the City of London, as I was already in the area. I started off in Whitecross Street, where I found a miniature street scene painted on the side of a telephone exchange box - a city within a city.

Continuing down the street I found a collection of street food stalls which smelt delicious (shame I’d already had lunch!) and some interesting street art too.

From there I just followed my nose, heading wherever took my fancy, through the tunnel at the Barbican, around Smithfield Market and down to Holborn Viaduct where I admired the regal looking lions.

After a stop for coffee near Hatton Garden I eventually emerged onto Holborn, where I discovered an impressive red brick Victorian complex of buildings at Waterhouse Square. Walking through the square I wanted to photography the huge arch and wondered how long it would be before a security guard came and told me I couldn’t use my tripod. Fortunately I was able to set up and shoot swiftly and got away before anyone spotted me!

It was getting pretty breezy among the tall office buildings, so I took the opportunity to include some of the nearby trees in my photos, adding a sense of movement among the static architecture here and also around St Paul’s Cathedral.

Opposite St Paul’s stands One New Change, a striking glazed building, with a view of the Cathedral framed by two walls. I’ve shot this scene before, but couldn’t resist having one more try!

Finally, with one frame of film left, I ended up at the junction by the Bank of England and the Royal Exchange. Here I chose my spot carefully and waited patiently for a passing bus to add some movement to my final image.

Photos taken 21 August 2024

Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day - Scottish style

July 11, 2024

For the second year in a row I realised I would be in Scotland for Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day so I travelled north, armed with my Ondu 6x6 camera and a large stock of films to suit whatever the weather might throw at me. The day dawned dry, but with lots of rain the forecast so I headed out bright and early to get some shooting in before the deluge arrived.

I began by heading through the docks area of the city to the Footdee (or the Fittie a it’s known locally) - a small collection of fishermen’s cottages with a square at their centre. This pretty little village offered lots of photographic possibilities and it was pretty quiet this early in the morning too.

I found this very rusty mangle sitting in the street and couldn’t help but wonder how long it had been there, slowly being weathered by the salty sea air.

From the Fittie I walked down to the beach, where the tide was out. This gave me access to the rocks which peppered the sand and I also spent some time dodging the waves as they came in around the breakwaters.

Just as I stepped up from the beach the rain arrived so I quickly used up the last frame on my roll of film to catch the coffee bar (converted from a horse box) before heading back into the city centre for an early lunch and somewhere dryer to shoot.

My second location of the day was the city’s art gallery. I had a feeling tripods wouldn’t be permitted so I improvised, using bench, display cases and my little beanbag to balance my camera.

The central oval skylight proved to be a great feature for several of my photos, adding some complementary curves to the many straight lines.

There’s always an opportunity for a ghostly self portrait - on this occasion with a tubular sculpture by Paolozzi.

In the front part of the building I found this wonderful space, with a huge light which seemed like a UFO!

More diagonal lines…

Finally, a stop in the cafe for another ghostly selfie with a cuppa and a scone.

With just a couple of frames left on my roll of film I wandered back to my AirBnB via the churchyard of St Nicholas’ church. There’s something so photogenic about Scottish graveyards compared to English ones - they just seem to do them with such dramatic style!

Photos taken 28 April 2024

Pinhole adventures

July 7, 2024

I’ve had less time recently to focus on my pinhole photography, so when the odd free day has presented itself I’ve grabbed the opportunity. In April I had a couple of pinhole adventures, the first of which was a short walk around Great Bardfield where I spent some time in the village church.

A few days later I visited the Wimpole Estate in Cambridgeshire to finish off my roll of film. The church on the estate isn’t part of the National Trust property, but it was open so I took a look around.

Inside Wimpole Hall I couldn’t use a proper tripod so instead I took my small tabletop tripod. This limited my options in terms of where I could shoot, but presented some interesting low points of view!

Looking up through the staircase which led upwards from the basement.

Photos taken April 2024

Close to home

March 4, 2024

I’ve visited the church of St Mary the Virgin in Stansted Mountfitchet before, but on that occasion I was on a mission to find some suitable photos for an educational blog I was writing. On this occasion I had a much needed morning off and was determined to do some pinhole photos but needed a location close to home. With a journey of just three miles St Mary’s fitted the bill perfectly!

One should always have in mind that you can never get too close with pinhole photography - a strategy which worked well with the church piano.

More close up details.

As I ventured out into the porch the sun was positively warm (much warmer than inside!) and the ornate wooden arch was throwing interesting shadows onto the door.

Along with the warmth of the sun, the snowdrops in the churchyard also gave a hint of spring to come…

Photos taken 15 February 2024

Church to coast

March 2, 2024

Alongside the digital photos I took at St Mary’s Church, North Stoke on the 22nd January I spent time indulging in some slow photography with my pinhole cameras. Having developed the film I have a set which looks very different but still captures the shafts of low winter sun.

While I was there I also used my 6x6 Rise pinhole camera, but with an adapter fitted which split the frame into thirds. That film is still waiting to be finished off as every frame requires three separate photos (somewhat more time consuming!) but it’ll be fascinating to see how they turn out when I get some time to complete the roll.

Click on any image to see it enlarged.

An architectural curiosity - three stone seats for the clergy to use during services.

This is my favourite photo from my visit to St Mary’s. Getting really close is one of the things a wide angle pinhole camera really excels at, and my camera was really close to the bible on the lecturn!

After I’d finished at St Mary’s I sought out some food and then travelled on to Climping Beach. Despite living fairly close by for most of my life I’d never visited before and it’s an extraordinary piece of coastline. The soft, golden sand is interrupted by jagged chunks of chalk and littered with flints - I’d never come across a beach quite like it before!

Peaks and troughs of chalk, kissed by the low winter sun.

The tide was a long way out but there was still plenty of scope to use the breakwaters as focal points for my photos.

A mini-landscape of its own, created by a pool of water on its way across the beach.

Photos taken 22 January 2024

Sunny day Brutalism

January 28, 2024

We’ve had an awful lot of grey, wet days this winter, so when a cold, sunny day coincided with a little free time I decided it was time to return to the Barbican to capture some dramatic light.

I had a roll of film left in my pinhole camera from Christmas so my first priority was to use that up. This enclosed area caught my eye and it struck me that the pool of light falling through the opening above me might create an interesting opportunity for a ghostly self portrait.

In the area opposite St Giles’ Church people were sitting beside the frozen lake enjoying the sunshine, while I made the most of the architectural lines. Meanwhile, on the other side of the centre I found some lovely shafts of sunlight falling among the crisp, brutalist columns.

Once I’d finished off my roll of film I then concentrated on some digital photography, which allowed me to be a little more spontaneous without the need for a tripod. I was fascinated by the way the light falls through the openings in the residential areas of the Barbican.