Low Light Photography – Mechanical Landscapes

#552 – A Decade of Industrial Photography – Final Reflections

I always used to worry that I’d run out of places and things to photograph. It’s not so much that I let my photography define my identity, as I enjoy the whole process of research, photographing, and processing my photographs. Over the past decade, my focus has moved away from urban exploration and more into…

#541 – Review of the decade – 2010

The start of a new decade brings with it a certain degree of reflection, mainly along the lines of ‘f**k me where have the last eleven years gone’. Over the Christmas period I noticed that the papers and other media are full of reviews of the decade, so, slave to convention that I am, I…

#509 – 500 Post Retrospective – More Railways

More from the East Lancs Railway, this time they are all from the works and yard at Buckley Wells in Bury. It’s not normally accessible unless you work there, but is sometimes open for group visits or for photographic night shoots which is where all these were taken. 60163 Tornado, 24th October 2010 70013 Oliver…

#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…