1 April 2024 - Britannia : Rescanning : Covers

BRITANNIA AMONGST THE CHIMNEY POTS

There are some scenes I return to again and again: photographs I have been taking for fifty years. One such is the statue of Britannia which overlooks Elland Bridge from her elevated position on the roof of the former premises of the Halifax and Huddersfield Banking Company. Sometimes I try and capture her in an elegant pose, flanked by the pilasters, columns and pediments of the frontage of what is now a beautifully restored building. At other times I sneak up on her and catch her off guard, amid the tv aerials and chimney pots.

RESCANNING THE PAST : For the best part of fifteen years I have been working my way through my negative archives, scanning them and saving them, and trying to recall which part of my life they belong to. Many decades ago the negatives were cut into strips of six, so if I manage to identify a possible place or date from one of the six images, I have a context for the other five. Today's strip of six must have been taken the best part of sixty years ago on a family holiday in Scotland.

COVER STORY : The end of the month means that I bundle up all my various social media posts, jottings, rantings and associated images, send them off to a printing and commission a hefty print run. This is normally three copies - one for myself, one to be put aside for future generations, and one to be left on a random charity shop bookshelf. Here is the cover of the latest volume.