Reflecting on 2015
June - A cloudy reflection from the vast glass expanse of one of the Mann Island buildings.
What a year 2015 has been! It has absolutely flown by and this year I have tried that bit harder to capture all the various places and events I've been to - from the hustle and bustle of a trade show, cruising the Oslo fjords to basking in the neon glow of Gods Own Junkyard.
Blogging has become an important part of editing and sharing my photos and I would like to thank everyone who has supported me in various ways such as commenting, sharing and subscribing. It gives me a boost to know that people enjoy my posts.
So please take a look through my highlights below and if you have any thoughts please leave a comment - I always like to hear what people think. I wish you all a good 2016!
January - During a weekend trip to Manchester I took this photo inside Affleck's Palace, an alternative shopping centre. A costume shop had various masks, but this one caught my attention (blog here).
February - The backwards arrangement of letters and numbers, coloured from use, made this one of my favourite photos that I took for the Liverpool letter-press print studio Juniper Press.
March - I went to The Photography Show at the Birmingham NEC Arena for the first time. There was much to see and do! (blog here)
March - This portrait, titled Han at Home, was taken in response to the theme Women in the City for the LOOK/15 photography festival...
May - ...the photo was successful and ended up being displayed in Liverpool's city centre on the opening of Light Night.
May - I stumbled across this energetic performance by a local Samba dance group during Liverpool's annual Light Night. This photo was taken on top of a statue in the middle of the Exchange Flags and I slowed the shutter speed to capture the dancers in motion (blog here).
May - The LOOK/15 photography festival started on the same evening as Light Night. The festival showcased a range of work from local to international photographers and held talks and workshops (blog here).
May - These big-cat heads on the doors of the Il Palazzo building in Liverpool always catch my eye, so one day I decided to pass by and take a photo of it!
May - 2015 marked the 175th anniversary of Cunard successfully launching the first transatlantic journey from Liverpool by steamship. On the 24th and 25th of May a light show, titled Amazing Graces, was projected on to the Three Graces buildings at the Pier Head to coincide with the celebrations. It was quite the spectacle! (blog here)
June - After checking out an exhibition at the Museum of Liverpool I took this photo of the building's spiral staircase. I was pleased with this and the way the people at the bottom corner completed the spiral.
June - Tabitha Jussa's three-part workshop Here's Looking at you Liverpool! began with a photo-walk around Liverpool...
June - ...the photo-walk was also the first time I used a Holga film camera. Using it is quite a contrast to modern digital cameras...
July - ...the workshop finished with us binding books with photos from the walk (blog here).
July - The Cunard 175th anniversary celebrations continued with the One Magnificent City event on the weekend of July 4th. One of my favourite moments of the event was seeing Mr. Wilson's Second Liners playing 90's club classics with a New Orleans marching-band twist (blog here).
July - Filming for television and film became a regular sight in Liverpool in 2015. Seeing people in costume riding this horse drawn cart along a muddied road felt a bit like taking a step back in time!
July - Crowds took to the streets of Liverpool to see the sights and sounds of the Brazilica Samba parade...
July - ...performers were colourful and full of energy. You could tell that a lot of passion and enthusiasm went into the event (blog here).
July - Over several evenings I photographed an area of Wavertree that I pass by on my walk to and from work. In the space of a few years I saw rows of houses knocked down, land flattended and weeds grow...
July - ...the weeds grew to a point where I thought I could put together a thoughtful photo story showing this place in a state of transition (blog here).
August - I took a day trip to Blackpool with a few friends for a project. Here's a Jack Sparrow-a-like at a mini golf course. He's missing his sword and a few fingers...I wonder what happened to him?!
August - One of my favourites from a trip to Oslo, this was taken inside the Viking Ship Museum. The centre of the museum meets as a cross, and looking straight up there was this beautiful symmetry combined with subtle light and shadow.
August - Following on from the trip to Blackpool, part two of the project continued with a trip to Crosby and Formby beach...
August - ...I had never been to Formby beach and was surprised by the amazing sand dunes and desert-like trees.
September - A great surprise was my website being critiqued by Jared Polin (aka Fro Knows Photo) as part of his 30 for 30 critique series. It was great to hear someone I have followed for several years speak so positively about my site and to get additional positive feedback from the rest of the Fro community (watch the video here).
September - I treated myself to a macro lens and took it out for a play. A macro lens allows you get to get up close to smaller details - this golden dragon head is found on lamposts in Liverpool's Chinatown.
September - Taking photos at 3am is not something I normally do, but the rare event of a Bloodmoon was something worth photographing...
September - ...I decided to face the Liver building as the moon moved behind and around the building (blog here).
October - My photo (The Library Van) won first place in the Photography Open in this years Warrington Contemporary Arts Festival. As a result I will be having my first solo show there next year.
October - For several years my Dad was interested in keeping bees, so this year he took the plunge...
October - ...it was fascinating to see the bees and their hive up-close. This visit served as a practice run, with the plan to do something more in-depth next year (blog here).
October - One of my favourite places and blogs of the year; Gods Own Junkyard. This neon-soaked place houses many lights and artwork by Chris Bracey. A colour fest for the eyes! (blog here)
November - The view from a walk in the Lake District. In this brief moment the light seeped through the clouds, draping itself from left-to-right across the folds of the mountains.
December - My friends Henry and Sarah tied the knot at Inglewood Manor. It was a great venue for a great couple who have been together for many happy years. Here's to many more!
December - The Open Eye Gallery's Festive Photo Fayre held a pinhole workshop; a process I've wanted to try but never got round to doing. This photo of the Museum of Liverpool and a Mann Island building took 20 minutes to expose...
December - ...also at the Fayre, photographer John Brewer (aka The Victorian Photographer) took a wet-plate portrait of Hannah and myself. It was fascinating to see a traditional process carried out in front of me.
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