Meet Nathan Burr and his memorial to Blackpool. 

Showzam 2013 Launch

Duck Street

For those of you who love to thrift, scavenge, reclaim or just generally 'do it yourself' Duck Street is the place for you!
After a ride through the countryside, lots of windy roads and a few false turns we (me and Robin Ross) finally arrived over Wyre at Duck Street. As you turn into the yard you see two large storage units. One is crammed to the ceiling with furniture the other with all the nick knacks you can expect to see in any second hand store. The difference is you get to rummage though and then make the owner an offer for the item. Some things have price labels but if you are buying in bulk or more than one item then make them an offer.
As I am currently looking for old photographs for my recent commission 'The Found Project' I was delighted to come across a family album spanning thirty years. It is detailed with holidays, first trips abroad and the Honeymoon of the mystery couple. Its a love story you can not refuse to love!

So if you want to go to Duck Street just google Duck Street Pilling and you will get directions. Happy thrifting!

Project 365

So its 2013 already and we are on day four of the 365 project. For those of you who don't know about Project 365 its pretty simple - take one photo each day of yourself so 365 days in the year and there you go!
This year I have seen some people take to a theme of colours or the sky or a plant in their room. Its a great way to keep focused in your photography and without adding them daily to a blog there is no pressure to upload constantly.
As you can see I have decided to stick to the original project and photograph myself. Today I am at the office and so had to make use of the sexy floorboards outside the door to my studio.
What do you think? Are you doing the project? Let me see!

Goodbye 2012!

A selection of festive photos from Christmas 2012 (yes they are all of Christmas Trees!). I'm hoping to blog more in 2013 as I'm guilty of slacking off the past few months!

INSTAGRAM

I feel like I've been using Instagram more than my actual camera recently as I am sure a lot of other photographers have been too. My most recent 'favourite' gram is this...taken in Manchester at the weekend and went worldwide within 5 seconds of taking the image. That's the joy of modern technology surely?

LONDON

London 2012! What a fab weekend in London, I have taken so many photos this blog is rather long and there will be a second part...maybe even a third.
Here is a selection of the black and white images I took with my PEN, I love the street photography style and thought the gritty black and white grainy filter really adds to the urban atmosphere.
I find street photography quite liberating as you are literally pointing the camera at people who you don't know. In that split second you can get some great facial expressions and the results are usually quite interesting although I am not sure you would get the same reaction to the camera anywhere else in the country? Who knows maybe I will snap up the streets and people of Blackpool?

MY T-SHIRTS

After entering a competition to sell products in a pop-up shop I decided it was time to take up an idea I have had for a long time to produce some T-Shirts.
I have a whole host of images relating to Blackpool and I wanted to bring to life the mundane and everyday atmosphere of Blackpool to fashion.
So here is the prototype that I am about to submit..what do you think? I designed the tag also which relates to the individual T-Shirts including 'Slots of Fun' and 'Around we Go' featuring the carousel on North Pier.
I hope to get to the next round of the competition but if not then I will still pursue the idea and hopefully be able to get my images out there in a new way!

BROWN WEDDING

Last weekend I had the privilege to photograph the wedding of Daryl and Victoria Brown at the lovely Barton Grange Hotel. The bride was dressed in a beautiful vintage lace dress with a rose and half head veil, the groom and others in the bridal party wore hand made floral pins..it was all so sweet!

These images were taken on my new PEN camera as I thought it would be a great opportunity to test it out in all circumstances. I love the end results but still trust my 'big' camera to do the job properly.

THE OLD ROCK FACTORY

First I have to apologies for the lengthy photo post but I really couldn't cut any from the series as they all bought the story of The Old Rock Factory to life!
Some of you may or may not know the studio space but here it is. A place for creatives to be..well creative! As you can see Robin Ross the owner has his own printing studio located on the first floor and it is filled with lots of interesting things from the actual screen prints, paint pots, work areas and all with the back drop of a beautiful old factory setting.
Robin holds many printing sessions here for people of all ages and on a daily basis is there to make his own art work in which he exhibits all over the world.
The annual event 'Sand, Sea and Spray' that features Robin (and who has also curated it!) will be held in Blackpool on the 16th June this year. Over three days the town will be 'sprayed' by various artists in various urban locations. Want to know more? Click here.

I think its great that Blackpool finally has studio spaces for creatives to work in and I urge anyone who is passing to pop into the factory!