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Professional Freelance Photographer
Winter Gardens Refurbishment
In November 2010 work began on restoring Blackpool's Grade-II listed Winter Gardens back to it’s original Art Deco glory. Blackpool Council appointed architects Donald Insall Associates to begin phase one of a restoration process that will take a number of years to complete. The Floral Hall and iconic dome was completed earlier this month, so I thought I’d head down with my camera to take a look.
The Winter Gardens
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.
The World Famous Seagull
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.