Who said railway photography has to have the train as the main, or only, compositional element? OK, so unless you are a railway enthusiast you may not recognise these lamps as being used on steam engines, but as part of a larger set of images, it adds a different perspective to it. As I often…
Category: Black and White
#61 – British Industry
I took this photo about 5 years ago on an old film camera, and developed the film myself. For some reason, it’s one that I keep coming back to and remains one of my favourite industrial images. The composition was almost forced upon me as I just poked the camera through a fence and hoped,…
#52 – Adding a Bit of Atmosphere 2
Following on from my last post, here’s another from the East Lancs Railway. Same idea, as before, although the engine is now a much larger part of the overall scene. However, I chose to compose it with the mill, water tower and signal box all in the scene, to help add a bit more visual interest….
#51 – Adding a Bit of Atmosphere 1
I’ve now been using the Nikon D700 for exactly a year, and I know this because the first place I took it was to the East Lancs Railway winter steam gala at the end of January. One year on, time for a return visit. Other than a nightshoot at Bury, I’d not done any railway photography since then,…
#46 – the last resort
I’m a fan of the British photographer Martin Parr (or certainly his earlier work), and when I saw this scene at Redcar, I was reminded of his book ”The Last Resort’. If you haven’t seen it, it was an ironic look at New Brighton which showed the somewhat squalid conditions endured by visitors to the…
#45 – re-visiting old images
I took this photo back in 2005 at Ramsbottom station on the East Lancs Railway. I loved the photo, especially the station master emerging from the steam on the right. Unfortunately, as I was shooting straight into the light, I got some ugly lens flare on the front of the engine, and try as I…
#43 – the importance of a good title
When entering photographs into competitions, especially ‘open’ (i.e. unthemed) ones, it is critical to choose a great title for your entry. A good title can make the difference between a judge (or any viewer) looking at the image and thinking ‘I don’t know what the photographer is trying to say!’, or thinking ‘Ah, I get it’….
#40 – The Industrial Tourist
For better or for worse, Britain in 2009 is very much a post industrial society. The physical and economic landscape of the north (and other regions) has been transformed with the well documented decline of the traditional industries, and the rise of the service sector. The skylines of our towns are different to 20, 30…
#39 – Industrial Lines
Taken on a recent tour of a steelworks. I deliberately underexposed, and then did a bit of masking and curves adjustments to get the image I had in mind when I took it. I think they used to call it ‘previsualisation’ in film days.
#37 – Industrial Throwback
It was the smell that hit me initially. A deep, slightly sulphurous smell that reminded me of the aftermath of a passing steam train. But while that is fleeting, this was a permanent, pervasive smell that could be smelt well beyond the shoulder high perimeter wall Inside, the site was dusty and grubby, and outside…
Mechanical Landscapes 