“I grew up on the “set” of In Flagrante , the bloke at The Library bus stop was a dead ringer for Killip” ! David Barrett The bloke at the bus stop , AKA Killip … Headline quote from , He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven , W B Yeats ..read more

Strange how random memories surface from nowhere every now and then … This week I was visited by memories of a conversation I had with fellow students back in the day , circa 1977’ish … I have vague memories of a conversation taking place with fellow photo-students that might of started by discussing “what camera was best ” but evolved and ended up creating a “wish list” that included “features that a dream camera would / should possess” ? My Geordie Leica or Holga to you … Seventies Student Dreams Back in 1977 photo-life was almost manual everything as only basic levels of automation were be ..read more

Almost everyone has created a subverted version of the Mona Lisa at one time or another , if you haven’t you should … This is my version from a few years ago , its just a old printed plastic tea tray and a unfinished jigsaw that were meant to be together , I never thought of my nan as a surrealist ! This picture is part of my new “No Tomatoes To Throw” project … Is my Granny Banksy ? MORE… If your blessed with a bit more time feel free to visit highlights from LIMBOLAND , my State Of Play project or The State Of Britain series , they represent the most turbulent years in modern British histor ..read more

I also considered the “Suspicious Minds” lyrics for the title for this blog , “Caught In A Trap” … Don’t worry this is not another Brexit / tomatoes based blog , this post is just a recognition and comment on all things Twitter algorithm , it would appear that those of us using links to our websites are ranked much lower than “unlinked” Tweets , we are certainly ranked lower than we were “pre-Elon” , I can understand why the “Little Blue Bird” would want to keep all of us on his feed and sell us things while extracting commercially advantageous data but a online life of memes and cat videos ha ..read more

New year , new gear , new photo books , the street photography world is your lobster ! It could be and should be but for many it won’t be … The journey between nowhere to okay-ish might be fast , okay to competent a bit slower , so on and so forth depending on the individual and the amount of time spent “Driving” a camera out on the streets , reading photo books , seeing , failing , learning and developing a curious creative eye demands a strong work ethic , bordering on the obsessive … Most camera owners fail to build a creative palette of ideas and develop a visual vocabulary of self express ..read more

Just a familiar view that I’ve driven past many times , today I stopped and made this picture ! This location was not even on my very long mental list of picture locations to watch … It’s just a ordinary view , a decent sky and some special low light , I’m not bothered by the diagonal wires crossing the frame , in fact I like them , they add depth … In some ways this pic is nothing , in other ways its something , for me its the generic , underwhelming commonality that adds up to what it is , maybe its something & nothing ? Every dog has its day … … maybe its something & nothing ? MOR ..read more

Let me warn readers that this blog might offend , that is not my intention , on the other hand I should also warn readers that this post might make you laugh uncontrollably if your not offended , you have been warned ! I have written before about how Creative Camera magazine contributed to my own personal evolution as a aspiring photographer back in the 1970’s although I recognise its importance now I was not and could not of been aware of this publications significance at the time , although many of the photographers within its pages were known to me I never gave a thought to the people behin ..read more

I found this sleeping soundly on my hard drive today , don’t know how I missed this back in the day , I must of nodded off … I did the first edit with my full colour TESTING TIMES head on back in 2020 , I had my Limboland mono head on today , gotcha … Always worth revisiting old shoots with new eyes … I have a theory that if you round up all your stray shots a thread begins to appear , a subconsciously created series , perhaps … Take a second look at your “Old Tosh” when you have a bit of spare time , you might discover some “New Tosh” … Old Tosh , 2020 MORE… If your blessed with a bit more t ..read more

“I bought my first camera & a roll of FP4 in Wallsend , I felt empowered from the moment I handed over the FIVER” ! David Barrett , a memory from 1974 ..read more

Time , photography and life make a curious , powerful cocktail ! Allowing pictures to grow within their time & place really does change how we see and interpret them , good pictures appear to become more potent when neglected and left to decant in hindsight … A photographers original intent , perspective and context can and does get lost as change and time march on , significance is frequently magnified as we re-examine what we once considered to be “familiar” through new eyes , The team here at UK Street Photography , that’s me , myself and I have been reassessing the archive , rediting ..read more