If my previous post on the soaring vertical drama of Trellick Tower and the sinuous, wave-like flow of the Alexandra & Ainsworth Estate captured West London's brutalist spirit, then this one takes us straight into the City for the sequel: the Barbican Estate.
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Kodak Double X in Pompey: Searching for Middle England in a Great Port City
There’s a particular energy to photographing a port city—a sense of history anchored to the sea, mixed with the transient, hard-edged reality of a place that lives by trade and naval tradition.
Having originated from a small landlocked West Midlands town, I find the allure of a port / seaside location alluring when its outside of the ‘high season’.
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Mod Weekender
Celebrating Two Decades of Style: The Brighton Mod Weekender 2025
This post is a little delayed, as I wanted to wait until I received my developed film negs from the photo lab.
The August Bank Holiday weekend in Brighton has always been special, but this year it was truly historic. The Brighton Mod Weekender, the annual pilgrimage for Mods from across the globe, celebrated its 20th anniversary from August 21st to 24th, and the city was buzzing with more style, music, and scooter pride than ever before.
Its a blend of old timers reminising of the past and generational newcomers. All parading around as proud as peacocks.
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In the name of love?
In a world that can often feel heavy with grim headlines and distressing current affairs, there are moments that remind us of the power of community, joy, and love. This weekend, Brighton & Hove Pride 2025 provided just that—a vibrant, lighthearted relief where people came together to celebrate and share some much-needed love.
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<del>U Should Not be doing that<del>, Oh yes you should.
I haven’t been been out for quite some time, have been a bit busy at work and it’s nice to just chill and relax in the house, now that the builders have all left. But today I decided to pop out into town to shoot some film.
Classic indecision, meant that I was packed up like a Sherpa going up Mount Everest, carrying the Pentax 67, FujicaGS645s I’m the delightful Minolta X500.
Happenstance delivered today where I stumbled across a Transgender March. As I wasn’t too tired, I was quite active getting some street portraits, approaching folk. But the photo used at the top of this blog post. The person on the left. Thought I may have been a Daily Mail photographer.
FFS.
I did have a chuckle to myself and think: 1) I’m a 53-year-old dad of two, I think I need to modernise some of my wardrobe, 2) am I near the autumn of the street photography journey that I’m on? I don’t fancy much being pointed out as a right wing broadsheet tabloid photographer, as the hair turns a bit more grey?
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Exploring Margate: A Coastal Gem with Stories to Tell
I don’t fully know what the allure of a British kitsch seaside town is for me, but its nostalgic. I do think it has some association with me being born and growing up in the ‘land locked’ midlands.
Yesterday would have been my dad’s 89th birthday, and its almost 10 years since his passing. So the kids and I decided to have a trip to Margate, the main reason was to see ‘Resistance’ exhibition that was curated by Steve McQueen, but also just to take a chill.
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Brutal
With the pending release of ‘The Brutalist’ film at the cinema, my son and I decided to head upto London, after dusting down one of my archived Brutalist photowalks, from Google My Maps.
Our trip into town was tailored, as the train from Brighton was delayed at Croydon, due to the perennial, ‘essential weekend engineering works’. So we jumped in the car, drove to Hounslow West Tube station, and headed in on the Piccadilly line. The was as awkward and unsightly, as Brutalist architectiture is to some…….?
Read MoreCamber Sands: A Seaside Story of Shifting Sands
While the summer months bring the majority of visitors to British seaside destinations, a beach possesses a unique charm during the off-season.
I decided to visit Camber Sands, and carry on some more new film photography in 2025, tim really enjoying this new vein of enthusiasm.
I decided on taking my Leica M6, loaded with my trusted Kodak 5222 / Double X and my large format 4x5 camera, The Chamonix 45n2 with some Fomapan 400. Both of these films are my trusted film choices. I buy the former in 400 ft bulk reels that I pre-load onto 30 exposure rolls. The latter constitutes the best value for 4x5 film, where 50 sheet boxes can be bought off the interweb for around £40. This coupled with my chosen black and white developer - Kodak hc110 - at dilution b (1:31), is about the best and most prudent and cost effective workflow that there is.
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