Manchester is rich pickings for a photographer. My visit was a brief one on a dull day. But rather than keep my camera in it’s bag and go for a coffee, I had a go to see what I could get out of it (and then put my camera in it’s bag and went for a coffee!). For me, the exercise is about noticing what’s there, asking yourself what you need to make it better (eg. a different lens, camera angle, different weather or different time of day) and perhaps planning to return when you can achieve that? It’s like an artist doing an initial sketch for something that later becomes a masterpiece. See what you think…

The old and new face of the city.

I added contrast to compensate for the flat lighting. I love the decaying derelict building  contrasting with the modern office blocks behind in both architecture and colour. A slightly quirky angle helps too.

Victoria Station ironwork.

A few steps away was the frontage of Victoria Station and some original ironwork from Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway days that I find appealing.

The original station sign glinting in the… well, after I tweaked it in Photoshop(!) looked striking.

They don’t make signs like this often now.

It’s always worth remembering to look up and down and not to stay at eye-level, especially when you are in a city where the best shots may be above or below.

Reflection of it’s original press days, the Manchester Printworks building.

Manchester’s revamped Printworks is an interesting building, full of life both outside and in. It has a fascinating history and was associated with the newspaper industry until 1986. Check it out on Wikipedia!

My last shot is a ‘cheeky little number’. Can you tell what’s ‘wrong’ with this photo? I’d like to try this shot again at night.

 

 

More Photographer’s Ramblings Coming Soon.

Why not reflect on my newspaper days here?