Photographic Restoration: Rugby League Team, 1955

Restoring a damaged old photograph can be a very demanding and time-consuming job but photographs hold many treasured memories and it is well worth the effort to bring them back to life. Quite often they are creased, torn and discoloured, like the one below which I've been asked to restore, and more often than not there are significant pieces missing. I thought it would be interesting to show you what the image was like before I started work on it and I'll post the result when I finish it, which will probably be sometime in 2024, judging by the state of the original!

Click on the image if you'd like a closer look.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FINISHED PHOTO

In true Blue Peter style, here's one I prepared earlier. This 'before' & 'after' pictures of a Bradford mill owner and his family taken on 12th July 1878 which I restored for one of their descendants a couple of years ago.

Landscape Photography: Winter Landscapes, The River Calder, Dewsbury - Part 3. 19th January 2011

Another 20 minute lunchtime stroll along the River Calder. The swans were there again and the pale winter sun had a similar beautifying effect to the snow a few weeks ago. It would be interesting to make this a regular thing and try to find something different and interesting to photograph each time on this short stretch of the river.



Landscape Photography: Winter Landscapes, The River Calder, Dewsbury - Part 2. 14th January 2011

I was at a loose end at lunchtime today, so I thought I'd pop back to have a look at the River Calder in Dewsbury now the snow has gone (see my previous visit last month - CLICK HERE).
What a difference! As predicted, there was rubbish and filth absolutely everywhere and the whole place was grey and dreary.
And then I spotted the two swans and I couldn't help thinking that wherever you are you can find something beautiful and uplifting. Quite why they'd chosen to be there, I've no idea!
Remember, you can enlarge the images by clicking on them.

Landscape Photography: Winter Landscapes, Ogden Reservoir, Halifax. 8th January 2011

New Year's Resolutions:
1. Get more exercise (ie. get out and walk a lot more this year).
2. Do more Landscape Photography.

Result:
A nice short walk around Ogden Reservoir, near Halifax. Nothing too taxing, just a gentle stroll. It was still pretty icy underfoot and the reservoir itself was surprisingly still frozen over. Judging by the size of some of the rocks people had thrown onto it, I would imagine the ice was still fairly thick.
The low sun and contrasty (is that a word?) light made it ideal for a bit of black & white!

Don't forget, you can enlarge the images by clicking on them if you want a closer look!

Panoramic Photography: Halifax By Night. 2nd January 2011

It's been ages since I went out and did some proper landscape photography so I decided to go out early on Sunday morning to catch the dawn rising over the valleys around Halifax and Bradford. As it happened, it was a bit too cloudy and therefore not a very interesting light. However, I did take a few shots of Halifax town centre from the hill up into Southowram while it was still dark. It's very theraputic going out at the crack of dawn (or before) when there is no-one about to photograph the local landscape. I should make it my New Year's resolution to do it more often!
Click on the image to enlarge

Landscape Photography: Winter Landscapes, The River Calder, Dewsbury. 21st December 2010

Landscapes are my favourite subject but unfortunately these days, I don't get the opportunity to devote the necessary time to photographing them properly. The following images were all taken hand-held with my trusty 10-20mm super-wide lens within 15 minutes because the temperature was -8C and I couldn't feel my finger-tips by the time I'd finished. I can't ever remember it feeling so damned cold! It's been like this for weeks and today is only the first day of winter!!!!!!!!
What I particulaly like about these shots is the fact that if you went there in summer, you'd probably see a sea of litter. Very colourful, I'll admit but not ideal for your classic landscapes. That's the magic of snow. It covers all the rubbish and makes everything look beautiful.
I was tempted to convert these images to black & white but I love the pastel colours so I decided to leave them alone.
Just to remind you, this really is the River Calder, just behind the local waste recycling centre in Dewsbury.
To have a closer look, click on the image.



Event Photography | Clayton Dickensian Market | 4th December 2010

The Dickensian Market has been my adopted home village of Clayton's big annual event for a number of years and this year was the biggest one yet with nearly 100 stalls selling all sorts of interesting stuff, from toys and games to cakes and snacks along with a mini fun-fair to keep the kids entertained! Church, sports and social organisations based in the village also held fund-raising stalls and local business took the opportunity to join in the fun.
Despite the recent bad weather, it was decided that the market would go ahead, no matter what. Roads and pavements were cleared and everything went ahead as planned, in fact business was brisk all day.
Entertainment was provided by the excellent local street band, The Peace Artistes, who's lively carnival-style music definitely took the edge off the freezing temperatures. There was also a pipe band, who led the parade of the Snow Queen, and several brass bands, including a French Horn quartet.
I've been asked to help out with next years event, which I'm really excited about, and to help update the website and produce some promotional material, so watch this space!

PLEASE CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO ENLARGE