Tea in a Coffee Shop

Tags

black&white photography, Edge of Humanity Magazine, life, people, photography, public transport, we are street, windows, women in street, women street photographers

Sat in local coffee shop drinking tea, as one does in a coffee shop, anyway I sit near the window because the light is fabulous and often times something to see..

 

..and see something indeed I did, through the thick glass of the cafe window across the pavement and through another window I saw a girl sat with her mum waiting for her bus journey to begin.  Then she saw me too and squashed her face against the window and I got my shot of the day.

The bus left and I sat there happily drinking my tea knowing I had caught a great expression from the girl on the bus.

JD3

Tags

adventures of an Old Bird, Blackpool, Blackpool Football Club, Edge of Humanity Magazine, flaneures, football, football fans, Guardian Witness, JD3, Lensblr, Notarianni's, protest, scooters, street photography, women in street, women street photographers

On Saturday 6th May ’17, fans from all over came together to support and march in protest against the continuing ownership at Blackpool by the Oyston family and to highlight that change is needed in football governance throughout the English Football League.

The Football Supporters Federation officially endorsed this action as a Fans United Day and representatives from all 92 league clubs joined Blackpool fans to make their voices heard.

The Football Supporters Federation officially endorsed this action as a Fans United Day and representatives from all 92 league clubs joined Blackpool fans to make their voices heard.

Blackpool’s famous ‘Notarianni’s Ice Cream  company showed their support for JD3 giving out 50 FREE tubs of jelly & ice cream on Waterloo headland as the protest passed

..and the crowd continued to Bloomfield Rd, where after burning effigies of the offending parties and minor skirmishes….

Blackpool beat already relegated Leyton Orient 3-1, the crowds left quietly..and I had a great day  climbing on walls, getting on the PA truck, being in the firing line of eggs and flares and even getting shouted at by the police!  All adds to the adventures of an Old Bird!

 

 

Power Pole

Tags

adventures of an Old Bird, black&white photography, Edge of Humanity Magazine, fine art photography, Flaneuse, Lensblr, photography, women in street, women street photographers

I never leave the house without my camera, always wear comfortable shoes and when on the street I look around and take as many photographs as I can. Am rarely happy with all of them, I might shoot 80 pics and if 2 or 3 are keepers then am very lucky.

It’s not always about the sharpness but it is always about the light.

I love my photography and am lucky to be in a position where its not my main source of income so this leaves me time to perfect the art of flanerie and freedom to find beauty in the banal.

 

 

 

Gilden in Manchester

Tags

Bruce Gilden, Edge of Humanity Magazine, exhibition, faces, faces at an exhibition, flash photography, Manchester, Manchester Art Gallery, photography, street portraits

Have to be honest and admit that up until these last few months I was never a huge fan of Bruce Gilden. I always found his method of using flash up close and personal, shooting the unsuspecting public on the street, a little too intrusive and rude. But have to admit that having tried it myself this last winter, it is harder than it looks and takes courage and a lot audacious impertinence.

When I heard about the ‘Strange & Familiar’ exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery I knew that this was an opportunity to see just what Gilden was really saying with his brusque manner.

And I was really blown away…a great day spent wandering through the rooms with images beautifully displayed, thinking to myself one visit wasn’t ever going to be enough to absorb the details, locations and  characters in all the images. Then I saw them…

..displayed across one wall, these huge violently grotesque color portraits, four faces staring back at me complete with every type of blemish, pimples, spots, cuts and bruises, nostril hairs, caked makeup, toothless gums and furrowed brows. What a spectacle these faces are and what a privilege to see them, love each one, spots and all!  Will be going back again and will be venturing out with my off camera flash just to see if I can ever muster up the courage to capture a stranger close enough to see the downy hair on their cheeks or the veins on a bulbous nose.

Above images were taken at the exhibition and am quite pleased with the result but also realize that if not for Gilden these would be bland everyday images of people just milling about. Would love him to come to Blackpool and see what he could capture on the streets of the best coastal town in UK.

Homage to William Christenberry

Tags

abandoned buildings, adventures of an Old Bird, art, Canada, Edge of Humanity Magazine, Eggleston, gas station, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, life, mechanics, Nova Scotia, outskirts of town, photography, road trip, rural life, trains and boats and planes, travel, Walker Evans, William A Christenberry

A few years ago reading about Walker Evans I came across another name, William A Christenberry, a photographer from Alabama whose images of the south have greatly influenced me in my passion for photographing random neglected buildings and space. Was sad to read that he passed away this week but it also reminded me of my recent trip to Nova Scotia and my search while there for abandoned empty buildings and old garages, I found quite a few and I like to think Mr Christenberry was guiding me when I found this petrol station on the outskirts of town.