So, it’s a few years since I did this, but as 2016 has been a productive year photographically, I think it’s time for a retrospective.

I guess it’s down to the fact that over the past few years I’ve been busy with my career and family has meant that taking photographs has not been a priority, but a combination of opportunities, a change of job and my daughter becoming more independent has freed up a little more time to take pictures rather than just write about them and reprocessing old ones!

Rossendale Mills – I spent some time looking at the remaining mills in Rossendale, nothing really stood out photographically, but I do like the fact that in an age of meaningless company names and branding, there is still a business called the Lancashire Sock Manufacturing Company.

Next up was Albert Mill in Haslingden, which I wanted to photograph in the mist, but by the time I got there it had started to lift. I opted for a different look in post processing and made them very high contrast instead of the misty low contrast I had in mind if the weather had held.

And then over to Brierfield for a mooch around Brierfield Mill, just before redevelopment work started. It’s not always easy to photograph a building that is totally stripped, and this was no exception – 400000 square feet of nowt, but I managed to get a few good ‘uns I think.

Finally, a bit further up the road is Colne, another old declining mill town.