AidanORourkeCP - Aidan O’Rourke @AidanORourkeCP

Do you have a view over Manchester or Liverpool? Cityscape photographer seeks help

24/03/2013 By AidanORourkeCP

Do you work in an office or live in an apartment with a high level view over Manchester or Liverpool? If so, you could really help me to take exciting images of the city and get something in return as well.

Dusk view over Manchester from Islington Wharf

I love to take photos over the city. In my opinion there is nothing more stunning than the view over the city, especially at dusk. My cityscape photos are by far the most sought after of all the images in my portfolio. That’s why I’ve decided to take lots more, and build up a varied and up to date selection of cityscape views.

Unfortunately, getting access to buildings in order to take these photos is often difficult. Permission is nearly always needed to take a photo from an office building. And to get access to private residences, well, I would need to have lots of ‘friends in high places’ (I have a few but not enough!)

But if I am invited into an office tower, or residential development as a guest, then everything is fine. That’s how I was able to take my gigantic Manchester Mega-Photo from the Beetham / Hilton tower in its final stages of construction.

So here’s the deal. If you have a workplace or apartment with an interesting view, and you are able to invite me in, I will come and take photos from your windows. and you can have copies of my best images for your own use. That’s my way of saying thank you for helping me. And if you’d like any prints or canvases, I can provide them at a substantial discount. Due to the techniques and equipment I use, the quality is far higher than taken with a cheap compact!

It usually takes around 10 to 15 minutes for a quick shoot. For a more ambitious shoot, for instance multiple collage, or a time-lapse series of shots, it might take a bit longer.

I prefer to take pictures through an open window if possible, but it’s also possible to shoot through glass. If accessible, the roof is also a good vantage point.

So if you’d like to help me to document the city, and capture the view you can see out your window in high quality professional images, please e-mail info@aidan.co.uk or phone or text 07779 290082.

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Filed Under: cityscapes, Liverpool, Manchester, Photography, Salford, Wirral

City Photo Walk in Manchester or Liverpool with Aidan O’Rourke photographer tutor

15/11/2012 By AidanORourkeCP

My Photographic Walking Tour is now a well-established event that has been enjoyed by scores of people from north west England and beyond. Come on a leisurely walk around the city, benefit from a photography lesson ‘on the hoof’, learn about photography, get constructive feedback, meet new people.

Here are the main points:

We will go on a short walk through the city centre stopping at a few points.
The photo walk lasts three hours and thirty minutes.
Get my concentrated lesson on aperture, shutter speed and ISO.
Learn how you need to use only a handful of controls on your camera.
Pester me with questions as much as you like (on photography!)
I hate jargon and always try my utmost to explain things carefully.
If you learn one new thing it will be worth it. Actually I can guarantee you will learn at least several new things.
Get ‘over-the-shoulder’ feedback from your friendly and dedicated photography tutor
Get tips on composition and what makes a good (and bad!) photo
Pick up basic but useful tips on how to take better photos
Take photos of architecture, statues, trees, flowers, anything, discover new photo opportunities, impress me!
You will receive information sheets and my exposure crib card, which you should keep with you at all times!
We will Look critically at so-called ‘pro’ photos on display in the street and learn from their mistakes!
Meet nice people! The ones who come on the Photo Walking Tours are very nice!
If you’re more experienced, you can help someone less experienced and in doing so, reinforce your own knowledge of photography.

The meeting point will be at a convenient place the city centre (Manchester or Liverpool). Make sure you have my mobile number 07779 290082 on your phone. Please text me on the day or the day before to confirm where the meeting point is. Also check my Twitter feed to confirm all is okay.

A large number of people have been on the walking tour and the feedback has been very positive:

Dilys Thompson ‏@DilysBT
@AidanORourkeCP Thanks Aidan – really enjoyed it and promise to try and steer clear of my auto setting from now on!

Meet at a pre-arranged point in Liverpool or Manchester city centre. Text 07779 290082 on the day to find out where.

Tour starts at 1:30 finishes around 5pm (some tours may have alternative times)

On the day don’t set off before texting me, checking this site and/or my Twitter feed.

Bring any camera, whether a tiny, cheap compact, or a high end ‘brick’ DSLR, and even no camera at all!

This is an all-weather event! Come suitably attired wearing a good pair of shoes.

A tripod not usually necessary but bring one if you like

Wide angle lenses may be better for buildings but telephoto will be useful too!

We will watch out for each other, but remember I am not responsible for your own safety.

I will try to keep to a max of eight or nine people though occasionally it might be more

To book choose a date from ‘Upcoming Events’ then email, text or phone me

Pay in advance or on the day

Special offers and discounts are often available please enquire

Voucher holders please note: Your voucher will run out on a certain date. However, as long as you contact me, redeem your voucher and make a booking, you can come on any walking tour. Just make sure to get in contact with me asap!

Filed Under: Creativity, Liverpool, Manchester, Photography Tagged With: learn photography, photo lessons, tutorials, workshops

Victoria Baths photography workshop – Always something new to discover

07/10/2012 By AidanORourkeCP

Today Sunday 7 October 2012, I supervised the second photography workshop at Victoria Baths. Eight participants were in attendance and the session started at 10am.

The main aim of the workshop is to give people the opportunity to take photographs of the inside of this amazing building, including some areas that are not normally open to the public. I am available to offer ‘over the shoulder’ feedback on photos and provide tips and information.

The eight who attended were mostly quite experienced in the use of digital SLR cameras. But there is always something new to learn, and at an event like this, you can learn from others, as well as from the tutor and often, the tutor learns as well!

We started in the Turkish Rest Room, that’s the large ground floor room with magnificent stained glass windows. The light was streaming in through the glass, casting pools of shimmering colour on the shiny floor.

Stained glass windows can be a tricky subject to photograph. If, as in a cathedral or church, they take up a small part of the frame, and the rest is dark, it will probably be necessary to under-expose by one or two stops as the camera’s auto-exposure is ‘fooled’ by the unusual light. Here, if the window fills the frame, then you might have to over-expose.

An important message I give in all my tutorials and workshops is that photography is all about managing levels of light and it is often necessary to tweak the brightness of an image either up or down by one, two, maybe even three or more stops. In Manual mode, to do this, you can simply adjust the aperture or shutter speed. In some of the Auto modes you can use Exposure Compensation control, in my opinion the fourth most important control on the camera. (You can ask me what are the first, second and third at an upcoming workshop!)

The participants soon started producing very good photographs of the windows. If you position yourself directly in front, you need to have the camera exactly horizontal. One photographer accomplished this with a spirit level on the camera.

Others photographed from the side, giving more diagonals in the composition. As I always say, horizontal and vertical lines give a more static effect, while diagonals give photos a more dynamic quality. I told one photographer I felt he needed to under-expose the photos a bit more as some areas of the image showing the flashing ‘over-exposed’ warning.

Today we were lucky to have photographic model Cat, and appropriate to the building, she was wearing a black bathing suit. The combination of Art Nouveau style windows and a model who has a distinctive 19th century / Pre-Raphaelite look provided excellent creative possibilities.

We also took some photographs in the room next door, with its beautiful tiles the colour of water. This gave the pictures a painterly quality which I love. I’m interested in paintings and the history of art and regularly visit Manchester Art Gallery and the Walker and Lady Lever, part of National Museums Liverpool.

While a few of us were photographing with the model, others explored the building, visiting the Gala Pool, Sports Hall, Female Pool, not to mention the magnificent entrance hall with its green tiles and sweeping staircase. An extreme wide angle lens is ideal for photographing this area.

We returned to the Turkish Rest Room where Andy Kilmartin took photos using his extreme wide angle lens (12mm). Last month he had taken a similar photograph and but I felt something was missing. This time model Cat was placed in the centre foreground, transforming the image exactly how I’d visualised.

It is difficult controlling light levels when the light is shining towards the camera from the windows. The only way to cope with this was to take a series of bracketed shots. For this Andy used Exposure Compensation at minus one, zero and plus one. The floor was freezing so we thanked the model for her excellent contribution and allowed her go and warm up again!

Today there was a Vintage Fair in the Sports Hall, which added an extra element of interest.

After refreshments in the cafe, we were given access to the flat on the top floor.

We had to ascend two flights of stairs and on the way up we discovered another gem of the baths, this amazing stained glass window at floor level.

On the top floor is the spacious apartment where the Superintendant used to live. Today it is empty and is a place of beautifully decaying walls with peeling paint, torn wallpaper and broken plasterwork, for me a fascinating photographic subject.

People appreciated the opportunity to visit and photograph these rooms which are normally closed to the public.

I have to say, everyone on the workshop was very impressed with my stereoscopic 3D camera, the Fuji Finepix W3. Most had not seen 3D photographs before and were amazed by the quality and impact of the photos I’d taken, viewed in 3D on the screen on the back of the camera, without the need for glasses. I told them that these days, I get far more excitement out of using the 3D camera than a conventional DSLR, particularly with subjects such as models and interiors.

It was nearly one o’clock it was time to finish, and so we made our way back down to the ground floor, taking one last look at that floor level stained glass window, which was casting a slightly different pattern of colours, as the sun had moved.

People had the option of staying on for the rest of the Open Day if they wanted to, as the admission fee was included in the price of the workshop. The admission fee was £15. The people who photographed the model made a contribution of £5 towards her fee. £20 for a three hour workshop including the use of a professional model, I call that very good value!

After a delicious lunch in the cafe, I made a quick visit to the Vintage Fair. I’ve always been keen on retro-style glamour and striking make-up, and so couldn’t resist photographing Bethany Jame Davies of the Vintage Beauty Parlour.

The final workshop on 4 November is already fully booked. Open Days recommence in April 2013. I look forward to meeting lots more people on the Victoria Baths photography workshop!

The following article appeared in the Manchester Evening News on 13 October 2012. It was written by journalist and broadcaster Eamonn O’Neal.

Filed Under: Architecture, Art, Local history, Manchester, Photography

Hacienda 30th anniversary night review and stereo 3D slide show video

22/05/2012 By AidanORourkeCP

On Monday 21 May 2012 I was privileged to witness an extraordinary event: It was a night to mark the 30th anniversary of the opening of the Hacienda, and what made it amazing was that it took place in the basement car park of the apartment building that occupies the site of the former nightclub. It closed in 1997 and the building was demolished in 2001 to be replaced by the Hacienda apartments.

The organisers went to huge efforts to conjure up the appearance and atmosphere of the original club, using as raw material, the shell of a multi-storey car park interior. The result was an unforgettable and eerie recreation of what is still Manchester’s most famous discotheque.

Access was via the vehicle entrance opening out onto Whitworth Street West. This also served as an impromptu chatting and smoking area. Clubgoers then proceeded down the ramp, transformed by mood lighting, photos, posters and projections, and pushed through plastic curtains of the type found in warehouses, and entered the main part of this astonishing one-night-only venue.

To the left where cars are normally parked, was the seating area, similar to the original and in the corner, a set of portable toilet cabins, with a long queue in front of them. Turning right and moving further up the car park floor, it was like a scene from Close Encounters, gyrating figures holding their hands up in worship, nowadays clutching smartphones, silhouetted against a blinding, pulsating light coming from the far end.

The light emanates from the desk of the DJ, that extra-terrestrial demigod, a form emerging out of the smoke, clutching his headphones, making fine adjustments to the knobs and sliders, occasionally holding his hands up in the air with pointed fingers, light beams shining over shoulders (and under his armpits, see photo 3005 below), bizarre patterns swivelling and bouncing across the banks of multicolour LED panels. After many years, he has returned to commune with the Hacienda-lings, at their original point of contact. He takes a variety of human forms: The closely-shorn lankiness of Dave Haslam, the hirsute jokeyness of Peter Hook and the comical bespectacledness of Graeme Park, among others.

This truly was the Hacienda recreated. Not quite the same layout and probably with better sound, thanks to improved technology and the low multi-storey car park ceiling.

Scores of Hacienda-goers from its heyday had returned, along with others probably young enough to be Peter Hook’s granddaughters. Upstairs in the smoking area at the entrance to the car park, a number of the city’s music personalities were present. I took stereo 3D photos of Peter Hook, Johnny J and John Robb. Terry Christian was there but left early. Others were conspicuous by their absence. And the one missed most of all was Tony Wilson. I’m sure he would have loved this reincarnation of the club he thought had gone for good.

As the night neared its end, the deafening, swirling drum machine sounds and eccentric tinkling noises incessantly repeated themselves to a climax and on the dot of midnight, the circuit breaker was thrown to the ‘off’ position.

Graeme Park reminded us that more of the same was available every weekend at Sankeys Soap nightclub in the Northern Quarter, but continuing on till much later. Peter Hook thanked all those who had come. The great thing about the Hacienda, he said, was the people, and that was definitely true. And soon the crowds were making their way back out onto Whitworth Street West.

Most will agree it was an unforgettable experience, maybe to become a regular club night – though hopefully not just every 30 years!

And here is my slide show video of the Hacienda exhibition at Urbis in 2007

My exterior photograph of the Hacienda building:

Thumbnails from the slide show video 30th anniversary

Filed Under: External

Review of the Rolf Harris exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery Liverpool

19/05/2012 By AidanORourkeCP

The Rolf Harris exhibition ‘Can you tell what it is yet?’ opened at the Walker Art Gallery Liverpool on Friday 18th of May 2012, and runs until August. It features a large and varied selection of his paintings and drawings, plus many artefacts from his long and distinguished career, including musical instruments such as didgeridoos, jews harps, a stylophone and painted grand piano. There are also memorabilia such as family photos, record sleeves and gold discs.

What’s astonishing about the exhibition is the large selection of really amazing and wonderful paintings in a variety of styles, and the impressive technical and creative quality of the work, much higher than I expected.

I was there on the opening night, Liverpool’s annual Light Night when museums and galleries stay open late. I queued up to see Rolf doing one of his paintings in front of a live audience. I stood just a few feet away from him and captured the whole thing on my Fuji Finepix W3 stereo 3D camera. A mono version of the video is above.

I felt very privileged to be there and to finally see a personality I know from my earliest childhood.

What struck me was that Rolf Harris is exactly the same in real life as he is on screen: genuine, down to earth, honest to goodness and totally real, unlike many of today’s so-called reality tv personalities.

Now, as ever, he has a universal appeal. He joked with a tiny kid on the stage but also chatted and exchanged banter with people of all age groups in the audience.

I admire Rolf Harris because he is blessed with many talents and likes to make use of them, and because he has a strong educational intent. He tries to share the joy of art with people and help to develop their appreciation, encouraging them to have a go themselves. That’s brilliant.

His television and media career is long and distinguished, making him a priceless national asset. He has been there since the earliest days of British TV and has met and worked with many of the most distinguished people, including the Beatles, and all the best known stars.

A high point of his career was when he painted the Queen. The excerpt from the BBC programme is one of a number of items shown at the exhibition and has people spellbound. Only Rolf Harris could make a visit to Buckingham Palace like dropping in to have a chat with your favourite auntie.

The painting is on display at the exhibition and what’s striking is that she looks exactly in the painting as she does in the video. When Lucien Freud did his portrait of the Queen she looked forbidding and haughty, but in Rolf Harris’s painting she is smiling and engaging with twinkling eyes.

In many ways, a portrait often reflects the character of the artist as much as t the sitter, if not more so.

He was born in 1930 and first came to England in 1953. He’s now an octogenarian, but looking healthy. One lady asked him about his skin regime.

But it is remarkable, and rather shocking, that he has had to wait until now to experience a retrospective of his work, the first in his lifetime. Thank goodness he’s alive to see it.

The fact is that Rolf’s work has not received the recognition it deserved.

It was criticised by Brian Sewell and Norman Lebrecht. I won’t bring down the tone of this article with their comments, but they can be read here.

Perhaps I was unconsciously influenced by those reviewers, and lazy enough to assume that as cultural commentators, they must know what they were talking about.

But when I saw Rolf Harris’s paintings of London, I was bowled over by their sophistication and subtlety, I realised I should have mentally torn up those reviews and thrown them into the bin where they belong. I won’t make any comment about the initials of the first of those named above, but they seem apt.

There is a lot that is bad about the art world, a lot that distorts and debases culture.

In my opinion, culture is precious. It should have a capital C. It should be about honesty and integrity, not pandering to a narrow clique in a certain part of the country. It should appeal to as wide an audience as possible, not just an elite. It should be about celebrating and encouraging creativity at all levels and in all genres, and not focused on just a tiny number of over-paid and under-talented personalities who know how to play the media. It should be about encouraging personal development, about including people, not excluding them.

On all these counts, Rolf Harris embodies all that is good in the arts and media.

In my opinion, Liverpool has the best museums in the UK (leaving aside the unfair bias in this country towards the capital). It’s great that that the Walker Art Gallery has brought the first ever retrospective of the artistic work of Rolf Harris to Liverpool.

For me, that proves that four years on from 2008, Liverpool remains the UK’s true Capital of Culture, (with a capital C).

More information about the Rolf Harris exhibition on the Walker Art Gallery website.

The exhibition was developed in association with De Montfort Fine Art. Rolf Harris is represented by Billy Marsh Associates.

And below is a detail of the very nice picture that Rolf painted especially for me and the other people looking on. It’s a frequent theme of his, an Australian view based on childhood memories, with trees, dripping paint and a chain fence running diagonally across the frame.

Filed Under: Art, Creativity, Liverpool, video

Katherine Fish – fine art, archtecture and still life photographer

17/05/2012 By AidanORourkeCP

I’d like to showcase the work of Katherine Fish, a photographer I know through Facebook and whose images I admire. Her main interests are fine art photography, especially architecture and still life. She uses both digital photography and film photography. She develops her own black and white films and prints them in the darkroom.

She has a high regard for the traditional craft of photography. “Darkroom prints have a unique quality and an emotional, timeless aesthetic.” She carries out little or no digital manipulation on her photographs.

To me, Katherine’s images are about finding the beauty of abstract forms in familiar objects, often seen at a macro scale.

I had never imagined there was such graphic interest in familiar household objects until I looked at her kitchen utensils series. Her abstract architecture photos are finely composed, playing with texture, line and reflection, often highlighting hidden details and imbuing them with a cryptic meaning.

I would love to have seen the square format high quality black and white prints of Victorian architecture. Pixels on a web page can never equal expertly printed black and white prints hanging on a wall.

Looking at this macro image of shiny beads I am transported back to my childhood when, looking at shiny objects from very close up I would be transported into their world. Childrens’ eyes can focus much more closely than adults enabling them to see fine details which as an adult you’d probably need powerful powerful reading glasses to see in the same way.

I often tell students that the aim of photography is to capture the true essence of the subject, and I think Katherine has achieved this here, with her thoughtful composition and choice of colour.

The balanced imaginative composition and shallow depth of field plays lend an abstract quality to a common kitchen utensil. At the macro level, textures of objects take on a quality often not normall visible . There is something interesting about taking one of the most commonplace objects and turning it into a work of art.

The shallow depth of field makes the glasses recede and the three colours give an interesting tricolour effect reminiscent of a flag but I’m not sure which one!. The composition is very simple but careful, forming a diagonal arrangement that’s pleasing to the eye.

As a photographer and linguist, I find her background interesting – she has a degree in Photography and English from the University of Bolton. Like all genres of photography, macro, still life and abstract architectural photography have a language of their own. It’s clear looking at her photographs that she has mastered it.

Take a look at her website and Facebook page as well as this article on the Bolton Business Boom website

Filed Under: Architecture, Manchester, Photography

Sea Odyssey – when giants walked the streets of Liverpool

26/04/2012 By AidanORourkeCP

On the weekend of 23 April 2012, giant marionettes hit the streets of Liverpool and mesmerised thousands of people, including me!

On Friday morning, I listened in to the start of their walk on BBC Radio Merseyside, when Little Girl Giant woke up from her slumber in Stanley Park, north Liverpool. That evening on BBC Northwest Tonight I watched them live as they made their way through Liverpool One, and I decided I would have to go and see them for myself.

I managed to get there by train later on Saturday afternoon. At Lime Street station, police were directing the crowds. Outside the station, I saw the streets were empty of traffic but thronged with people. Looking up along Lime Street, I saw the outline of a large moving figure.

I headed in that direction, and few minutes later I caught my first sight of the diver as he walked past the tower of St Lukes Church. His head seemed almost level with the top of the tower. The streets were lined with thousands of people of all ages from young children sitting on their fathers’ shoulders to old people in wheelchairs, all drawn by the sight of this gigantic man in an old-fashioned diving suit making his ungainly way along the street.

He was supported by a large improvised crane on wheels, a small army of French-speaking assistants, or ‘lilliputians’ all in red uniforms. Live music was played by a French band on a trailer following close behind. Over the speakers, a voice told the team what was happening: “Pied gauche levé! Posé! Pied droit levé! Posé!” “Left foot up! Down! Right foot up! Down!”.

Puppets sleep after Day 2., overlooked by Liverpool Anglican Cathedral

And so the gigantic groovy marionette in the diving suit made his jaunty way towards Chinatown. Due to the massive crowds there was a bottleneck, so I headed back down Bold Street and over to the other end of Chinatown. Unfortunately there were too many people, streets were closed off,I couldn’t get anywhere near him so I decided to head down towards the Albert Dock and catch the other puppets.

Just by the bottom of Paradise Street, which was lined with thousands of onlookers, I saw I was in luck. Some distance up the street, I saw the dog Xolo and following not far behind, the towering and beautiful Little Girl Giant.

It was a magic moment finally to see both of them with my own eyes, as they made their way very slowly at first, but then more quickly towards me.

Soon they were in front of me as well as scores of other onlookers – here the crowds were a little thinner than elsewhere and I could get quite close. The giant size animatronic black dog was an astonishing sight. He moved right up in front of me nuzzling his face into the crowd, children patting his nose, as scores of devices snapped his every move. His tail wagged, his ears flopped down and he smiled with a wide, foxy grin, tongue hanging out. Though this was a robot made of papier maché and metal, people reacted in the same as they would have done to a real dog.

Little Girl Giant riding her boat on the Strand

I got some great 3-D video and stills, then I followed them down onto the Strand and watched as Little Girl Giant was disconnected from her cables and lifted by a crane onto a boat. As the transfer took place the operator issued the instructions over the PA in French. I heard “Décrochage des coudes” – “Disconnection the elbows”, and more commentary.

It was a real boat, maybe a small fishing boat and it sat on a trailer. Water gushed from underneath it, some of the spray fell onto the crowds. Soon the trailer started to move, the giant girl looked down, opening and closing her eyes with an almost regal presence.

The assistants dressed her in a yellow sailors jacket and hat. She seemed to enjoy being the centre of attention and the yellow outfit really suited her…

See what I mean! For me she was becoming a real person, not just a 30 foot high puppet.
I got some great 3D video of her as she rode in her boat along the Strand. Hundreds more clutching cameras, phones, tablets and even iPads were doing the same as me but as far as I could see, I was the only one shooting in stereo 3D!

After the procession entered Princes Dock huge crowds followed them slowly forming another bottleneck near the entrance. I decided to I walk against the crowd as fast as I could back to the other entry road, and headed past the Echo Arena towards Kings Dock where I caught the final moments of the performance. Yet another crane hoisted the girl onto the divers’ lap. They hugged and before long fell into a deep sleep, and a snoring sound rang out over the speakers

That was the end of the proceedings for this evening but no one wanted to leave, so captivated were they by the two gigantic figures. Eventually I decided it was time to head home and started to make my way back towards the centre and Lime Street station. As I walked, I dictated the first draft of this article on the iPhone.
I love everything about Sea Odyssey, it’s fantastic, the best street theatre I’ve ever seen.

Giants are rooted in our psyche, in stories such as Jack and the Beanstalk and Gulliver’s Travels. Movies can do amazing things with CGI, but this is different. They are there standing right in front of you. I think that’s why the effect is so awe-inspiring.

The marionettes are truly hypnotic. They look and act as if they are alive. I’m sure many small children think they really are. Fantasy had come to life, a spectacle on an industrial scale played out not inside a theatre but on the streets of Liverpool.
The music was great too: French style rock played live, and quintessentially French melodies sung by Edith Piaf. Liverpool definitely became a little bit French today. I liked the playful Latin American music accompanying Xolo the dog: I checked on Shazam and it was Primavera by Michi Sarimiento & Sus Bravos!

The show was conceived and put on by street theatre company Royale de Luxe, based in Nantes. In France they think big. I feel that only the French have the panache and élan to pull something like this off.

I understand that it cost over £1.5 million to put on, but only a small part of this amount was paid by Liverpool City Council. Thousands of visitors have poured into Liverpool this weekend it is predicted that the event will have earned far more for the city than it cost to put on. I think the legacy will last a long time.

Little Girl Giant passing by at the Pier Head. The spookiest thing is when she appears to be looking at you.

All I can say in conclusion (in very large letters) is:

Vive les marionnettes!

If you liked the article, video and photos, please ‘Like’ my Facebook page www.facebook.com/AidanORourkeCP

Mon the Giant Spectacular Facebook page.

The website of Royal de Luxe, Nantes.

Filed Under: Creativity, French language, Liverpool, Photography, video

A visit to the Beatles’ childhood homes in Liverpool

30/03/2012 By AidanORourkeCP

On Friday 30 March, I went on the National Trust’s Beatles Childhood Homes tour, visiting 20 Forthlin Road Allerton, and Mendips on Menlove Avenue, Woolton.

It was a very memorable and quite moving experience as we got to see the actual rooms where the Beatles met and wrote some of their early hits. There were some marvellous family photographs which brought us very close to the early lives of Paul McCartney and John Lennon. The commentary by the two guides at each of the houses was perceptive and often based on conversations with Beatles members or their friends and family.

Booking on the tour is the only way to access the two houses and transport is in a National Trust minibus. I took the 2.15pm tour from outside Jury’s Inn Hotel near the Albert Dock. Our friendly driver told us there would be music playing on the speakers by a particular band and it wasn’t the Rolling Stones!

After a journey of about 20 minutes we arrived at 20 Forthlin Road, the house where Paul McCartney lived during the years up till the Beatles’ rise to fame. The first thing you notice is how different it looks to the other houses on the street. This is because it was restored to an approximation of how it looked when Paul McCartney and his parents and brother lived there. Original windows have been put back and the exterior was repainted.

Inside, the rooms are all decorated in the style of the time. For me it was like a journey into my own childhood. Even if only for a fleeting moment, the years seemed to have been swept away and I was able to recapture the distinctive atmosphere and aura of the late 50s. The superb black and white photos by Mike McCartney capture Paul and John as they rehearsed their early songs. The photos from earlier years show a typical family at home or on holiday. Gazing into the living room I really felt I as if I was there in the late fifties during a family music session with Paul’s dad at the piano, and Paul on the armchair, strumming a guitar and singing.

Photos are strictly prohibited inside both houses and I think it’s a good idea. It helps to preserve the historic value of the interiors and everything they stand for. So instead, with blink of both eyes, I made a mental snapshot of the living room at Paul’s house. I can still see the Chinese wallpaper, the armchairs, the quaint side table and old fashioned tv, with Mike McCartney’s photos on the wall.

Our guide was very knowledgeable. Both she and her husband, who is based at “Mendips” have personal contacts with Beatles members and their friends.

After an all too brief stay at 20 Forthlin Road, we returned to the minibus, and made the short journey up to Menlove Avenue and Mendips, the semi-detached house that was John Lennon’s home from 1945 to 1963.

As we soon discover, the stern character of his aunt Mimi left its stamp on both John and the house. She forbade him to enter by the front door and so after our guide took photos (see mine lower right) we walked round to the back door and the kitchen. Our guide gave a quiet and thoughtful account of their lives at the house, and we soon got a very vivid and touching picture of the trials and tribulations they faced.

First impressions of Mendips are that it is quite grand in comparison to Forthlin Road, and it has less of a family feel. This, as we learned, is because Aunt Mimi was obliged for financial reasons, to let some of the rooms to students.

As at Forthlin Road I took a mental picture of the ornate living room, which was only used for special guests, although Aunt Mimi allowed John’s skiffle band The Quarrymen to rehearse there.

The highpoint of the visit was a glimpse of John Lennon’s tiny bedroom at the front of the house. This is where in his early years he lay dreaming, and wrote his first songs. On the bed there is a guitar, a collection of books and records, posters on the wall of Brigitte Bardot and Elvis and other memorabilia.

And that was the end of an all to brief visit to the home of John Lennon, which was presented to the National Trust as a gift by Yoko Ono Lennon.

The visit has left many impressions and brought back many memories of my own from that time. I wish it was possible just to sit back, relax and have tea with the young John and Aunt Mimi! All we can do is… imagine!

For more information and to book on a tour, go to www.nationaltrust.org.uk/beatles/

Filed Under: Creativity, Liverpool, Local history, Music, Photography Tagged With: 1950s, Beatles, Fab Four, fifties, Merseybeat, music heritage, National Trust properties, nostalgia

Redeye Hothouse 2012 a day devoted to photography

12/03/2012 By AidanORourkeCP

Redeye’s Hothouse photography event took place on Saturday 10th of March. Photographers gave presentations of their work, there were portfolios, books and other stuff on display.

People met, networked and generally immersed themselves in photography for the day. There was delicious coffee and tea on tap (for a small flat fee). The venue was The Studio, on Lever St, very modern and well equipped. Best of all it was free and open to anyone to attend.

I think I’m right in saying that everyone who attended Hothouse enjoyed it and benefited in some way. Here’s how I benefited.

By listening to photographers, I learned new things and was inspired.

I learned about the best way to prepare a photographic portfolio, and what to do with it.

I met some new people, including one or two very talented photographers and a keen blogger.

I met up again with people I know including some well known photographers!

I saw some great photography in the portfolios on display.

I drank a lot of very nice coffee, and some wine at the end, and was offered a piece of birthday cake by one of the UK’s leading photographic publishers!

More details on the Redeye website www.redeye.org.uk.

I wasn’t there all day as I had one of my photographic walking tours in the afternoon, but I brought my students into Hothouse for the final hour.

Congratulations to Paul Herrmann and all at Redeye for another excellent event, which really brought people together. I highly recommend Redeye, they are doing a great job. See www.redeye.org.uk.

Here are the Tweets I posted on the day

#Hothouse12 Paul Herrmann’s talk on The Perfect Portfolio has completely changed how I think about portfolios. Now I must get mine in order!

At #Hothouse12 Jacob Russell’s photos of the odd Salford boy known as Knight Warrior. Documentary photos capturing a strange reality.

#Hothouse12 Met Miguel Fernandez. Wonderful bw photos of Madrid like Cristina García Rodero. Also India m.flickr.com/#/photos/oshii/

Photo walk in one hour

At #Hothouse photo event saw Paul Watson and his delightfully simple saturated colour experiments. All about yellow! www.pbwfoto.con

Nice talk & presentation by Phil Portus philportus.co.uk with jazz music. He’s member of Sth Man Camera Club. I’m giving a talk 23 April

Two hours till Manchester Photo Walk 1.30 to 5. One confirmation and one cancellation so far. Weather in Manchester good

Now watching presentation by Neil Alexander. Very impactful well composed and saturated nad.me #Hothouse12.

I am at the Redeye Hothouse event about to listen to talk by musician & photographer Phil Portus. meeting walking tour students at 1.15

Filed Under: Creativity, Manchester, Photography

A new take on Stockport Viaduct by Garry Lomas of stroon

07/03/2012 By AidanORourkeCP

As well as running his own large format print business, stroon, Garry Lomas is also an accomplished photographer. Here I showcase a set of his photos depicting a very familiar subject to me: Stockport railway viaduct.

Partly to exclude modern elements of the environment and partly for creative effect, he has copied and mirrored sections of the viaduct horizontally and vertically, as well as enhancing the sky.

Using an extreme wide angle lens gives a distorted and surreal take on a familiar subject. Looking directly up inside one of the arches, the viaduct is almost unrecognisable. Again he has flipped a half section of the viaduct vertically, and added a sky from elsewhere.

The image of the viaduct and factory building uses selective colour, something I have mixed feelings about, but the effect here is eye-catching. The blue sky and red brick are heightened by increased saturation. This contrasts with the factory building at the bottom with its sawtooth roof. There is a conflict but an interesting one.

The two views at the bottom taken from the bridge to the west of Mersey Square show the extreme distortion caused by the wide angle lens. The wide field of view takes in the viaduct, factory buildings and the top of the bridge with its weather-beaten textures.

I’ll be featuring the work of Garry Lomas again soon. Find out more about stroon’s canvas printing service on the stroon website and also ‘Like’ the stroon Facebook page!

Filed Under: Architecture, Manchester, Stockport, Transport

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