Not too long ago, there were many little mills, bleachers and dyers in the valleys of northern England. The past 20 years has seen them disappear or redeveloped into apartments, as property prices increase and gentrified semi-rural living has become more popular. The valleys of Rossendale though are strangely untouched in this regard, with many…
Author: Andy
#451 – Rossendale Mills – The Lancashire Sock Company
I was comforted to discover that a company called The Lancashire Sock Manufacturing Company exist in a mill in Bacup. I’m not saying this in a patronising, sneering kind of way – I’m always pleased to discover traditional, long established manufacturing companies in old mills. There’s also the no-nonsense ‘does what it says on the tin’…
#450 – Samsung Galaxy S7 Shoot – Crossness Pumping Station 3
And so down into the basement…. Well actually it’s not really a basement as such. Four triple expansion compound steam engines were installed into a new building adjacent to the original one in 1897 to provide additional pumping capacity, but these were removed not long after in 1913 and replaced with Crossley diesels.The diesel engines…
#449 – Samsung Galaxy S7 Shoot – Crossness Pumping Station 2
Beam engines – f***ing big beam engines at that. Crossness is home to four huge beam engines – Victoria, Prince Consort, Albert Edward (the Prince of Wales) and Alexandra (the Princess of Wales). Prince Consort has been restored to full working condition and Prince Consort is now being worked on. At the other end of the…
#448 – Samsung Galaxy S7 Shoot – Crossness Pumping Station 1
Crossness Pumping Station is somewhere I’ve wanted to go for years. The magnificent Kew may have a more central location, glossy website and some giant engines, but Crossness is a marvelous mixture of wrought iron, rust and symmetry that is incomparable. I was really blown away by the place. I trained as an engineer, I’m…
#447 – Samsung Galaxy S7 Shoot – Caroline Gardens Chapel, London
So this was an interesting choice for the second location on our Samsung photoshoot. Caroline Gardens Chapel in Peckham is a small chapel that is rented out for ‘shabby chic’ weddings and other events. It’s not derelict as such, just maintained in a state of (aesthetic) decay to give the right ambience, and the pictures on the…
#446 – Samsung Galaxy S7 Shoot – St.Clements Asylum, London
First location in London was the old St.Clements hospital on Bow Lane. Built in 1848-49 as a workhouse, it later became a psychiatric unit before closing in 2005. The site is now undergoing conversion by Linden Homes, and work had started to strip the place unfortunately. So I did what I always do in completely empty…
#445 – Samsung Galaxy S7 Shoot – London Road Fire Station, Manchester – 3
Final selection from London Road. Not much else to say really that I haven’t already said. A word or two about the phone – yes, I was being paid to shoot these photographs, but that aside, I was very impressed. The HDR mode was immensely useful in these high contrast conditions, and the screen was fabulous….
#444 – Samsung Galaxy S7 Shoot – London Road Fire Station, Manchester – 2
London road fire station is an amazing site, arguably well ahead of its time in that it was a multi purpose building featuring a fire station (plus accommodation), ambulance station, bank and a coroners court in one large triangular site in the heart of the city. It served as a fire station until the 1970’s…
#443 – Samsung Galaxy S7 Shoot – London Road Fire Station, Manchester – 1
Opportunities pass, they don’t pause, someone wise once told me. It was one of those passé sound bites that stuck with me and would spring to mind whenever an opportunity appeared, or more regularly when I failed to take one and regretted it after. So when out of the blue I was contacted by a…
Mechanical Landscapes 