I made my way towards the seafront with my camera this morning to catch the first rays of sun over Blackpool beach. It was an early start to the day and by 5am I’d already encountered the last of the Friday night revellers attempting to find their way home. Two young men (both clearly intoxicated, but [thankfully] only the one of them exposed bare-chested) approached me near Blackpool Tower to ask why and what I was photographing. I explained that I’d photographed Blackpool for a number of years and that it was simply something that I love to do. They didn’t quite understand my explanation or motive for taking photographs at this early hour of the day, but nonetheless they asked me if I’d take a picture of the two of them together. I obliged and continued my journey towards the beach. I knew that the photographs I’d taken of them weren’t really to my liking, but it certainly wasn’t an act of futility. These encounters with strangers on the street are nothing new to my photographic practice (it comes with the territory of being a documentary photographer) and each time I’m faced with this situation I usually find that its for the best to smile, take the photographs and depart on good terms.

The nearest public entrance directly onto the beach is currently to the right of Central Pier (due to the construction of the new seawall and promenade between Central and North Pier) and when I arrived there I began to setup my camera to record some HD video footage of the scene. It was low tide and there wasn’t a single soul on the beach. I had the whole place to myself. Ten minutes later, this all changed when a man and woman approached me to ask what I was doing. I showed them both the LCD screen at the back of my camera and said that I was just shooting footage to satisfy my own creative inclinations. They asked me what I usually photographed and I told them that I photographed all manner of subjects, but my favourite subject to photograph were starlings during the winter months. The woman insisted that I go to Fleetwood Docks to see them sometime and I duly noted this before they both headed towards the sea to paddle in the water and watch the sunrise.

An hour passed by as I relished the tranquility and quietness of the morning with my camera. By this point I was at South Pier and reasonably content with some of the photographs that I’d taken, but still not completely ready or willing to return home just yet. As I walked towards the steps of the seawall to find another vantage point, a man appeared from the direction of the promenade. He made his way down the steps towards me, but couldn’t go any further as there was a wide stream of water between the seawall and the beach that separated the two of us. The man shouted across this small estuary saying that I should take a photograph of the reflection of the pier in the water. I replied that I’d much rather take a photograph of him instead and asked him whether it would be okay to do so. He smiled and said that he didn’t mind. I quickly composed my shot and fired off few photographs as he semi-posed for the camera.

We spent the following forty-five minutes chatting across this small, yet significant, stretch of water about all manner of topics to do with technology, life and the future.


Encounters With Strangers #1
Taken at 6:59am on Saturday 26th June 2010.

Throughout our conversation, I took his photograph sparsely and tried to capture him in a more natural way. I asked if he’d like me to include a quote from him if I decided to ever publish one of the photographs I’d taken. As he thought about what he wanted to say I took this photograph (above).

“If everybody agreed to the concept of time ‘a day in space is a year on Earth’ and if your day starts at 12am and your daily routine is that you fall asleep before 12pm, does that mean you fell asleep in yesterday to wake up in tomorrow; which in turn, is today?”

Now there’s something to think about...

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My Shortlisted Photograph In The British Wildlife Awards 2010

Earlier this week I received an email notifying me that I’ve been shortlisted in the British Wildlife Photography Awards 2010.

“An international photography competition, the BWPA was established to celebrate and recognise the talents of photographers of all nationalities practicing in the UK, while at the same time highlight the great wealth and diversity of British natural history. At a time when we're increasingly conscious of the importance of wildlife, habitat and conservation, the Awards encourage photographers, whether professional or enthusiast, to explore Britain’s natural and urban environments, and discover its bounty of wildlife, from birds to mammals, insects to marine life.”

(Source: The BWPA website)

As you might expect, I’m truly delighted to be shortlisted in this wonderful photography competition. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens next...

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I think it’s fair to say that my optimistic plans for posting more frequent blog entries has somewhat failed. In an attempt to redeem myself, I thought I’d share a selection of photographs that I shot at the Coca Cola Championship Play-Off Final 2010 between Blackpool FC and Cardiff FC last Saturday at Wembley stadium.












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In January 2010 all the artists represented by Visual For Business were invited to donate a piece of artwork for the Cure Leukaemia Art Auction, which is due to take place on the 20th May 2010 at Wragge & Co's Banking Hall in Birmingham.


Cure Leukaemia Art Auction 2010

Cure Leukaemia is a charity based at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham that supports the treatment of and research into Leukaemia and the patient environment. Now in it’s fifth year of fund-raising, the Art Auction is going from strength to strength in supporting the art programme at the Centre for Clinical Haematology in Birmingham and contributes funds towards research and specialist equipment, benefiting both patients and staff in the most profound way possible. Over the last four years the charity has raised approximately £61,000 via the generous support of artists donating work to the auction.

The Auction is entirely independent of Arts & Business and, as I like to think that I’ll do as much as I can to help a good cause, I was more than happy to donate one of my photographs. I just hope that it goes someway towards helping the charity raise the money it needs and thoroughly deserves.

From the look of the auction catalogue (which is beautifully designed by Empty Creative) there is certainly an amazing array of work from the thirty nationally and internationally acclaimed artists, photographers and designer-makers who kindly donated and were selected for the Art Auction.

To register interest in the event, view the auction catalogue or RSVP for the event, visit the Cure Leukaemia Art Auction website or contact Haley Dunn via email on hayley.dunn@uhb.nhs.uk.

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The Visual For Business Catalogue 2009/2010

This afternoon I visited the Arts & Business office in Manchester to deliver my work for the forthcoming Visual For Business group art exhibition at Salford Business School. The exhibition is being installed tomorrow and will run for six weeks until June. A selection panel consisting of over twenty members of staff at Salford university looked through over 200 pieces of artwork to consider for this exhibition. I have three framed photographs featured in the exhibition (‘Aloha From Blackpool’, ‘Starlings Above South Pier’ and ‘The Wave’) and I think they represent a nice selection of photographs from my personal and commissioned portfolio.

While I was at Arts & Business I was able to get my hands on a copy of the Visual For Business catalogue for 2009/2010. The catalogue profiles all 157 artists represented in the Visual collection and shows a small sample of their work. All of the artists were carefully selected by experts from Arts Council England, Tate Liverpool, Arnolfini, De La Warr Pavilion and Ikon Gallery. The collection covers a broad range of creative practices including fine art, photography, digital media and contemporary craft.

This is the first time that I’ve had my work printed in an art collection catalogue and I’m really pleased to be featured alongside so many great emerging and established artists. As soon as I arrived home I took a few photographs of the catalogue for my own records and to share on my blog for all to see. If your interested in purchasing your own copy of the Visual For Business catalogue you can order one by visiting their website.

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One of my favourite places to take photographs in Madrid was in the vast landscape of the city’s largest urban park Casa de Campo. The park was originally a royal hunting estate and covers more than 1,700 hectares. According to Wikipedia, in 1936–39, during the Spanish Civil War, the front lines of the Siege of Madrid ran through the Casa de Campo when the Republicans had halted a nationalist offensive in November 1936.


Taken at 03:20pm in Casa de Campo, Madrid. Thursday 1st April 2010.

The day before I took this photograph I had travelled above Casa de Campo on the cable car ride. Being in the cable car gave me a fantastic view of the park and the beautiful snow covered mountains in the distance. I’d seen tree plantations and vast areas of land dedicated to regenerating the park from the air and I decided to take a closer look and take some photographs on foot the following afternoon.

I climbed a rather steep path up a hill in order to take this photograph, but I certainly think it was worth the extra effort in the end. The playground hidden amongst the trees and tree plantations in the lower right of the photograph go someway in showing the scale of human intervention for regeneration against the vastness of nature.

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM
ISO: 125
Focal Length: 105mm
Shutter Speed: 1/125th sec
F-Stop: f/16

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A screenshot of my artists gallery on the ARTISLA website.

While I was in Madrid last month I received an email asking if I’d be interested in becoming a new artist with an up and coming artists platform called ARTISLA. The website features a selection of interdisciplinary artists from around the world and provides an international platform for young artists to show and sell their artworks (at no cost). It also provides art lovers with a place to find and buy the highest quality artwork from emerging artists at affordable prices as well as give them the chance to discover new artists, understand, meet, and discuss with them.

ARTISLA presents selected works from the finest emerging artists after a thorough review of their portfolio and potential. Once the artists are selected and each artwork is reviewed, it is then presented on the website by the artists themselves. The price of the work is set by the artist or gallery, and ARTISLA adds a 15% mark-up that helps to keep the page running.

Mareike Müller, who is an artist scout for ARTISLA, is always on the look out for talented individuals to join and sell their work. If your interested in becoming a member of ARTISLA you can apply by visiting their website.

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In the early hours of Saturday morning I arrived back in the UK after six wonderful days exploring and photographing the Spanish capital of Madrid. Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing a selection of documentary photographs that I took while encountering life on the city streets and wandering in Madrid’s largest urban park Casa de Campo.


Taken at 03:04pm in Tribunal Metro Station in Madrid UK. Tuesday 30th March 2010.
(view the Madrid Metro Stations gallery)

While I continue to make my way through processing and editing the 900 photographs I shot during the trip, I thought I’d start things off by posting a short series of six portraits taken in Madrid Metro Stations. The metro is one of the quickest modes of transport in Madrid, yet there are plenty of passing moments which take place at station platforms that reflect a more tranquil side to the city’s busy cosmopolitan image.

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM
ISO: 1600
Focal Length: 105mm
Shutter Speed: 1/100th sec
F-Stop: f/4.5

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Watch ‘Street Photography: Documenting The Human Condition’ by Chris Weeks on Vimeo.

I’ve spent a considerable amount of time thinking about how I can improve my photography blog over these past few days. I came to the conclusion that this blog should not only showcase my new photographic work, but be a place where I can share the things that inspire me and, hopefully, inspire you. An important factor in the development of any creative practice is a willingness to critically engage and appreciate the work of other artists. I mentioned in my blog post last month (Photography Served & The Béhance Network) that there are some fantastic artists who are producing truly inspirational work and so I thought it was about time to share and discuss what really inspires me.

Earlier today I had my first lecture teaching photojournalism to third year BA (Hons) International Journalism students at UCLAN and I really wanted to stress the importance of purism when working within that genre of photography.

Truthfulness, objectivity and fairness are values that give the photojournalism profession credibility and respect. The role of a photojournalist shouldn’t be to create an aesthetic reality, but to document reality aesthetically. Professional photojournalists are not only social historians with a camera, they are also highly competent technicians who must keep up to date with changing technology and the ethical considerations associated with that technology. There are certain principles that should remain constant despite technological advances. The guiding principle for any manipulations to a documentary photograph should always be it’s content. If the content or intent of the image is drastically altered (for example, the removal of people or objects) then the manipulation should not occur.

One of my favourite documentaries that discusses the ethical and moral manner in which we approach documentary photography is ‘Street Photography: Documenting The Human Condition’ by the American photographer Chris Weeks. If your interested in seeing how contemporary street photographers work or if you’d like to learn more about the history of the genre then I highly recommend that you watch it.

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A screenshot of my work featured on ‘Photography Served’ in January 2010.

The first month of this new decade certainly hasn’t disappointed in terms of eventful experiences in both my personal and work-related life. I’ve been asked to teach and mentor a further eighteen sessions of workshops, lectures and assignments with BA (Hons) Photography students at the Media Factory in Preston and I’ve also been busy at work on a new photography project for my photography residency. Earlier this week I attended the preview night of the Sony World Photography Awards 2009 exhibition at Art Work Space in London. There were over 700 guests (including VIPs, Photographers and Press) and it was simply a fantastic night that I shall never forget. The exhibition toured some of the most famous cities in the world during 2009 and it was wonderful to finally see my own work featured as part of this exciting and thought-provoking photography exhibition.

There are a series of photographs from the preview night in London on the Sony World Photography Awards website.

Earlier this month I signed up for the Béhance Network, which is one of the internet’s leading platforms for the creative professional community. The Béhance Network is invitation-only and was designed to help top creatives from around the world showcase their work broadly across industries and to build their professional networks. I heard about Béhance after talking to my friend Robert Lomas (www.lomasdesign.co.uk) on New Years Eve about all manner of creative ideas and projects. Béhance seems like a really good place to not only showcase your own work but to also see the new work of some wonderful artists. A few days after I uploaded my ‘Starlings Above’ series I received an email from Oscar Ramos Orozco from the Béhance Network saying that their editorial team had chosen to feature my work on one of their sister websites called Photography Served. Photography Served streams projects directly from the owners' portfolios in the Béhance Network, along with proper attribution and a direct link to contact information. The creators of the work update and maintain control of their projects, and can be contacted directly for hire or more information. All in all this is certainly a creative online community that I’m very pleased to be involved with. I thoroughly enjoy looking through the portfolios of other photographers on Photography Served, as it often serves as a good reminder of just how many people there are out there producing wonderful photographic work.

...Update...

I’m pleased to say that since I originally wrote this post my ’Starlings Above’ series has also been featured on the front page of the Béhance Network website. The project now has over 9,000 views and over 800 appreciations. I’m delighted that so many people from around the world have viewed and commented on the project. My Blackpool project was also featured on the front page of Photography Served on the 20th February 2010.

View Yannick’s Béhance Network Profile.

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Taken at 03:11pm on Blackpool Promenade, Lancashire. UK. Thursday 17th December 2009.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon shooting on the wonderful camera that is the Canon 5D Mark II. Its an absolute pleasure to shoot all my new work with this camera. The superb Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM lens combined with the 21.1 Megapixel Canon 5D body results in amazing image quality. I must have read countless reviews about this camera over the past year and couldn’t wait to use this camera for myself.

One of the most technological advanced additions to the Canon 5D Mark II (and what made it revolutionary on its release) is the ability to shoot full frame HD video. Vincent Laforet’s ‘Reverie’ was the first 1080p short film to be photographed with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and successfully turned the independent film industry on its head over night. Reverie convinced photographers, film-makers and artists alike that this camera could transform their artistic practice forever (even with a small budget, time restraints and a touch of imagination).

There are a few practical considerations when switching between shooting still photography and shooting video. As a documentary photographer I rarely carry a tripod as they tend to be somewhat inconspicuous and cumbersome, but if you want to shoot professional looking video the use of a solid tripod or Steadicam is crucial. Then there’s the sound to consider. The camera has a built-in microphone, but if your in a location thats as windy as say, Blackpool beach, then an external microphone is a definite must to avoid any unwanted pops or clicks. I’ve been capturing HD footage in Blackpool on the Canon 5D Mark II over the past week and I’m beginning to get an idea about what it takes to produce video work. It’s still all work in progress, so for now I’ll just share this still photograph taken between shooting some HD video yesterday.

This photograph is entitled ‘Passing Conversations’ and depicts the moment when two ladies pass two men along the promenade; separate conversations momentarily intertwined in a split second. The location is full of signs synonymous with Blackpool’s character (one detail being the ‘We Sell Fags’ sign outside the Scotties Got It shop) that make for a really interesting background for the people in the photograph.

There are also two new blog posts (Visual Exhibition At Nutmeg House and Murmurations Signal The Beginning Of Winter) that I’ve (finally) managed to upload.

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM
ISO: 250
Focal Length: 102mm
Shutter Speed: 1/250th sec
F-Stop: f/6.3

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‘Illumination Restoration’ as featured in the forthcoming Visual exhibition at Nutmeg House in London.

This new in-house exhibition at Nutmeg House in London was selected from the Visual For Business collection by Arts & Business staff in the North West, the South West, the South East and the Midlands. Each region also put forward one ‘signature piece’ for staff vote across the country to be displayed behind the reception desk. The artwork with the most votes was Nigel Jackson’s piece ‘In the Presence of Absence’.

The exhibition features fine art, photography and contemporary craft by new, emerging and established British artists.

The exhibition was installed on the 3rd October 2009 (the preview night will be held on the 14th December) and will remain at Nutmeg House until 9th January 2010.

Please contact Visual For Business or call 0844 335 1305 if you would like more information

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Taken at 04:30pm on North Pier in Blackpool, UK. Tuesday 27th October 2009.

Since my last blog post back in October (Blackpool Public Artworks Photography Commission) there have been several noteworthy developments to my photographic practice. One of the most exciting items of news is that I’ve been asked to be an Associate Lecturer in Photography at UCLAN’s Media Factory in Preston. I’m currently teaching and mentoring first year photography degree students undertaking PH1010, a module that consists of a number of traditional black & white photography assignments. The last time I was in a lecture I was studying for my Masters in Blackpool, so its great to get back into the classroom and brainstorm new ideas about photography with the students.

I’m also a ‘Photographer in Residence’ at the Media Factory, so I’ve been busy organising two new photography projects (a psychogeographic assignment with UCLAN photography students and a separate community-based arts project in Blackpool) that will feature in a new photography exhibition at UCLAN’s Victoria Building in September 2010.

You may have noticed from the photographs featured in this blog post (and its title) that starlings are back in Blackpool once again. Starlings signal the beginning of Winter when these murmurations start to perform this marvellous spectacle. Murmurations are one of the most magical, yet underrated, spectacles of wildlife on display during Winter.


Taken at 04:32pm on North Pier in Blackpool, UK. Tuesday 27th October 2009.

“Impenetrable as the flock’s movements might seem to the human eye, the underlying maths is comparatively straightforward. Each bird strives to fly as close to its neighbours as possible, instantly copying any changes in speed or direction. As a result, tiny deviations by one bird are magnified and distorted by those surrounding it, creating rippling, swirling patterns. In other words, this is a classic case of mathematical chaos (larger shapes composed of infinitely varied smaller patterns). Whatever the science, however, it is difficult for the observer to think of it as anything other than some vast living entity.”

(Source: ‘The Mathematics Of Murmurating Starlings’ by Daniel Butler in the Telegraph newspaper)


Taken at 04:26pm on North Pier in Blackpool, UK. Tuesday 27th October 2009.

The promenade and piers offer fantastic vantage points to photograph starlings. North Pier did become somewhat crowded while I was taking photographs, which resulted in me having to answer all manner of questions about starlings from one particularly inquisitive tourist.


Taken at 04:19pm near North Pier in Blackpool, UK. Thursday 29th October 2009.

Wildlife photography requires both patience and persistence. Large periods of time are spent waiting for something to happen with quick short bursts to action that you can miss with the blink of an eye. Knowing your camera and subject inside out is crucial in capturing the best possible moment. The photograph above (entitled ‘Dog Chasing Starlings’) is a mixture of all these things. I watched and waited as the starlings feed on the beach, knowing that if I waited long enough, something would happen. I saw a man approach with his dog near the break of the waves when suddenly the dog bolted towards the flock. As they scattered, I began taking photographs and hoped for the best.

To see more starlings photographs please visit the Starlings Above gallery.

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'The Wave'. Taken at 07:23am in Blackpool, Lancashire. UK. Sunday 20th September 2009.

Last month I was commissioned by Blackpool Council Arts Service to photograph five new public artworks for their promotional postcards and permanent records. These artworks consisted of a WWII soldier sculpture in Salisbury Woodlands, The Choir Loft next to the war memorial near North Pier, The hoardings around the site of the old Yates's Building, illumination artworks on Dale Street and a number of installations (including the 'The Wave' sculpture) in the newly re-developed St. John's Square in Blackpool's town centre.

'The Wave' is a 10.5 metre high sculpture designed by the artist Lucy Glendinning, which forms part of Blackpool Council's regeneration plans to create new high quality public spaces for residents and visitors to enjoy. The sculpture features an illuminated colour-changing pattern in cast resin, reflecting the stained glass windows of St. John's Church. A 2.5 metre diving figure, secured with metal rods hidden inside the sculpture, springs from the main polished stainless steel structure and references Blackpool's coastal heritage and history. The highly polished mirror finish provides a ‘hall of mirrors' type effect that ensures 'The Wave' looks different from every possible angle. Five giant pebbles cast in clear resin also surround the sculpture that light up in various different colours.

This £500,000 sculpture is part of a £4.7m makeover of the town centre that is funded by the NWDA (North West Development Agency) and Townscape Heritage Initiative. The plaza, now open to the public, includes decorative granite setts, new plane trees, column lighting, plantings, and computer controlled illuminated water fountains.


'St. John's Square Bus Shelter'. Taken at 07:35am in Blackpool, Lancashire. UK. Sunday 20th September 2009.

“Reviving Blackpool’s economy remains a key priority for the NWDA and we have made a number of investments into key infrastructure and public realm projects to support the growth of the town’s visitor economy and enhance quality of life for local residents. The completion of this new public square is another significant milestone in Blackpool’s renaissance and I am sure that it will prove popular with visitors and residents alike."
- Steven Broomhead (NWDA Chief Executive)


'Hoardings'. Taken at 03:09pm in Blackpool, Lancashire. UK. Thursday 10th September 2009.

The 'hoardings', a colourful installation consisting of eighty 1.5 metre panels by the artist Sarah Galloway, is a £20,000 project that surrounds the site of the old Yates's building in Talbot Square that was burnt down on the 15th February 2009. Each panel is inspired by photographs of iconic Blackpool buildings and also features text from Blackpool Council's current poet in residence John Siddique. Some of the panels are hand painted by the artist while others use digital photography on acrylic discs.

Sarah says of her work: "I'm really pleased with how it looks now that all the panels are in place. I think it looks really good and it certainly gives people something to talk about and a destination to aim for." Reaction to the panels is mixed, with some people branding it a waste of money, while others say it is key to the resort's regeneration.
(Source: The Blackpool Gazette)


'Dale Street Illumination Artwork'. Taken at 06:57pm in Blackpool, Lancashire. UK. Sunday 26th September 2009.

Photographing the new illumination artworks, which are intermittently placed along both sides of Dale Street, provided one of the most challenging shoots for this commission. Not only is the street incredibly narrow and crowded with people at this time of the evening, the illuminated artworks that I needed to photograph are placed quite high and so there was no way of shooting them straight on. I am however, always up for a challenge. In the photograph above, I tried to use the cafe and street signs to provide a context for the artworks that I think makes for a rather interesting juxtaposition. You may not to see it in this particular photograph, but each artwork has a central circle that has a different backlit photograph of Blackpool which is framed by a sculptural seagull motif.


'WWII Soldier Sculpture'. Taken at 01:45pm in Salisbury Woodlands, Blackpool, Lancashire. UK. Wednesday 9th September 2009.

This WWII Soldier Sculpture in Salisbury Woodlands near Blackpool Zoo also required some thought and consideration in order to get the best photograph out of it. The sculpture is placed upon a pillbox in a densely wooded area and was built as an anti-invasion station during World War II. Needless to say, the army didn't build this pillbox in a brightly lit area. I went back to this location several times to get the best possible light and my persistence finally paid off during my fourth attempt to photograph this soldier sculpture. I think the trees in the background compliment the overall tone and texture of soldier, while also giving some context to where the photograph was taken.


'The Choir Loft'. Taken at 02:03pm in Blackpool, Lancashire. UK. Thursday 10th September 2009.

'The Choir Loft' is a contemporary memorial to those who struggle for freedom in all conflicts. It is a functional monument to the act of resistance and the importance of memory, and has been designed to compliment the existing Cenotaph near North Pier. The aim of the work is to provide a space for contemplation and reflection for visitors. On ceremonial days it will host public celebration and memorial through song. The memorial takes the form of a 'Choir Loft' that is a permanent space for a choir to sing, positioned so that the singers face the existing Cenotaph, and beyond that, the sea. The memorial is faced in white granite, with a contrasting band of blue granite into which the words 'Sing softly. Be still. Cease.' are written.

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The four photographs from the series 'Starlings Above' currently featured on the SWPA Global Tour.

Yesterday I received confirmation of the forthcoming dates and venues of the Sony World Photography Awards Global Tour 2009/10, so I thought I'd post the information in case anyone wishes to take a look at the exhibition for him/herself. Further details and website links for the galleries can be found on my exhibitions page.

6th October 2009 - 20th October 2009
Edward Day Gallery (Toronto, Canada)

13th October 2009 - 24th October 2009
Galerie Esther Woerdehoff (Paris, France)

22nd October 2009 - 30th October 2009
Aperture Gallery (New York City, USA)

22nd October 2009 - 23rd October 2009
Pavilion (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

26th November 2009 - 12th December 2009
Ardel Gallery of Modern Art (Bangkok, Thailand)

The exhibition will also feature in Mexico (late 2009), London (2010) & Berlin (2010) although the dates/venues have yet to be confirmed. I shall (of course) post the relevant dates/venues when I find out.

I visited the Aperture Gallery in NYC back in April 2006 where I saw a fantastic exhibition entitled 'Regeneration: 50 Photographers of Tomorrow' (there is also an accompanying book for those of you who may be interested). It's such a wonderful space for viewing photography and I'm just so thrilled to know that I'll have my work on display there next month. If only I could get myself over there...

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Image (Above) © 2009 Buy Art Fair Limited. All rights reserved.

In August 2009 Katja Orgin from Visual For Business asked if I would like to show my work at the Buy Art Fair at Urbis in Manchester. Of course, I jumped at the chance. I've never shown my photographs at an art fair before and I thought it might be a good way of getting my work seen by the general public and art lovers alike. I think that my work will be shown on the Arts & Business stall and I'll certainly be going to check out the Buy Art Fair for myself. I've included some further information about the event below which is taken from the Buy Art Fair press release.

"Following its hugely successful debut last year, Buy Art Fair has announced its return for 2009 with a three-day event from the 24th to 27th September. The consumer art exhibition, one of the largest in the country, will showcase the work of over 300 renowned and highly sought after artists, presented by over 75 carefully selected galleries. Amongst those confirmed are Paul Stolper, The Bluecoat and The Open Gallery alongside returning galleries Wendy J Levy Contemporary Art Ltd, Bleach Box and Fiumano Fine Art.

A fresh and exciting addition for 2009 will be the first presentation of The Manchester Contemporary, a new platform within the fair dedicated to cutting edge contemporary art. Produced by the Contemporary Art Society, Castlefield Gallery and Ceri Hand Gallery, The Manchester Contemporary will feature 15 leading contemporary art galleries from around the UK.

The new showcase will be situated alongside three floors of fine and contemporary affordable art. Headline sponsors for the 2009 event are Bluefin and AXA Art.

John Dare, Show Director of Buy Art Fair, commented: “One of the biggest barriers to buying original art is the way in which it is bought and sold. Last year we set out to remove that barrier and make art accessible to all. In what was, and continues to be a difficult economic climate, I’m thrilled to say Buy Art Fair succeeded, generating over £200,000 of sales in its debut show."

If anyone is interested in meeting up and going to Buy Art Fair at Urbis with me then please feel free to contact me.

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Taken at 11:12pm at West Coast Cafe in Blackpool, UK. Saturday 5th September 2009.

Last night I had the chance to watch the wonderful singer/songwriter Karima Francis play an intimate acoustic gig at the West Coast Rock Cafe in Blackpool. This was Karima's first gig in her hometown since playing with the likes of James Morrision at the Albert Hall and featuring on Later With Jools Holland in April earlier this year. I used to see Karima play acoustic sets at open mic nights in Blackpool years ago and I've always considered her to be an incredibly talented musician. As an avid lover of live music, I try and go to as many gigs and festivals as I possibly can. Admittedly, I don't always photograph the gigs I go to (we all deserve a little bit of time off from time to time), but I just had to take this chance to photograph Karima play.

Photographing live performances can sometimes be rather difficult. This is because a) the ambient light is very low (or next to non-existent) and b) musicians tend to move around as they play. Obviously you can use flash to help you out in those sort of situations, but I tend to find that firing a bright light at someone constantly (especially as they're playing a beautiful song they've painfully crafted) just isn't that fair. So, I refrain from using flash unless I've asked the artist beforehand and they're comfortable with me doing so. Fortunately I was able to get really close to Karima during the gig and so I managed to get away without using any additional lighting. I knew that the pictures would turn out quite grainy, but I thought this would add to the overall atmosphere when I converted them to black & white. This is my favourite photograph from the ones that I took last night as it really shows the passion of her performance.

I always like to share and promote talented artists, so I thoroughly recommend that you check out Karima's debut album 'The Author'. It's certainly music to my ears.

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 3200
Focal Length: 85mm
Shutter Speed: 1/60th sec
F-Stop: f/5.6

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Preview of Blott Artist Studios Summer Exhibition 2009 (Flyer Design By David Butterworth).

The summer exhibition at Blott Artist Studios in Blackpool officially opened on Saturday 25th July 2009 and features an array of new artworks from Blott’s current members alongside paintings from this year’s guest artist Nazmin Abdullah. The preview night was a great opportunity to discuss the work, meet up with all of the artists and have our photograph taken for the local newspaper (as well as enjoying a few glasses of wine). The gallery is one of the few independent art spaces in Blackpool where local artists can exhibit and sell their original artworks to the general public, so its quite a pleasure to show my documentary photographs of Blackpool within this space.

Nazmin’s striking paintings of Muslim figures draped in Union Jack colours are a particular favourite of mine from the summer exhibition and I would throughly recommend viewing them for yourself if you get the chance. Speaking about the concept behind her work, Nazmin states that she “aims to challenge society’s perceptions and stereotypes against British Muslim females that are based solely upon appearance and dress”. She goes on to say “the image of the Union Jack, along with various other images associated with popular culture; consistently appear throughout my work, acting as visual metaphors, as a means of expressing the subject’s desire to conform to western culture as they strive to be labeled as British”.

Blott’s Summer Exhibition will run until the 15th August 2009. Gallery details can be found on my exhibitions page.

Featured Artists
Nazmin Abdullah | David Butterworth | Yannick Dixon | Simon Plum | Brian Spooner | Corrine Streetly

Important Amendment
From the 15th August 2009 I will no longer be a represented artist of Blott Artist Studios. This was a difficult personal decision of mine that I don't wish to go into here, but I do send my sincere thanks to Corrine and all the other artists at the gallery for their support and understanding.

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The Sony World Photography Awards 2009 Book.

I’ve been eagerly awaiting my copy of the Sony World Photography Awards Book for weeks now and I’m pleased to say that it finally arrived today. The winning images in the book were selected by a jury comprising of world-class photographers, curators and agents. The 2009 edition focuses upon the environment through the lenses of Bruce Davidson, Stuart Franklin, Cédric Delsaux and Brent Stirton. The book features all the winners, with comments from the jury members, and features a retrospective dedicated to Marc Riboud, recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award.

The SWPA 2009 book is one of my favorite photography books that I’ve ever had the pleasure to own and I’m delighted to have my work feature alongside such fantastic imagery taken by a remarkable selection of contemporary photographers. I would certainly recommend this book to any aspiring photographers or to anyone just interested in taking a look at some rather wonderful photography. This is the first time that I’ve been published in a dedicated photography book and I couldn’t be happier that it was in the Sony World Photography Awards book with my own personal work.

If you’d like to order a copy of the book then you may do so through the publisher (Verlhac Editions) via email: orders@verlhaceditions.com

Book Specifications
Over 800 colour illustrations
240 pages, 26cm x 30cm portrait
Main Text: 50,000 characters
Captions: 20,000 characters
Hardcover with jacket
ISBN: 978-2-916954-43-1
Retail Price: 49.00€

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Taken at 01:05pm in Blackpool, Lancashire. UK. Wednesday 24th June 2009.

I recently read an article entitled ‘Personal Projects Can Make A Difference’ written by Grant Scott for a recent issue of Professional Photographer magazine that inspired me to take a closer look at the current direction of my photographic practice and, more importantly, to continue shooting new images for my personal projects. Like many photographers, personal work is the driving force for my creative inclinations and is an important aspect of any artistic practice.

As Grant Scott says in his article, “If you’re not shooting, your work isn’t progressing”. Simple as that.

Needless to say, I was throughly excited to get a free afternoon to photograph the people of Blackpool enjoying the glorious sunshine yesterday and get back into my element. One of my main reasons for staying in Blackpool after completing my photography degree and MA course is that I’m so utterly passionate and inspired by the diverse subject matter that the town has to offer. All you have to do is look for it and, to be honest, you don’t have to look too far.

The area between North Pier and Central Pier has always been one of my favourite locations for taking photographs in Blackpool as its what I consider to be the liveliest and most popular part of town for tourists and locals alike. In particular, the juxtaposition between the built environment and the people engaging within it has been a continuing feature of the photographs I’ve produced throughout this series. Yesterday, when I spotted this group of people sitting opposite the amusement arcade Coral Island, I noticed this juxtaposition and began taking a few photographs. The facade of Coral Island, with its prominent pirate skull (complete with eye patch), makes for a rather surreal backdrop for the people sat in the foreground. The title of this photograph is a somewhat tongue-in-cheek take on the expectation one may have of modern day Blackpool Revellers, with the town synonymous with large groups of people usually equating to hen/stag parties.

I’ve now added this photograph to the Blackpool: An Unimagined Space? gallery along with a couple of new photographs from yesterday’s shoot.

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 125
Focal Length: 85mm
Shutter Speed: 1/160th sec
F-Stop: f/14

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Screenshot from the Visual For Business website (www.visualforbusiness.com)

Last year I was selected as one of the North West based artists for Visual For Business (a service from Arts & Business) and later this month I’ll be exhibiting a selection of my photographs at the ‘Arts & Business: Invest In Art’ seminar alongside seven fellow artists from the North West. The seminar will take place at City Inn, Manchester on the 22nd June 2009 (artworks on show until 26th June 2009).

The following text in taken from the Arts & Business press release for the event:

“Speakers include Ceri Hand founder of Ceri Hand Gallery, Liverpool's first contemporary commercial art gallery, with advice on how to spot the perfect piece for your office or home. Gavin Buckley, from Arts & Business, will speak about the unique benefits of bringing contemporary art into the workplace. There will also be other specialists talking about how to protect your investment in the long term.

Claire Barlow, Regional Manager for Arts & Business said, "This is a great opportunity to view exceptional art, meet the artists and perhaps be inspired to buy a piece of art that you love."

The seminar will also provide the first opportunity to experience Visual in the North West. Visual is a new, unique and flexible service bringing high quality contemporary art to businesses and their employees. Works included in the collection have been selected by curators from the region's finest contemporary arts venues and many artists are award winning with some having exhibited at the Tate Gallery and the V&A.”

Artists Include
Tracey Eastham
Charlie MacPherson
Susan Laughton
Yannick Dixon
Colin McPherson
Mark Adams
Stuart Royse
Susie MacMurray

To register your interest please contact Claire Barlow, Regional Manager at Arts & Business, via email on claire.barlow@artsandbusiness.org.uk or call her on 0161 236 2058.

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Bloomfield Talks Photography Exhibition By Yannick Dixon. Saturday 9th May 2009.

I was asked to join the community based arts project Bloomfield Talks in August 2008 by internationally renowned artist Simon Grennan. Bloomfield Talks is a year-long oral history project commissioned by Blackpool Council and ran between July 2008 and May 2009. The project focuses upon the experiences of people who have connections with the Bloomfield, Foxhall, Revoe and near South Shore area of Blackpool.

At the heart of Bloomfield Talks was a team of local volunteers brought together specifically for the project. Ranging in age from the late teens to the late seventies, the volunteers engaged other local people in conversations and activities focusing on their daily lives in the area. The volunteers documenting these exchanges in writing, pictures and audio recordings, creating a new archive of records about ordinary people’s lives. There really are some great photographs taken by local people over the years that say so much about life in the area and I’m really pleased to have my pictures shown beside them. In February 2009, the volunteers edited and published the new archive as a book and will given away as a gift to the five thousand households in the area. All of the original material will be lodged with Blackpool Libraries and the North West Sound Archive. This archive is available online.

I was asked if I’d like to put together a photography exhibition of my Blackpool photographs to compliment the launch of the Bloomfield Talks book on Saturday 9th May 2009. I exhibition included a few of the photographs that feature in the book as well as some from my MA project ‘Blackpool: An Unimagined Space?’. The images were printed on an Epson Stylus Pro 7900 and then mounted onto Aluminium (wooden frames on reverse). There were sixteen photographs in all; ranging from A1 to A4 size. It was a great opportunity to get a response from local people about my work and to support such a fantastic event.

I also got the chance to take some more portraits during the book launch.


Although there was so much going on with the launch of the book and the photography exhibition, I think that this photograph I took of two old ladies standing outside the church is my favourite image from the day. The bad weather meant that more and more people came off the streets to see what all the fuss was about. These two ladies had come to see what the Bloomfield Talks project was all about and were braving the weather to watch a group of school children banging drums out on the street in celebration of the event.

I’ve included one of the pages that feature my photographs below.


To view a previous Bloomfield Talks blog post click on the link below:
Bloomfield Talks Tea Party

To view the Bloomfield Talks gallery click on the link below:
Commissioned Work

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Today’s blog post is chance to show the latest addition to my Blackpool: An Unimagined Space? project and to share some news regarding the forthcoming SWPA Global Tour exhibitions and a reminder about the Bloomfield Talks book launch next month.


Taken at 02:49pm on Blackpool’s South Pier. Tuesday 31st March 2009.

SWPA Forthcoming Exhibitions

After the Sony World Photography Awards ceremony in Cannes earlier this month the SWPA Global Tour 2009/10 has already begun with showcases of the work at the Edge gallery in Hong Kong before moving on to the Hong Kong Art Fair (the details of which can be found on my exhibitions page). A number of limited edition prints from my starlings series will be on sale throughout the tour and will hopefully be seen in print by a global audience for the very first time.

Bloomfield Talks Book Launch

On the 9th May 2009 the launch of the new social history book ‘Bloomfield Talks’ will be launched at St. Peter’s church on Lytham Road, Blackpool. I will be exhibiting 14 photographs from my Blackpool projects (some of which appear in the book) as well as documenting a creative account of the event itself. Further information can be found on the Bloomfield Talks website.

Sizzle Network ‘Staying Upbeat in the Downturn’

On the 22nd April 2009 I attended my first ever Sizzle creative networking event at the Barcelo Imperial Hotel in Blackpool. The aim of the meeting was to cast a positive light into how artists and creative business’s can tackle and survive the current economic climate. The event was organised by Creative Lancashire and was a great opportunity to meet liked-minded artists in the Blackpool area. I would certainly recommend attending the next one in July...

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A preview of my photography book ‘Blackpool: An Unimagined Space?’

“Everyone has heard of Blackpool, and it projects, enduringly, a permissive but unthreatening image of proletarians at play. That the image is unduly simple goes without saying, and there are many intersecting Blackpools, including the residential, respectable and poverty stricken ones, behind and to either side of the pullulating, pulsating sea-front of the Golden Mile and Pleasure Beach, living out a more prosaic existence alongside the glitter and gowns of the night-clubs and cabarets which represent a more recent dominant image of Blackpool’s pleasure identity”.
- Walton, J.K (1998)

The production of my series of documentary photographs exploring life on Blackpool’s seaside fringe has undergone many transformations and alterations since I began the project back in July 2006. My approach has always been organic, free to adapt in response to the town’s ever-changing topography and characteristics. Inspired by many aspects of the town’s unique character, cultural heritage and history the project documents the mélange of experiences and ‘vistas’ that I’ve encountered throughout my daily life by the sea. Central to my approach was my desires to not only record these experiences, but to celebrate the medium of documentary photography itself.

In many ways, Blackpool and documentary photography go hand in hand. For instance; during the Berlin Photography Festival ‘After The Fact’ in September 2005, Jan-Erik Lundström commented that the current state of documentary photography is “both affirmative and disillusioned, pragmatic and utopian; is often impure, hybrid, layered, combinatory, even internally contradictory or unresolved”. Lundström goes on to say that the medium is “on the one hand, a struggle to maintain public space, to sustain active public discourse and collective dialogue, to find or establish a place where it is possible to talk, speak and listen, and on the other hand, a mode of artistic praxis engaged in art as a vehicle for knowledge production”. This idea that documentary photography has the ability to communicate, in a complex manner, the world around us is one that I considered an important notion throughout the production of the Blackpool project.

The ‘Blackpool: An Unimagined Space?’ book features over twenty of the most striking and revealing documentary photographs I’ve taken during the project, covering everything from the local built environment to the spectacle of live performance on the promenade. There is also an introduction to the series in the book that offers further insight into the approach and production of the project as a whole. Each hardcover book is made to special order and produced in full colour (measuring 28 cm x 21.5 cm). Softcover books are also available on request at a discounted price.

If you would like further information on the book or would like to pre-order one, please contact me for details and prices.

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A screenshot of my shortlisted series ‘Starlings Above’ in the Sony World Photography Awards 2009.

The Sony World Photography Awards is a truly global competition. From Argentina to Zimbabwe, over 60,000 photograph entries were submitted this year from 139 different countries. The Honorary Judging Committee, comprising of world-renowned photographers, curators, representatives from leading international photo agencies, publishers and critics made their selection from 36,546 professional and 25,370 amateur photography submissions. I was shortlisted in the Fine Art - Natural History category in February 2009 with my series of black & white photographs documenting starlings in flight. Yesterday I was announced as one of the third place professional category finalists! I really didn’t expect to even be shortlisted, so I’m really pleased to have got this far on my first attempt of entering the competition (and plus, there’s always next year!).

Those who judged the Fine Art - Natural History category include Zelda Cheatle, portfolio manager and curator (UK); Mary-Ellen Mark, photographer (USA); Sarah Moon, photographer (France), and Philippe Garner, International Head of Photographs at Christie’s (UK).

The 44 photographers, from 22 separate countries, were selected from the 186 shortlisted photographers revealed last month. Each of the photographers on the list will be exhibited and honoured at the Sony World Photography Awards ceremony at the prestigious Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, on Thursday 16 April. Of the 12 professional category winners, one photographer will be the recipient of the L’Iris D’Or, the Sony World Photography Awards Photographer of the Year.

As one of the finalists, my photographs will be showcased as part of the winner’s exhibition in Cannes from the 14th-19th April 2009. The work will also be featured in the 2009/10 Global Tour exhibition and be published in the SWPA 2009 Winner’s Book. The work will be represented by SWPA and will be made available for sale during the various exhibitions on the Global Tour which, next year, include Hong Kong, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Thailand, Canada, USA as well as stops in South America and Europe. I also receive two complimentary tickets to attend the Awards Ceremony in Cannes on the 16th April as well as the week-long Festival.

To see my entry alongside the other photographers in the Natural History category visit the Sony World Photography Awards 2009 website. You can also read the official press release and an online article featured on Culture 24 for more information too.

Note: This blog post is an update/modification of a previous post written on Sunday 8th March 2009.

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‘Dog In The Water’ is one of my photographic works currently represented by Visual For Business.

I applied to be represented by Visual For Business in October 2008 and was delighted to be selected as one of their North West artists towards the end of 2008. Visual is “a unique and flexible service from Arts & Business bringing high quality contemporary art to businesses and their employees”. Its fantastic to feature alongside other artists that I greatly admire and I’m really looking forward to working with the Visual team who have provided an excellent platform for the work of new and emerging creative talent.

Further information about Visual For Business can be found on their website and you can also view my selected artworks on my Visual Artists Profile if you wish to do so.

Here are just a few things that Visual For Business offers:

• Affordable contemporary art from carefully selected professional artists
• Temporary exhibitions in business and loans of artworks
• Permanent corporate art collections
• Commissioning services for both businesses and employees
• Events, employee engagement and participatory opportunities
• Consultancy and advice

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Taken at 02:33pm in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. UK. Monday 9th February 2009.

The title and content of today’s blog post are inspired by one of my favourite literary works; Jack Kerouac’s largely autobiographical book On The Road. The book is based upon Kerouac’s own journeys across America with his friends in the late 1940’s and is written in a style he called ‘spontaneous prose’ (which is similar to the ‘stream of consciousness’ method of writing). Kerouac wrote On The Road in just three weeks during a creative literary explosion in April 1951 and is now widely acknowledged as an American Modern Classic.

“It changed my life like it changed everyone else’s” - Bob Dylan (speaking about reading On The Road)

The narrative and characters are throughly engaging and compelling, yet it’s Kerouac’s approach and expressive literary style that has come to inspire me in my own creative practice. His writings manage to instil a sense of adventure and willingness to break both physical and metaphysical boundaries in the quest for original and fulfilling life experiences. On The Road was inspired by many things that Kerouac was passionate and immersed in at the time (jazz, poetry and travel to name but a few) and reading the book has certainly played its part in confirming the need to draw upon my personal passions in order to satisfy my creative inclinations when producing photographic work. A spontaneous and organic nature to producing work has long been the driving force behind the photographs that I take and reading On The Road has re-ignited my belief that its also a great approach for living life in general.

"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars." - taken from Jack Kerouac’s On The Road.

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 24mm
Shutter Speed: 1/125th sec
F-Stop: f/10

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Taken at 07:55pm in Wolstanton, Staffordshire. UK. Sunday 8th February 2009.

Saint Margaret's is a church located in my hometown of Wolstanton on the outskirts of Newcastle-under-Lyme and is the main focal point of the village (as can be said of many churches in small villages across the country). There are many possible reasons why this is (religious or otherwise), but for me it’s mainly down to the fact that it’s the single largest building in the surrounding area. I have to say that I’ve somewhat struggled to find inspiration in my hometown to produce creative photographic images, but the recent batch of snow and frost has given me a new found hope. The churchyard itself is quite fantastic to photograph (especially in these conditions) and holds a rather morbid mystery.

A remarkable grave is located in the churchyard of St Margaret's. The headstone of Sarah Smith (deceased 1783) includes a short poem written in the first person in which Sarah suggests that she was murdered; “with half a pint of poyson he came to visit me' and then provides a clue to her killer, 'it was C___s B___w who brought me to my end”.
Very spooky indeed...

I’m starting to think that the village isn’t such a bad place to take pictures after all!

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 17mm
Shutter Speed: 20 seconds
F-Stop: f/8

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Taken at 01:16pm in North Shore Blackpool, UK. Friday 23rd January 2009.

I’ve always loved being on the edge of the seaside fringe, so to start today’s blog post I thought I’d share where I think this fascination originated. As a young boy I spent my summer holidays with my Grandma at her house in St-Idesbald, Belgium. We’d spend our days picking shells along the beach, walking her three lovely Bassett hounds and enjoying being at the seaside together. I think this is were my affinity and affection for coastal life began, yet it wasn’t until I moved to Blackpool in 2003 that I became aware of what a profound influence the times with my Grandma had on me and my relationship with the seaside.

The Blackpool coast is a constantly shifting and morphing landscape which offers a mélange of creative possibilities and the space for conceptual musings. This space where the sea meets the land has been a major theme of many artistic practitioners (including nineteenth century landscape painters such as JMW Turner and John Constable) and plays an integral part of my own personal work documenting life on the Fylde coast. This black & white photograph, entitled ‘Breakwater’ looks at the boundaries between the sea, the land and ourselves. The composition is simply constructed into thirds, focussing on the three main elements of water, concrete and rock in the image.

Forthcoming Exhibition News - I’ve been selected to exhibit my work at Keele University’s Three Counties Open Photography Exhibition 2009. I’ve exhibited at this annual exhibition in my hometown for the past seven years and its always a pleasure to have my work next to other photographers from the area. This year I have one photograph (entitled ‘Ballroom Dancing’) in the exhibition and I’m really looking forward to the preview night on the 25th February 2009. If your in the area on the day, feel free to come down and take a look at the work. The exhibition will officially open on the 26th February 2009 and will run until early April 2009.

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 250
Focal Length: 24mm
Shutter Speed: 1/200th sec
F-Stop: f/8

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Taken at 04:33pm in Blackpool, UK. Thursday 29th January 2009.

This black and white photograph is the latest addition to my on-going personal project documenting starlings in flight. Photographing natural subjects like starlings requires a great deal of patience as you never quite sure what they may do next. I usually find the best way to approach them is to compose the image the way you want it and then hope that they will do something rather spectacular within the frame (which doesn’t always happen!). They also demand that you think quickly on your feet as they are often unpredictable and incredibly fast in flight. Each time I see starlings in Blackpool I always try to record a different aspect to them and, in this particular image, I’ve focussed upon them feeding on the beach.The image also shows a little bit more of the environmental setting that this natural phenomenon occurs, which is something I feel is slightly lacking in some of the other photographs I’ve taken for the series.

My recently updated Starlings gallery includes this new photograph alongside another black & white photograph that I took during the same afternoon.

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 800
Focal Length: 44mm
Shutter Speed: 1/125th sec
F-Stop: f/5.6

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Taken at 02:19pm in Blackpool, UK. Thursday 22nd January 2009.

The Winter Gardens is home to Europe's second largest theatre (the Opera House) and is one of Blackpool’s most treasured historical buildings. It opened in 1878 and has seen the likes of Frank Sinatra, Shirley Bassey and a host of West End theatre productions over the years. I’ve seen several gigs (including The Arctic Monkeys and The Subways) there and I also had the job of photographing NALGAO’s three-day conference throughout the venue back in October 2008. Although the interior decor needs sprucing up and looking after, I personally think that it’s still one of the town’s better assets.

I took this photograph from the top level of the recently regenerated Hounds Hill Shopping Centre car park. I’d always struggled to get the shot I wanted of the exterior of the Winter Gardens because there simply wasn’t a high enough vantage point to produce something more interesting from the usual images you see of the building. The new car park at the Hounds Hill helped me to overcome this problem and, at the same time, offered the chance to see Blackpool’s town centre from a completely new perspective.

I’ve recently re-edited my series of photographs for the Blackpool project to include some new photographs and (hopefully) make it a stronger set of images.

This can be seen by visiting the ‘Blackpool: An Unimagined Space?’ gallery.

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 26mm
Shutter Speed: 1/80th sec
F-Stop: f/16

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Taken at 01:06pm in Coney Island, USA. Saturday 31st March 2007.

Today I thought I’d post this photograph that I shot during a day trip to Coney Island in 2007. While I was writing my MA dissertation on contemporary views about Blackpool I came across an article written by J.K Walton entitled ‘The People’s Playground’ which discuss the similarities between Blackpool & Coney Island. They were both mecca’s for working class popular entertainment in their hey-day, but what had become of them now? Well, I went for the today during a week long trip to New York City in March 2007 to find out for myself. I love going to places that I’ve never gone to before, yet Coney Island felt rather familiar to me. Perhaps this was due to the reminisce of by by-gone era all around and its seaside locality. If Blackpool should be twinned with any other town in the world it should be Coney Island. There is an interesting blog article on the Coney Island Blog ‘Kinetic Carnival’, which offers some interesting thoughts on the Coney Island/Blackpool debate.

This photograph shows the Playland building occupying a space on what is now derelict wasteland, while in the foreground several seagulls fly up and out of the frame. I only recently started work on this photograph after finding it during another look at my New York photographs from 2006 & 2007. Sometimes its best to go back to what you’ve shot before with a fresh pair of eyes and I think I’ve found one of my favorite images from the day. More photographs from my trips to New York City can be found in the portfolio section of this website.

On another note, I’ve just added a list of useful links relating to my photography practice.
Take a look if you so wish.

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 20D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 85mm
Shutter Speed: 1/200th sec
F-Stop: f/14

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Taken at 09:49am in Hong Kong. Saturday 29th November 2008.

Victoria Peak (known locally as The Peak) is a popular destination for tourists as it offers spectacular views of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon & Victoria Harbour. I took this photograph from the new sky terrace at the top of the peak and spent a good hour enjoying the wonderful view and taking lots of photographs. Going to Victoria Peak was certainly one of the highlights of the trip as the view was simply stunning. I went early in the morning and took one of the first trams to the summit (which meant there were very few tourists to get in the way of the me taking the photographs I wanted to take). I always make an effort to get the highest vantage point that I can and Victoria Peak certainly didn’t disappoint. You can see many of Hong Kong’s most prominent buildings from the peak (such as The Bank of China Tower & the International Finance Centre). I thought that New York City was a fantastic city to photograph but I’m starting to think Hong Kong could now give it a run for my money! I took enough photographs to make a massive panorama of the view from The Peak that I’m hoping to start work on this month.

In other news, I’m really pleased to announce that I’m going to be a North West artist represented by Visual For Business which is “a unique and flexible service from Arts & Business bringing high quality contemporary art to businesses”. If your interested to learn more about Visual please do take the time to view their website. I will have my own profile on their site in the near future, so I’ll post any further details here on my blog as soon as I know more.

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 17mm
Shutter Speed: 1/100th sec
F-Stop: f/10

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Taken at 12:02pm in Guangzhou, China. Tuesday 25th November 2008.

Apologies for the lack of blog posts this month, December always seems to be a hectic month and this year is no different! I still have plenty of photographs from my trip to China, so I thought I would share & discuss this photograph I took during my first full day in Guangzhou. I have always been fascinated with documenting large scale developments and regeneration projects; whether it’s the construction of the new promenade in Blackpool or new skyscrapers on the other side of the world.

Massive technological projects offer a mélange of creative possibilities and viewpoints, which is perhaps best described by David E. Nye as the “technological sublime” in his book ‘American Technological Sublime’. The Central Plaza Project in Guangzhou is certainly what I would describe as technologically sublime as it allowed me to explore the area from many different angles, from the topography of the site to the workers themselves. At 6ft 4” tall, I found that I could quite easily stretch over the barriers around the circumference of the site to take photographs (which is how I managed to take this particular photograph). The scene is an incredibly busy and seemingly chaotic one, yet the atmosphere around the project was surprisingly relaxed and very well organised. In order to show the fine detail in the background of the image I’ve included a close-up shot below.



As you can see, there is plenty of detail in the background of the photograph that isn’t apparent in the top image. Many of the workers live on the construction site, which is evident by the number of clothes hanging out to dry outside their temporary housing. I’m currently sourcing a venue/space to exhibit some of the work I produced in China somewhere in the UK in 2009. I will, of course, keep you up to date with any developments on this matter.

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 17mm
Shutter Speed: 1/100th sec
F-Stop: f/11

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Taken at 02:12pm in Macau (Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China).
Wednesday 26th November 2008.

As promised in my last blog post, I thought I would share my experience of my day trip to Macau (which lies on the western side of the Pearl River Delta, bordering Guangdong province in the North). I went on to China with my father and we were both in agreement that it would be a shame for me not to go and explore a little further out. Having heard that Macau was only a two and a half hour coach ride away, off I went for the day by myself. The coach wasn’t very busy and I spent the journey looking out at China as it passed by the window. I saw lots of rural areas that would make for great photographs, but unfortunately I couldn’t really ask the driver to pull over while I took some pictures!

A couple of hours later I arrived at a very crowed bus station at the border of Zhuhai and Macau. I had been told that I would need my passport to cross the border and went through customs without any problems at all. Once I was in Macau, I headed downtown to see what I could find and see what it was all about. There is certainly a notable contrast between the thriving tourist areas of the region and its residential areas, so I hoped to capture some of this while I was there. After walking the streets for an hour or so I saw something quite promising down one of the side streets. I noticed some steep steps that looked as though they might take me to a higher vantage point and would (hopefully) lead to some photographs of the city. My luck was in. I followed this maze of steps all the way to the top and found a great open space that allowed for a fantastic view of Macau. This best thing about it was that I had it all to myself! There were no tourists or locals, just me! I spent the next hour or so there, enjoying the view and the sunshine on my face. I took some photographs that I could later stitch together in Photoshop (which can be seen in the China Gallery of this site) to make a panorama of the scene. All in all, I had a great time and was so pleased with finding such a stunning location.

I realized that I’d been up there for a little longer than expected, so I made my way back down into the noise of the city. I was gasping for a drink and it was only when I went to buy some water that I noticed that they had their own currency in Macau (the Macau dollar). After persuading the woman at the counter to take Chinese Yuan (I didn’t have any Macau dollars) I decided to head back to Guangzhou to meet my father for tea. I got to the border and queued up to go back through...

But they wouldn’t let me back through!!!

What I hadn’t realized (nor my father) was that Macau isn’t classed as The People’s Republic of China and my Visa was no longer valid (it was for one visit to China only). The duty manager of customs told me that I would need to get a new Visa and that could take a day or two (not good news) and she directed me back towards Macau (where I had to go through customs again). After a moment of sheer panic (all I had on me was what I was wearing, my camera & passport) I knew that this was something I needed to get sorted straight away. It was late in the afternoon and any place where I could get a Visa would be closed soon. I got a taxi to a place where I could (apparently) get a Visa, but they told me I couldn’t get one to go back to Guangzhou. The guy there told me that I would have to go back to the border and ask for a temporary Visa just to go to the other side (Zhuhai). So I went back, eventually finding the place I needed to be and asked them for the temporary Visa. Luckily it was only 4:30pm and I still had half an hour to get the Visa (which cost around £45)!

Needless to say, as soon I got though the border I jumped on the first coach back to see my father and tell him all about it!

All's well that ends well I suppose!!! It was all worth it just for the photographs...

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 125
Focal Length: 78mm
Shutter Speed: 1/80th sec
F-Stop: f/20

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Taken at 09:39pm from The Avenue Of Stars, Kowloon. Saturday 29th November 2008.

On Sunday 23rd November I departed on one of my most eagerly awaited trips in years, South East China & Hong Kong. I’d never visited this side of world before but I had seen countless photographs from the likes of Edward Burtynsky and other global topographers/photographers that made me dream of seeing it with my own eyes.

Well...I got the chance to go and had a great time!

I arrived in Guangzhou on Monday 24th November and spent the following two days exploring the city and seeing the sites. As I only had a few days there, I thought I would approach documenting the city in a similar way to my Blackpool project, responding to the journey as I went along. I decided quite early on that the tour guide route wasn’t really for me and that I would navigate the city for myself. I wanted to experience the real China and I think the best way of doing that is by not following a path already set out. I also spent a day in Macau (which is one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China) where I had a somewhat eventful day with immigration on the border (I will explain in the next blog post!).

The most rememberable experience has to be Hong Kong Island, it was simply stunning. Everything from the landscape to the buildings, the people and parks were a pleasure to be surrounded by. The noises, smells and colours are so distinctive and really do add to how you experience the place. I only had two full days in Hong Kong but I managed to pack in as much as possible. I spent the last night photographing the city from The Avenue Of Stars in Kowloon, which is where this photograph was taken.

I have to say a huge thank you to my father who allowed me to tag along with him during one of his business trips (without him I could’ve have gone). I must also thank my director Lawrence at Chards (1964) Ltd for being so gracious with me borrowing equipment from him, such as his fantastic Canon EF 70mm - 200mm IS USM lens
(I would’ve missed some great opportunities without it, so thank you LC!).

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 38mm
Shutter Speed: 30.0 sec
F-Stop: f/16

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I have the pleasure to announce that I’ve been invited to be a member of Blott Artist Studios in Blackpool.



Blott Artist Studios was founded in 1998 by Corrine Streetly with help from Sean Hanford and Ann Carragher for professional artists living in and around the Blackpool area. Blott Studios have put on some great exhibitions in their gallery and I can’t wait to exhibit my own work alongside the other members of the group. I’ve already printed some of my photographs ready to be framed and I’m really excited about showing & selling my work in a local gallery. Much of the work that comes out of Blott represents the artists individual responses to the town and I’d like to think my photographs will fit in quite nicely. As I’ve only joined this week my details are yet to feature on their website, but I’ll be sure to announce it on this blog as soon as they are.

Speaking of exhibitions, I have some new work featured in the MA Visual Design as Creative Practice graduate exhibition in the foyer of the School of Art & Design in Blackpool. The exhibition officially opens on the 3rd December 2008 and if your around in the area it would be great if you’d check it out. Some great work to be found from my peers, including Aaron Tonks fabulous sculptures and amazing hand-made frames. The exhibition celebrates over two years work and showcases some of our finest work. I hope you can make it.

Finally, there won’t be any blog posts over the next week as I’m paying a flying visit to the city of Guangzhou in China and then on to Hong Kong for a few days. The weather forecast doesn’t look too promising (typical that it has been sunny there all this week!) yet I’m 100% determined to make it most of it regardless. I’ve never visited that side of the world before and I’m so excited to get out there, soak up the atmosphere and start taking some great photographs (hopefully)!

If you would like to get in touch with me regarding anything over the next week please contact me via email and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

Important Amendment
From the 15th August 2009 I will no longer be a represented artist of Blott Artist Studios. This was a difficult personal decision of mine that I don't wish to go into here, but I do send my sincere thanks to Corrine and all the other artists at the gallery for their support and understanding.

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• Introduction
• Chapter One: Contemporary Views & Their Origins
• Chapter Two: A Self-Perpetuating Myth?
• Case Study 1: ReBlackpool & ‘The Resort Masterplan’
• Case Study 2: Admission All Classes: Re-branding The Carnivalesque
• Case Study 3: Bloomfield Talks
• Chapter Three: Photographic Representations of Blackpool
• Chapter Four: Blackpool: An Unimagined Space?
• Conclusion
• References
• Bibliography
• Figures

‘With reference to contemporary perceptions of Blackpool, discuss the contribution of the visual and built environment to experiences, mythologies and social relationships to that of the transient and residential populous’.

Chapter One: Contemporary Views & Their Origins (Excerpt)

“Universally known and visited by tourists from around the world, few towns conjure up such stirring impressions as Blackpool. Cheerfully unpretentious and brash with all the trimmings expected of a traditional seaside town. Blackpool remains the iconic British resort. But there is more to its richly coloured history than you may think”.
(Thompson, D. (2007))

Often cited in the introductions of many historical books on Blackpool is the writer William Hutton of Birmingham. In 1788, he visited the town and described the topography of the landscape that lay before him. Hutton’s poetic descriptions (characteristic of many literary works of the late 18th century) offers an early insight into how the land may have looked before it was colonized and, how he personally saw the inhabitants living there at the time. Hutton (1788) notes that “about fifty houses grace the sea-bank”, although, he adds “it does not merit the name of a village, because they are scattered to the extent of a mile”. Hutton also describes in fine detail, the recreational behavior of those inhabiting the houses and lodgings. “In some of these are lodged the inferior class, whose sole motive for visiting this airy region is health”. This is an early indication as to the origins of Blackpool’s long-standing appeal to those who enjoy sunbathing and being ‘beside the seaside’. In Hutton’s time there was certainly an emerging love amongst the social elite for bathing and “drinking seawater”. The seaside and its potential to improve ones health must have certainly been a magnetic force for a population that would soon see the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution in the mid 19th Century. With industrialization came the age of the railway, which enabled people to travel from the smoggy city for an opportunity to experience and enjoy the fresh sea air on the Fylde coast.

As the town became increasingly popular in the nineteen-twenties with city-dwellers wishing to get away from the daily grind of working life, new buildings, structures and spaces were designed and implemented by the Blackpool Corporation to entertain and cater for the masses. These included open-air swimming pools, the Illuminations and Stanley Park (which is one of the only green spaces available in the town). The construction of this new visual and built environment was quite profound at the time and definitely helped place Blackpool firmly on the map as a Mecca for working-class entertainment. Blackpool had been way ahead of its time back in 1879, when it became the first town in the UK to introduce electric street lighting installed along the promenade. This was, of course, what latter became known as the Illuminations and people still flock to the resort to enjoy and admire their colourful glow. The introduction of these few electric streetlights marked the beginning of the town’s cultural identity and unique character that became synonymous with popular entertainment. The three-piers on Blackpool’s seaside fringe also became notorious with being working class playgrounds for pleasure, but also celebrated the town’s Victorian history and heritage...(continued)

© Yannick Dixon 2008

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Taken around 4:50pm on South Shore Promenade, Blackpool. Tuesday 8th April 2008.

This is a panoramic photograph made from nine images taken of the Pleasure Beach in Blackpool back in April 2008. The backdrop features one of the town’s premier attractions, the Pleasure Beach’s biggest ride, ‘The Big One’. It is Europe’s largest roller coaster rides and certainly needs the panoramic treatment. To the right of the image are several of the new sculptures produced by contemporary artists (for example, those of Sir Peter Blake) that now feature on the newly revamped promenade. It is a great walk from Stargate, past the Pleasure Beach and onwards towards the centre of town, with plenty of attractions to enjoy and things to experience.

Technical Information
Made from nine photographs all taken at the following exposure:
Camera: Canon EOS 20D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 40mm
Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec
F-Stop: f/22

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Taken at 3:51pm from North Pier, Blackpool. Tuesday 4th November 2008.

North Pier in Blackpool is a wonderful location to view starlings during the winter months and this afternoon I got another opportunity to photograph them. This is the first chance I’ve had to do some personal work since finishing my MA course and completing my recent freelance assignments, so I’m really pleased to be starting my postgraduate life with this photograph of starlings over Blackpool beach.

I will never forget the first time I saw a flock of starlings. It was during a cold February morning in 2006 on Blackpool promenade and there wasn’t another soul to be seen. I was walking past North Pier when I saw a huge swarm of starlings feeding on the beach. After a minute or so, the starlings all took off, on mass, creating what can only be described as a giant bubble. They made their way towards me, flying fast and low across the beach. The sound they made was simply incredible. There is something innately beautiful about starlings and I always feel very privileged to just to see them.

A selection of six black & white photographs that I’ve taken of starlings in flight can now be viewed in the portfolio section of this site. More to follow...

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 500
Focal Length: 85mm
Shutter Speed: 1/80 sec
F-Stop: f/5.6

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Taken at 3:04pm at St. Peters Church, Lytham Road. Blackpool. Saturday 11th October 2008.

In September I was asked to document the website launch of the community-based arts project ‘Bloomfield Talks’. After the madness of the NALGAO conference, this was a nice way to round off a busy week of work. There were quiet moments where people would write down their experiences of the Bloomfield area juxtaposed with live web-broadcasts, balloons, cake, music & much more!

‘Bloomfield Talks’ is a year-long oral history project commissioned by Blackpool Council and runs between July 2008 and February 2009. The project focuses upon the experiences of people who have connections with the Bloomfield, Foxhall, Revoe and near South Shore area of Blackpool. At the heart of ‘Bloomfield Talks’ is team of local volunteers brought together specifically for the project. Ranging in age from the late teens to the late seventies, the volunteers have engaged other local people in conversations and activities focusing on their daily lives in the area.

As one of the volunteers for the project I will be producing a series of photographs exploring the Illuminations Depot and its character. The depot is soon to be relocated, so this is perhaps the last opportunity to document the site.

I can’t wait...

A selection of ten photographs taken during the Bloomfield Talks Tea Party can now be viewed in the Commissions gallery.

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 320
Focal Length: 35mm
Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec
F-Stop: f/10.0

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Taken at 8:37pm during the Blackpool Illuminations Tour. Wednesday 8th October 2008.

The conference was an exciting opportunity to photograph a number of events and presentations. The highlight of the morning was Wayne Hemingway MBE (Co-founder of Red or Dead & Hemingway Design) and his keynote speech (or should that be performance?!). In the afternoon there was an ‘Open Space’ forum which provided a major opportunity for delegates to discuss their ideas and concerns. In the early evening we all gathered for the annual AGM meeting at the Grundy Gallery, set with a beautiful backdrop of the current exhibition from Heather & Ivan Morison entitled ‘The Opposite Of All Those Things’. After the minutes were taken, we walked towards North Pier to be taken for a tram tour of the Blackpool Illuminations. I’ve never been on the tour before, so it was great to finally learn more about about it and take in the whole experience.

Taking photographs in trams at night time is quite a task! There isn’t much available light (surprisingly for an Illuminations tour), however I did my best to use what was there. This is my favourite photograph from the tour and shows the conductor keeping an eye on proceedings.

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 1600
Focal Length: 22mm
Shutter Speed: 1/80 sec
F-Stop: f/4.0

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Taken at 3:38pm in the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool. Thursday 9th October 2008.

On the second day of the NALGAO conference there were a series of breakout sessions & a variety of tours for delegates. I chose the ‘Blackpool Walking Tour’ in the afternoon and had a fantastic time learning about the heritage & history of the Winter Gardens, Tower Ballroom, Grand Theatre, Grundy Gallery and Teenage Library Space. I took this photograph in the Tower Ballroom and it is a moment I’ve waited to take for a long time. Ballroom dancing used to be huge and I can imagine the ballroom brimming with dancers back in the “old days”. There is certainly a special atmosphere when you step into the Tower Ballroom and I’d love to go back to take some more photographs.

‘Ballroom Dancing’ is available as a limited edition print.

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 1600
Focal Length: 17mm
Shutter Speed: 1/50 sec
F-Stop: f/4.0

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Taken at 2:27pm in the Spanish Hall at Winter Gardens, Blackpool. Wednesday 8th October 2008.

This is my first blog post featuring a photograph taken during my photography residency at the NALGAO ‘Switched On!’ Conference 2008. The three-day event was held at the spectacular Winter Gardens and was a fantastic experience. The NALGAO conference has become a key date in the national arts calendar and is an important event for local authorities and their delegates. As mentioned in one of my previous posts, this year’s conference focussed upon “the contribution that the arts and creative industries make in building sustainable communities and supporting regeneration”.

The photograph above shows the reactions from delegates during Wayne Hemingway’s (Co-founder of Red or Dead and Hemingway Design) keynote speech (or should that be performance?!). All the keynote speeches were situated in the beautiful art-deco Spanish Hall, which is lavishly themed with its three-dimensional frieze representing an Andalusian village (which you’ll be able to see in my other photographs!).

I will have the final edit from the conference up on the site within the next few days. Many more new photographs to follow (including the marvellous Civic Reception at the Tower Ballroom)...

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 800
Focal Length: 81mm
Shutter Speed: 1/80 sec
F-Stop: f/5.6

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Taken at 3:31pm on Blackpool Promenade. Tuesday 23rd September 2008.

In the summer of 1969, the photographer John Gay was commissioned to produce a photographic assignment documenting English holiday-makers in the town for Country Fair Magazine. This work was featured at the Grundy Gallery in 2006 and the series of photographs offer a remarkable insight into Blackpool culture during the post-war heyday. Almost sixty years on, the photographs I’ve taken in Blackpool over the past two years hope to offer a contemporary view into the character & identity of the resort.

Added to the site today are a selection of tearsheets of my work.

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 85mm
Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec
F-Stop: f/11

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Earlier this month I was commissioned to be the photographer in residence for this year’s NALGAO (National Association of Local Government Arts Officers) conference. The conference is entitled ‘Switched On!” & will focus on “the contribution that the arts and creative industries make in building sustainable communities and supporting regeneration”. This annual event is held at a different venue each year, with this years being held at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool. The photography residency will document a creative account of the event, including keynote speakers, breakout sessions & study tours.

The conference runs from the 8th October - 10th October 2008 and is financially supported by Arts Council England. The event is a partnership between NALGAO, Blackpool Borough Council and other local authorities in the region.

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Taken at 12:21pm in the Tram Shed at Rigby Road Transport Depot, Blackpool.
Thursday 11th September 2008.

When I visited the depot in 2006 I never got a chance to photograph them cleaning the trams, so I was absolutely thrilled to catch this shot the other day.

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 73mm
Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec
F-Stop: f/5.6

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Taken at 12:08pm in the Fitting Shop at Rigby Road Transport Depot, Blackpool.
Thursday 11th September 2008.

In late August I was asked to join the artist Simon Grennan and his group of volunteers for the community-based art project ‘Bloomfield Talks’. One of the volunteers organised a tour around the Rigby Road Transport Depot, so I thought I’d grab the chance of returning to take some more photographs. In 2006, I was asked by the author John Woodman to produce a series of photographs recording the fabric and infrastructure of this important historical site. I’ve also photographed a book launch at the depot in April 2008 and I’ll take every opportunity I get of documenting a space with such a strong identity and rich heritage.

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 800
Focal Length: 68mm
Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec
F-Stop: f/6.3

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In July I submitted a series of photographs into this years ‘Environmental Photographer of The Year Competition’. This international competition seeks to “honour photographers who use their ability to raise awareness of environmental and social issues”. Today I was contacted by the judges who said I’d been successful and that they would like to include my photograph ‘Aloha From Blackpool’ (above) in the exhibition, which is some great news for the weekend! I will certainly be attended the preview night in London on the 17th September 2008 and I can’t wait to see all of the photographs featured in the exhibition.

More information on the competition can be found on the Environmental Photographer of The Year website.

Exhibition Details
17th September 2008 - 11th October 2008
The Art Pavilion,
Mile End Park,
Clinton Road
London
E3 4QX

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Taken at 1:24pm in Morecambe Bay, Lancashire. Saturday 16th August 2008.

Morecambe Bay was a welcome day out after another busy week working on my Blackpool project. My girlfriend Kate and I decided to take a drive in the afternoon, with no idea of where we wanted to go (isn’t that sometimes the best way?!). I had never been to Morecambe before, I had however, heard of its proud history of being a thriving seaside resort back in the mid-twentieth century. The town has declined over the years and this ‘Arena Fun Fair’ is certainly a monument to that. The view towards the Lake District across the bay were sublime, even though the weather wasn’t quite at its best. This is one of the first photographs taken on my new Canon 40D SLR and I’m really pleased with the overall quality and feel of the camera. I must say that after three years of using my beloved Canon 20D SLR, this might take a bit of getting used too. All in all though, I’m really happy with it and can’t wait to get out there and take more photo’s!

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 35mm
Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec
F-Stop: f/11.0

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Taken at 2:45pm at Stargate, Blackpool. Saturday 2nd August 2008.

Over the last five days I have frantically been gathering together all my research, contact sheets and notes for my MA course. Next month I will have to hand it all in and that will (hopefully) be the end of my studies (for now!). The only problem with coming to the end of the course is that I have to catch up on some written work, but I’m just constantly drawn to my camera and the thought of being out & about taking photographs. Anyway, I think I’m starting to get some sort of balance to the whole thing and all should be just fine.

This photograph is another from Saturday afternoon at the sand dunes in Stargate, Blackpool. I’ve always taken candid portraits when I go shooting and I think this is perhaps the best one I took that day.

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 20D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 47mm
Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec
F-Stop: f/16.0

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Taken at 2:40pm on Blackpool Beach, Sunday 13th July 2008.

I began work on making a book featuring some of my favourite photographs I’ve taken in Blackpool over the years. It will include a diverse photographs not featured on this website, but are hopefully quite interesting none the less. I took this photograph yesterday and it shows holiday-makers making the most of the lovely sunshine and new promenade.

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 20D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 85mm
Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec
F-Stop: f/16.0

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Taken at 12:17pm on Blackpool Promenade Bridge, Monday 17th December 2007.

Since I started my documentary project on Blackpool in 2006 I have taken thousands of photographs, so every now and again there are photographs that I don’t spot straight away during the editing process. Editing and revisiting my work on a regular basis can help re-shape and re-imagine the whole feel of the series. I recently came across this photograph I took six months ago during this process and it features two locally well known subjects; the art deco of the old Palace Discotheque and the world famous Seagull.

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 20D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 61mm
Shutter Speed: 1/160 sec
F-Stop: f/9.0

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Taken at 2:03pm on Blackpool Promenade, Saturday 14th June 2008.

A walk along the promenade reveals the living statue, one of a number of street performers providing light entertainment for Blackpool tourists during the summer months. Blackpool is synonymous with providing popular entertainment for the masses, but I wanted to explore what is available on street level (there is certainly more to the town’s ‘pleasure identity’ than The Pleasure Beach and Blackpool Tower). This location (opposite Central Pier) is a popular hot spot for local street vendors, performers and beggars as there are usually many passers-by along the promenade. I took a few candid photographs from across the street before the living statue noticed me, but once I had been spotted, I crossed over to put a couple pounds in his box to say thanks for letting me take his picture. He posed for a few photographs too but my favourite is this shot taken just as he noticed me taking pictures.

Technical Information
Camera: Canon EOS 20D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF-S 17mm - 85mm IS USM
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 75mm
Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec
F-Stop: f/8.0

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