The one born in St.Helens in 1961.
View from St.Stephens Church, Sneinton, Nottingham. Looking West towards the Kingston Court flats. Taken in 1981/1982.
I used to live on Lees Hill road in Sneinton and passed this church each day. Sometimes its good to explore and get a different angle on things.
A fortune teller at the Goose Fair in Nottingham, approx 1982. HP5 high speed film pushed 2 stops.
As part of my final year documentary project at Trent Polytechnic I had been photographing people in pubs and clubs using available light, a low shutter speed and a wide aperture to get enough light to the film. Hand held photography at night felt liberating, a technical challenge but also fun. Walking through the Goose fair and recording what I saw felt natural to me though pretty strange perhaps to others.
The curtains of the caravan were open for all to see but what was said stayed inside as the music, machines and crowds provided a protective wall.
A vague memory of taking this picture but i only noticed its thin and sparse negative 38 years later. Not one of my better images but like a blurry photo of a live dodo it has some merit (searching Google images for fortune teller caravan reveals no true documentary image of the subject – let me know if you find one).
Dance class in the main hall of the YMCA Nottingham approx 1982. Taken as part of a documentary project in my second year at Trent Polytechnic studying photography. The dance tutors were very nice people and allowed me to wander around all their classes to take pictures. The younger classes were held during the day and the light pouring into the room really set off the chaos and fun of the children learning. The evenings were much less chaotic and much more formal.
Im not a dancer myself but documentary photography allowed me to explore other peoples interests and passions. One day I was walking into town and saw a dance class in progress, it seemed natural to go through the door and ask if I could take photographs. I was made welcome and in return I found a respect for their world.
Nottingham, roadside signal near railway crossing, taken approx 1982.
No green light and the barriers are up, perhaps a good signal?
Unknown part of Nottingham. Night time shot done on a exploitative walk. Finding different vistas.
Taken approx 1982. 6×6 Colour negative, Yashica 124G camera 80mm lens.
Three people assist each other in the search for knowledge.
Part of my Second Year Documentary project covering the courses at Newark College. 1981-2.
Ilford FP4 120 film. Yashicamat 124G.
Photography is a wonderful hobby. it spins you in new directions and makes the blood flow. Kneeling down on the path to get a better angle – I hope he also got the shot he wanted.
A walk across the fields, yes, an actual field trip with my fellow 1st year class of photography students, Trent Polytechnic, Nottingham. Approx 1980
St.Stephens road, Sneinton. Taken approx 1982.
Straight digitisation of a medium format 6×6 colour negative. Strange colours come from a mix of street lights and perhaps moonlight.
Present day location view:
Click here: Google Steeet View
Second year house share in Lees Hill Road, Sneinton, Nottingham.
Here across 3 frames of 6×6 colour negatives is one of my co-housemates as she takes her turn to clean the kitchen.
Pretty basic facilities and very cold in the winter but the landlord was a nice guy and the rent was reasonable (from memory £8 per week).
The third housemate was a little more particular about cleanliness than I was and I once found a coin resting in the grill cover housing – a test to see I had dissembled the cooker to clean it when it was my turn…
Originally shot for a college project to illustrate a book by a local author.
What struck me about the place then (and now) is how idyllic it is to have normal terraced housing backing onto a communal park area. If I were a town planner my rule would be road at the front, green strip at the back.
(Only just noticed the tops of the bench are like mini houses with the same roof angle as the properties behind, I would not been concious of this at the time but I have no doubt it was a major reason for taking the image, unconscious thought notices far more)
The central part of a series of nightlife images from my final year exhibition at Trent Polytechnic in 1983.
Nottingham.
Two negatives combined to create one image. Nigh time Nottingham and a studio shot, both taken on Kodak Vericolor II Professional Type S medium format colour negative film.
The only image in the dreamscape project to not be shot at night but seeming to emerge from it’s own dark centre.
Venue: The Mill, a Nottingham nightclub near the centre of town. As well as the latest 80s music they had light displays and smoke machines. This image was used in an article in the September 1983 edition of the British Journal of Photography about the final diploma show at Trent Polytechnic.
Adam Sulik (left) comes to visit after a trip to the Reject Shop in town. He has bought a rolling ball maze game and lets everyone have a go. After days of frustration Adam got quite good at it…
Luckily I dont think it was a windy day. Health and safety standards for demolition have certainly changed since. Taken on a walk to nowhere in particular. I enjoyed walking with my camera and capturing what I saw along the way.
