Architecture

Hidden facts about the Liver Building and the Liver birds

2020-06-03 By @AidanEyewitness

The Royal Liver Building is the most famous building in Liverpool and it is admired and loved by both local people and visitors. It’s located on the Pier Head, overlooking the River Mersey. Its two clock towers, and the two iconic Liver birds standing on top of them, can be seen from all over the city. It was constructed between 1908 and 1911 and is one of the so-called Three Graces. The other two are the Cunard Building, built 1914-1917, and the Port of Liverpool building, 1904-1907.

The Liver Building is one of the most familiar sights in Liverpool and you’ll find plenty of information about it in tourist guides and on websites. But certain facts about the Liver Building are shrouded in mystery, and there are some questions to which I’ve not found any clear answers. I will list them at the end.

This is new and much longer version of an article I wrote in 2015, with new photos, two videos and a review of the Royal Liver 360 clocktower tour. We will get to that later on, but first let’s begin by looking at those hidden facts about the Liver Building, at least, hidden to most people.

1. The Liver Building is made out of reinforced concrete with a granite façade.

You’ll read that the Liver Building is made out of reinforced concrete. Its use of reinforced concrete for the structure of the building was ground-breaking at the time it was built. But it’s also important to know that the exterior is clad – or covered – in granite. The granite has a pale shade of brown, unlike the white Portland stone used on the Cunard and Port of Liverpool buildings. I’ve heard people say this colour is not very attractive but I don’t find that. It’s part of its unique character.

2. The Liver Building is built on one third of a filled-in dock.

I used to wonder, why is it that on Liverpool’s Pier Head, there are three magnificent buildings, rectangular in floor plan, standing side by side? And then I discovered that all three were constructed on what used to be St George’s Dock. It was drained and the site was prepared for new buildings.

Water Street and Brunswick Street were extended across the former dock, dividing it into three. Three buildings then appeared where ships used to moor. And here’s another hidden fact: if you turned the clock back a few centuries, and looked from St Nicholas church, the Three Graces would be out in the river. The entire Pier Head and dock system is built on reclaimed land.

Liver Building clock face at dusk 22.09.1999

The Liver Building and the Tower Building 22.05.2005

Liver Building facade and clock tower 23.05.2005

The Liver Building, Cunard Building and Cunard Liner Caronia

View along the Albert Dock towards the Three Graces. The new building constructed on Mann juts in on the right, obscuring the view of the Port of Liverpool Building

The Liver Building, the Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool Building reflected in the Albert Dock (Image turned upside down and flipped horizontally)

3. The inner courtyard walls have been covered with a modern glass façade.

In 2011, I visited the Liver Building to take photographs for the book ‘Liverpool Then and Now’, and I was shocked to discover that the interior facade has been covered in a glass skin similar to a 1960s office block . I didn’t take a photograph of it, as I didn’t want to spoil the image I had in my mind. Since its completion in 1911 the Liver Building, like most commercial buildings, has been altered and renovated, but I’m not sure when the glass wall was added. That’s another one of my questions at the end.

4. The riverside clock tower has three faces, the landside tower has only one.

I’ve been looking at the Liver Building for many years but had never quite fully noticed that the four clock faces are split between the two clock towers. On the west tower, there are three clock faces looking north, west and south, respectively.

On the east tower, there is only one clock face, looking east over the city centre. And here’s another hidden fact: all four clocks are controlled by the same mechanism. I don’t quite understand how that works, so that’s another question, which I’ve added to the list at the end.

5. The clock faces are bigger than those on the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster in London.

The clock faces of the Liver Building are bigger then the ones on the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament, completed in 1859. These are 23 feet or seven metres wide but the Liver Building clock faces are 25 feet wide or 7.6 m.

One information source stated that the the clock on Shell Mex House, further down the Thames is bigger. But it’s not a proper clock face, just a section of the façade onto which clock hands and hour markers have been fixed. The Liver Building clock faces are proper clock faces made of metal and opaque glass, and they are recognised as the biggest in the UK.

6. It looks similar to some early skyscrapers in the United States.

The Liver Building is said to closely resemble the Allegheny Court House in Pittsburgh, built in 1884 and Adler & Sullivan’s Schiller Theatre in Chicago, built in 1891 and demolished in 1961.

I think it looks very similar to the Wrigley Building in Chicago, but that building dates from 1924. Could the Liver Building have influenced architecture on the other side of the Atlantic, just as Birkenhead Park influenced Central Park in New York?

7. The clock faces are the largest electronically driven clocks in the UK.

The Liver Building clocks are the biggest electronically driven clocks in the UK and this is a reminder that the building brings together both traditional and modern elements. The ornamented clock tower conforms to classic architectural principles you’ll see in world architecture, including Islamic architecture, but the mechanism of the clock is pure 20th century.

Liver Building clock face at dusk 22.09.1999

8. There are no bells inside the towers of the Liver Building.

There are bell towers on town halls and cathedrals including Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, and you can often hear them ringing. But inside the clock towers of the Liver Building there are no bells. It made no sound at all until 1953, when a chiming mechanism was installed in memory of Royal Liver staff killed during two world wars.

The chimes were made using piano wires hit by hammers and the sound was amplified using a microphone, amplifier and speaker. This device gradually deteriorated and was out of operation for around four years. But in 2016, the chimes returned, thanks to the Cumbrian Clock Company, who are responsible for the maintenance of the clocks. They recorded the old chimes and saved the audio onto a hard drive. This sound is played throughout the day and the evening through a large speaker located under the cupola of the west tower.

It doesn’t sound quite like a real bell, but it’s better than no bell at all. I was intrigued to discover that when the building was under construction, there had been plans to put real bells in the tower and some space was set aside to accommodate them. But in the end, no bells were installed for fear that they would be too heavy for the new style of construction using reinforced concrete.

Composite image showing the tallest towers in NW England (05.05.2006)

9. The Liver Birds were designed by a German.

This fact was remained hidden from many many years. It was only in recent years that the identity of the person who created the metal cormorant-like birds was revealed. He was Carl Bernard Bartels, a German emigré artist born in Stuttgart . He came to live in England in 1887 after falling in love with the country. A competition was held to design and build the two birds that would be placed on the roof of the Liver Building, and he won.

A few years after the Liver Building was completed, the First World War began and there was a strong anti-German feeling. Carl Bernard Bartels was interned on the Isle of Man as an enemy alien and deported in 1918. He returned to England in the mid-twenties and spent the rest of his life there. Carl Bernard Bartels created Liverpool’s most famous pair of icons, but this fact was kept hidden until the late 20th century, because he was German. Inside the Liver Building there is now a plaque in his honour.

Memorial to Carl Bernard Bartels, sculpture and designer of the Liver birds 1866-1955

Close-up of east-facing Liver Bird (Bertie)

West-facing Liver Bird (Bella)

West-facing Liver Bird (Bella) holding branch

So, those are what I believe to be the surprising facts – at least, they surprised me when I first found out about them. Let’s continue with more generally known facts.

10. The Liver Building was designed by local architect Walter Aubrey Thomas

The Royal Liver Building was designed by Walter Aubrey Thomas, a Liverpool-based architect who was born in New Brighton, Cheshire in 1864. He designed many buildings in Liverpool city centre. I was interested to discover he designed a listed building on Lord Street which has distinctive stripes and an arch.

The Liver Building and the Tower Building 22.05.2005

I took a picture of the Liver Building from the corner of Water Street, zooming in on the clock tower. There’s another building to the right, a white building. That other building is the Tower Building, which pre-dates the Liver Building by several years. You can see it on old photos. It’s quite similar, with arches and those ‘curled’ motifs. In fact, the Tower Building was also designed by Walter Aubrey Thomas, something that is rarely mentioned, even though it stands directly opposite the Liver Building and could be seen as its precursor.

11. The Liver Building is a listed building, part of the UNESCO World Heritage site.

The Liver Building is a Grade 1 listed building (not Grade 1*, as one person mentioned. There is only Grade II*). A Grade 1 listed building is recognised as being of outstanding architectural merit and of national significance. That’s certainly true of the Liver Building.

It is also recognised as an important part of the UNESCO World Heritage site, the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City. That puts the area on a par with the Taj Mahal, the Pyramids and Angkor Wat. But on the UNESCO list, it’s marked in red, because its quality and uniqueness are under threat due to proposed construction projects nearby.

The Liver Building 25.02.2009

“Festival des Flusses” am Pier Head, Liverpool , 2014

Liver Building and Moel-y-Parc transmitter

The Liver Building at dusk seen from the Mersey Ferry 22.03.2019

Liver Building clock towers at dusk 22.03.2019

Cunard and Liver Buildings seen across The Strand

Liverpool Liver Building with Isle of Man seacat

12. The clock faces have no numerals.

This may seem of little importance at first sight, but if we look at other historic clock towers, maybe ones that are slightly older, we find that most have numerals, either Arabic or Roman style, like the town halls of Birkenhead, Bradford, Rochdale and the Tower of Westminster (‘Big Ben’). With its plain clock faces, the Liver Building clocks look towards a more modern style.

13. The Liver Building clocks are called the George Clocks.

They’re called the George clocks because they were set in motion at 1.40pm on Thursday, 22 June, 1911, when George Frederick Ernest Albert Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the Prince of Wales, officially became King George V. The clocks were made by Gent & Co of Leicester.

14. One of the clock faces was once used as a dinner table.

There is a photograph of one of the clock faces, which was turned into a huge banqueting table during the construction of the Liver Building. Sitting at the table are senior people from the Liver Assurance Group and Liverpool Corporation. The clock faces were later hauled up to the top of the building.

15. For many years it was the tallest building in Britain.

The Liver Building is said to be the UK’s first skyscraper, though at just 13 storeys, it doesn’t seem like much of a skyscraper. Already buildings in the United States were reaching much greater heights. But it remained the tallest building in Britain for many years. It’s 322 feet or 98.2 m to the top of the spires. It remains one of the tallest buildings in north west England.

Composite images of the tallest towers in NW England 05.05.2006

16. Each of the two Liver Birds holds something in its beak, but what is it?

The birds on the Liver Building have a wing span of 24 feet or 7.3 metres and are 18 feet 5.5 metres high. If you look closely or zoom in with a camera, you will see that each Liver Bird is carrying something in its beak. It looks like a small twig or branch of a tree. It’s got four leaves. In most descriptions, this is identified as a piece of laver, or seaweed. The name ‘laver’ is a pun on the name ‘Liverpool’.

However, I’ve also read that it’s an olive branch. And the French language Wikipedia page states that the Liver bird holds in its beak a branch of genêt, the French word for broom, a type of bush with a yellow flower that appears in spring. Genêt is said to be a reference to the Plantagenet dynasty, who ruled England in the middle ages. Is this true? That’s another question to add to my list at the end! The Liver bird is a mythical bird, said to date back to 1207, when King John founded the borough of Liverpool by royal charter and used a bird on the seal.

17. It is named after the Royal Liver Assurance Company, but they are no longer in the building.

The building is named after the Royal Liver Assurance Company which was a friendly society. Around the turn of the 20th century they decided to construct a new building for their 6000 staff. It remained the headquarters until Royal Liver Assurance merged with the Royal London Group in 2011. The group subsequently moved out of the building. In 2019 it’s reported to accommodate around 2000 staff working in a range of companies.

Luxembourg-based investment group, Corestate Capital, bought the building for £48 million in February 2017 along with Everton F.C. majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri. So, Liverpool’s most potent and best-loved symbol is a privately-owned office building. That’s an interesting fact. There must be very few other commercial office buildings with such an exalted status. Perhaps it’s symbolic, because Liverpool is a mercantile city whose wealth is built on business and trade (including, sadly, the slave trade).

18. The Liver Building was renovated in 2019 and also in the past.

In 2019, the Liver Building was renovated to bring it up to the standards required by today’s companies. Looking on the royalliverbuilding.com website, I see many changes have been carried out. There’s a photo of empty floor space with those semi-circular windows. But the building has not been preserved in its original state. That’s the way it is with working buildings, they have to be adapted for changing times, though seen from the outside, it looks as it did when it was first built.

Liverpool Liver Building and Pier Head with St Nicholas church

And now we move from facts to popular legends.

19. The birds are called Bella and Bertie and if they fly away, Liverpool will cease to exist.

I’ve read from many sources, that the birds are called Bella and Bertie, but who exactly called them that? We are told that if they break away from their shackles and fly away, that will be the end of Liverpool. This story sounds like it was inspired by the ravens of the Tower of London. It’s said that if they leave the tower, the kingdom and the Tower of London will fall.

The difference is that the ravens are real birds, whereas the Liver Birds are copper sculptures weighing several tons and they’re tied down with cables. The birds face in opposite directions. It’s said that if they were facing each other, they might mate and break their moorings, causing the downfall of the city. According to another account, Bella watches over the ships and their crews while Bertie watches over the city and its people.

A variant of this is that Bella is on the lookout for handsome sailors on the arriving ships, while Bertie is checking that the pubs are open. What must he have been thinking during the 2020 Coronavirus crisis! A typically Scouse piece of humour is that the Liver Birds flap their wings every time a virgin walks along the Pier Head.

Panoramic view of Liverpool from Royal Liver 360 – 22.06.2019

20. The views from the top of the Liver Building are fantastic!

There is no doubt that the views from the roof of the Liver Building are fantastic. When I wrote the previous version of this article in 2015, it wasn’t possible for the general public to enter the building and go up to the tower. Now it is! Read my review below to find out what I thought of the Royal Liver 360 visitor experience and why I was a little bit disappointed.

In 2019 Royal Liver 360 Tower Tours and Visitor Experience opened its doors. For the first time, visitors were able to go inside the building and ascend to the top of the tower. I did this in summer 2019 and I wasn’t disappointed, though I have one criticism! So here’s my quick review of the Royal Liver 360 tour and visit to the top of the building.

Liverpool City Centre seen from the top of the Liver Building-22.06.2019

I booked in advance on the website. The ticket cost £16. The journey to the top of the building starts in the basement. The entrance is to the right of the main entrance to the Liver Building. In the reception area there is a ticket desk and an exhibition, which is worthy of a visit in itself. There’s an impressive wooden model of the Liver Building. On the displays there’s information about the history of the building with many photos.

Soon it was time to start the tour. Visitors are assigned into groups and led by a friendly guide. At this point, we notice that the health and safety procedures are rigorous. There is a briefing, warning of potential hazards and telling us what to do in an emergency. This is quite different from other older attractions.

I realise it’s for our safety but it does impinge a little on the experience. The guide counts some of us into the lift and we go up. We wait for the others and then proceed out onto a balcony below the south clock face. Here we get our first glimpse of the cityscape and of one of the the Liver Birds – it’s Bertie, the one facing out over the city. We can’t see Bella, she stands hidden above the tower. Our guide provides information and plenty of humorous remarks.

Next it’s time to go up the stairs and into the interior of the clock tower, with its clock faces on three sides. In this room high above Liverpool, they’ve created an auditorium with speakers and digital projectors. Soon the lights go down.

What follows is a state-of-the-art presentation on the history of Liverpool and the Liver Building from its construction at the beginning of the century, through two world wars and up to the present day. The visuals are good, including animated 3D Liver Birds as well as many still and moving archive images. The sound is immersive and very loud. We hear the fog horns of the ships, the bombs of WW2 and finally, the song ‘Ferry Cross the Mersey’ by Gerry and the Pacemakers. It presents Liverpool perfectly and truly expresses the pride people have in the city.

View north from the Liver Building roof 22.06.2019

Now, it’s time to go up to the top floor via a narrow staircase. Emerging into the daylight, we walk out onto the balconies and start to admire the panoramic views: the city centre to the east, the Pier Head, Albert Dock and River Mersey to the south, the view west across the river towards Birkenhead and the Welsh mountains and to the north and north west, the docks, New Brighton and the Irish Sea. We are standing below the dome with Bella standing on top. We still can’t see her, but we can see Bertie on the other tower, standing with his back to us. He’s not being rude, he’s got an important job to do.

Many times I’ve looked across to the Liver Building from all parts of the city and from across the river. Now it is stunning to see the view in the other direction. I start to take photos and videos, moving around each balcony and back again. I’m about to start a video shot of the city when…

Liverpool city centre seen from the Liver Building

“The tour is finished now, can you make your way back down the stairs…”

And that’s my only criticism of the Royal Liver 360 tour. You are only allowed, I think it was around 10 to 15 minutes at the top before being asked to leave. I spent a whole evening on the Shard in London and a similar amount of time and spent a few hours at the top of the Rockefeller Center in New York.

Fifteen minutes at the top of the Liver Building just isn’t enough time. I realise there are space limitations as well as health and safety considerations, but I would pay extra to spend more time up here and I’m sure a lot of other people would too. Royal Liver 360 bosses, please take note!

A few minutes later I’m back down on the Pier Head again, looking up at the iconic clock tower and hoping for an opportunity to spend a longer period up there some time in the near future.

Looking up at the facade of the Liver Building

Blick nach oben auf die Fassade des Liver Building

Personal observations and reminiscences.

The Liver Building was begun in same year my father was born, 1908. He was christened Bertie, presumably after the popular name of George, who became King in 1911.

I remember visiting the Pier Head with my mother in the 1960s, and taking the ferry to Woodside. I was captivated by the Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool building. They had just been cleaned and looked as if they were made out of icing sugar. They seemed to ‘sing’, I can’t quite explain it. At that time, all the buildings in Manchester were still covered in black soot from the factories. I can’t remember much about the Liver Building, except that there were rows of green Liverpool Corporation buses parked in front of it.

Another memory from the sixties is the opening credits of the Liver Birds tv series, starring Nerys Hughes and Polly James. The grimy Liver Building can be seen from the ferry. There is an iconic shot looking up at the glamorous Nerys Hughes standing on the back of a bus, with the tower of the Liver Building behind.

In recent years I’ve followed all the changes on the Pier Head, I’ve taken photos and video of many festivals, including the Giants, I took ‘now’ shot of the building for the book ‘Liverpool Then and Now’ and went inside to capture the view of where the Liverpool Overhead Railway used to be. That’s when I saw the glass interior wall for the first time.

I’ve done some drawings too, which I am featuring on this page.

I love the Liver Building, its design, its location, the Liver Birds that stand on top of it, and all the associations it has with the history of Liverpool. I will go on admiring it and taking photos of it, like every local person and every visitor to the city. I hope to find out even more hidden facts about the Liver Building, which I will add to this page.

But I have some unanswered questions, some facts about the Liver Building that remain hidden, or at least not 100% clear. Can you provide any information?
Who exactly named the Liver Birds Bella and Bertie?
How are the four clocks, including one in a separate tower, controlled by one mechanism?
Exactly what type of branch are the Liver Birds holding in their beaks?
Which clock face was the one used as a dinner table?
Since when clock tower had an amber coloured light? I seem to remember that in the past, the light was white. Was it?
When was the earlier renovation carried out, during which the glass interior façade was added?
In what year were the Three Graces first cleaned? Was it in 1968?
What is the exact weight of each Liver Bird?

A journey through time and space into the World of Libraries

2020-05-10 By @AidanEyewitness

This bilingual video project is currently in pre-production. I am gathering the information and the photographs and hope to launch the video during October 2018

In this video I will focus on libraries and their many benefits but at the same time we’ll see why libraries are under threat.

The video will be in English embedded with German. It’s part of my mission in 2019 to help and encourage people to learn the German language, which I’ve taught for over 40 years. The video will useful to anyone with an interest in German language, from just a passing interest to high level competency. As part of the format, I highlight the connections between the German-speaking world and the English-speaking world.

Here is a list of the libraries I expect to feature in the video. More may be added:

Chethams Library Manchester
The Portico Library
The John Rylands Library
The Central Library
Cheetham Library
Stockport Carnegie Library
Edgeley Library
Liverpool Central Library
West Derby Carnegie Library
Everton Library (hilltop)
The Gladstone Library
Trinity College Library
Chester Beatty Library
Marsh’s Library
Bolton St Library
Dun Laoghaire DLR Lexicon Library
Aberdeen Sir Duncan Rice Library
The British Library
The London Library
The Library of Birmingham
Gedenkbibliothek Berlin
Jakob-und-Wilhelm-Grimm-Zentrum

So here are some bullet points on the good aspects of libraries.

Libraries are free and they’re dedicated to helping you
Most of the time in life we are being persuaded to spend time and money on things that don’t really benefit us. At a library you can spend time on improving yourself and it doesn’t cost anything.

You can connect with past times
Many libraries have a history going back decades even centuries that can be very inspiring if you’re studying or simply looking for interesting places to visit.

Some libraries are exclusive and prestigious – and that can be good too
Some libraries are respected institutions open only to members, like the Portico Library in Manchester. If you are in a position to become a member, you can enjoy many advantages. It’s a further example of the good that libraries do.

Libraries have high ideals and principles
As you will see if you go into the main reading room at Manchester Central library there is an inscription on the ceiling which I’m going to photograph for the video. It celebrates the benefits of learning.

You can get information at libraries that is not available online
Some people say we don’t lead libraries because you can get all the information you need on your computer, tablet or smartphone but that’s not true! Libraries contain a huge amount of information that is not available online. If you researching a subject in depth, the chances are that the information you need is contained in a library somewhere.

Libraries are very good for local information and family history
One of the areas where libraries excel is local history and family history. Most libraries have large collections of books and photographs that you won’t find anywhere else.

Libraries celebrate books and learning
The John Rylands library in Manchester is not just a building that contains books but a place that celebrates books and learning. There are many exhibitions on the subject of old books and manuscripts down the ages. It’s also possible for researchers to gain access to very rare and precious books. It looks like a cathedral but it is not a place of worship. People call a cathedral to books. The Chester Beatty library in Dublin is not really a library, rather a museum about books and has many fascinating exhibitions based on its collections of books from Europe and Asia.

Libraries contain hidden treasure houses what you can discover something totally unique.
Libraries contain so much information a lot of of it is obscure and forgotten but you may well discover something quite unusual and quite astonishing in a library. Some libraries are themselves hidden and obscure. Marsh’s Library in Dublin is not very well-known but it is a tiny treasure house of books and knowledge.

Libraries can be social.
Studying can be a very solitary experience. As a library it feels more social and even though you’re not speaking to the people around you, you are not alone. However sometimes people do make contact with each other at a library. Some couples have even met that way so isnt’ that another reason for visiting one!

Libraries are the backbone of universities.
If you study at a university you will spend a lot of time in the library. Every university has one. Some are even open 24 hours a day for students.

Libraries can inspire children.
When I was a child I went to our local library in Edgeley, Stockport and I can remember feeling the excitement of taking books off the shelf and discovering new things. I loved the smell of the books, taking and flicking through the pages. My favourites were on astronomy, the moon landings and I remember borrowing a black and yellow book named ‘Codes and ciphers’. My dad like to borrow westerns from our local library and probably read their entire collection of them.

A library provides a sanctuary from the modern world
In our noisy hectic modern day life, full of noise, it can be calming to go into a quiet space and just read. It’s almost like a place of worship. At the Gladstone Library reading room you will experience the true meaning of silence!

The Gladstone Library

Old bricks and mortar have power.
Many libraries have a long tradition, and simply going into these buildings will inspire you and will change your perspective on things. At Chetham’s library in Manchester you can sit in the exact spot where Friedrich Engels wrote books on the working classes which would go on to change the course of the 20th century.

Libraries are symbols of philanthropy.
Many libraries are the legacy of philanthropists, many of them wealthy individuals who decided to spend their money on libraries in order to help their community. John Rylands was one example and so was Andrew Carniegie. Thanks to his generosity hundreds of Carnegie libraries were built across the United States, Britain and Ireland and many of them are still in use today. I’ll be looking at some examples of Carnegie Libraries including rathmines library in Dublin, Didsbury Withington and and Chorlton Libraries in Manchester, and in Liverpool Toxteth and West Derby. There are hundreds more up and down the country.

Sir Duncan Rice Library, Aberdeen

Modern-day libraries are striking pieces of architecture.
Some of my favourite modern libraries are the library of Birmingham, the Sir Duncan Rice Library in Aberdeen and Liverpool Central Library which has a futuristic modern extension. In the video I’ll be looking especially at the Sir Duncan Rice library as well as three very interesting post-war libraries in Berlin.

Libraries offer lots of services and benefits not just books.
Today libraries have diversified what they offer: You can surf the Internet, get training, apply for a job gain new skills and qualifications, have things printed or take one to one tuition.

Libraries are under threat.
But despite all that they do and the benefits they offer, libraries are under threat in many parts of the UK. Due to the austerity policies of central government, local authorities are having to close libraries because of budget cuts. This is true in Greater Manchester, Liverpool and many other places around Britain.

Everton Library inscription

Everton Library, Liverpool

While millions are being spent on new office and residential developments, I think it’s a scandal that beautiful old buildings such as Everton Library are standing empty and neglected. A friends group are doing what they can to save the building, but funding and support are needed. Surely it should be possible for even small percentage of the millions spent on these developments to help restore libraries. The closure of libraries reduces peoples opportunities and works exactly against what Andrew Carnegie, William Gladstone and others were trying to achieve. I’m sure they would be horrified if they could see what has happened to some libraries in recent years.

Libraries are being brought back to life.
But there are some examples of regeneration and renewal. In West Derby, Liverpool, Heritage lottery funding has been secured for the renovation of a unique and magnificent library originally funded by Andrew Carnegie. It will reopen as a centre providing services for the local community.

Please visit a library.
Many people take libraries are granted. Some people have never set foot inside one. I hope after watching this some people will make more use of libraries and and perhaps go and visit some of the libraries I’ve highlighted here. Do libraries have a future? Yes of course they do. And my closing words are: Long live libraries!

Currently in pre-production. Release date: 2020

Stunning photos of Salford Quays in a free Salford Quays photo e-book.

2020-04-28 By @AidanEyewitness

Salford Quays is an area that has undergone huge transformation in recent decades. What was once the Manchester Docks is now a futuristic district where all kinds of striking modern buildings overlook wide stretches of water.

At MediaCityUK, you’ll find the studios of the BBC and ITV. The production centre for Coronation Street is located across the Manchester ship canal on the Trafford side, next to the Imperial War Museum with its crazy metallic fragmented shell.

The Lowry is a centre for art and performance and is also housed within in a shiny metallic structure full of strident angles, shapes and colours. The Lowry Outlet is a stylish shopping mall where you can buy discounted clothes and many other items. There’s a food court and a cinema there too.

Countless offices and apartments have been built all across Salford Quays. There are four impressive bridges two old and two new. Manchester United’s Old Trafford ground is very close. Manchester city centre is a 20 minute tram ride away.

I remember visiting the Manchester Docks as a child. It was exciting to see ocean-going ships floating on the water so close to the heart of the city. I once went with my mother to visit a Royal Navy submarine named Grampus. It was docked close to where the Millennium lift bridge is now.

A few years later, containerisation and the growth in the size of ships made the Docks redundant. By the early 80s, the area was mostly derelict and unused. But people at Salford City Council devised a plan. It has taken many years to bring that plan to reality and the development is still ongoing but I’m sure if the dockers and crews of the past could look into the future and see what’s there today, they would be astonished.

Just a quick note about place names, which can be confusing in this part of the world. Unlike other major cities, whose boroughs form one unit – I’m thinking of London, Berlin, New York and many others – the Manchester conurbation is divided up among a number of local authorities. Salford is a separate city and sees itself as having a strong identity that’s separate to Manchester.

The Manchester Docks were not located inside the City of Manchester – apart from a small section – but inside the City of Salford. The name of the conurbation is known as Manchester, or Greater Manchester and they were referred to as the Manchester Docks. Visitors often find the geography of the local area quite difficult to understand!

And the confusion continues: The area we think of as Salford Quays is actually split between Salford on the north side of the water and Trafford on the south side. For this reason the name ‘The Quays’ has been introduced as a unifying identity. The trouble with this name is that it has no place identifier. If you type ‘The Quays’ into a search engine, you may well stumble on other locations, for instance a shopping centre of that name in Newry, Northern Ireland.

There are other controversies. Not everyone is keen on the strident and outlandish designs of the Lowry and the Imperial War Museum. Others say the architecture of MediaCityUK is too bland and not adventurous enough.

There is a sentiment within Salford that Salford Quays has received the lion’s share of local funding, to the detriment of poorer areas. I’m not going to go into that controversy here, I will just approach Salford Quays from the point of view of a visual artist, with an eye on its history. And in Salford Quays I can find plenty of visually arresting scenes that demand to be captured. I’ve done this mostly through the medium of photography but I’ve also completed one drawing so far and hope to do more.

A major reason to visit Salford Quays is to see the paintings of LS Lowry, which are on display in the Lowry. His work should be an inspiration to everyone.

My Salford Quays e-book brings together around 30 of my best photos of Salford Quays mostly taken from around 2000 onwards. The cover photo shows the Lowry in early 2002, around the time it was completed, with no buildings around it . At that time it was possible to see the complete outline of the structure. Since then, more buildings have appeared all around, and new ones are under construction today.

I only have a couple of images from the eighties, both taken on Trafford Road Bridge, one of the bridge itself and one of the view along the canal before any of the development started.

I was at the opening of the Lowry in 2002 and managed to capture the view of the shiny new building from the top of the car park. Now there is an office development on the site next to the car park. It’s nice when there is open space to photograph buildings, but you have to act quickly. Things change quickly in this part of the world.

I love seeing the Mersey Ferry arriving in Salford Quays after its journey from Liverpool. I’ve done the six hour Manchester Ship Canal Cruise from Salford to Liverpool twice and I have to say it’s stunning.

I really wish there were more ships on the water in Salford Quays. It’s much quieter than the Thames. HMS Bronington was previously moored on Trafford Wharf, as well as the theatre ship Fitzcarraldo but they have both since moved on.

The WAXI water taxi is the only regular passenger service operating on the canal. I went on a tour to the city centre and back and it was a great experience to see the Quays, bridges and the area along the water from new angles.

On most stretches of lakes and waterways around Manchester and Salford, waterfowl are in residence and they often add an attractive element to photographs. Humans can also be seen on the water. Rowers from the watersports centre often do their training there and occasionally there are swimming events.

MediaCityUK appeared later years on the northern side of Salford Quays, when the studios of both the BBC and ITV migrated here from the city centre. The view of MediaCityUK from the Lowry is great, especially on a sunny day when the water is still. It can appear as smooth as a piece of glass.

I love to take the tram from the city centre. There are amazing panoramic views all the way from Deansgate-Castlefield to MediaCityUK.

I’ve selected a small number of my best photos for this e-book, which I’m giving away in order to showcase my photos and provide some information about this very interesting and photogenic area.

Feel free to pass on the link to anyone else who might be interested. If you like the photos, please post a comment on social media or e-mail me directly.

Download the photo e-book to your device now by clicking on the image above.

Photos of Edgeley and Cheadle Heath, Stockport from my portfolio

2019-10-09 By @AidanEyewitness

On this page I present photographs of Edgeley and Cheadle Heath from my portfolio of photographs. I have a special interest in the area as this is where I grew up as a child. Click on the images to view the pictures at larger size, with captions.

Bench, Sykes Reservoirs, Edgeley, Stockport. This image was used by Stockport Borough on their social media. 26.07.2019

Rainy window – Still from my short film The Train to Funky Island, set in Edgeley, Stockport. This view is actually in Chorlton Manchester, where a friend lives and shot this videoclip for me.

Lamp post, telegraph pole, chimney, aerial, rooftop late afternoon, Kensington Rd Cheadle Heath, Stockport

View of St Matthews Church and Hollywood Park steps from Heaton Mersey, Stockport

Edgeley Library is close to where I grew up in Cheadle Heath. This is the first library I ever used. 05.05.2019

Grainy view over Cheadle heath from Edgeley Road, close to where I grew up. In the distance are the blocks of flats in Wythenshawe

Edgeley Road, Cheadle Heath, Stockport. I lived in the house immediately to the left of the lamp post and bus stop sign, number 140. Photo taken 11 Sept 2002

Remaining Monkey Bridge, Cheadle Heath, Stockport.The previous bridge was much longer, a cast iron lattice work footbridge dating from around 1902 when the line and nearby Cheadle Heath station opened. On the right is Bilson Drive.

Panorama of the reservoirs, Edgeley, Stockport

Bowling pavilion, Alexandra Park, Edgeley Stockport. I have happy memories of playing on the crazy golf course here as a child, and watching people playing bowls on the green. 19.05.2019

St Matthews Spire, Edgeley, and rooftops, seen from platform 4, Edgeley Station, now known as Stockport Station. The weathervane at the top of the spire merges with the dark clouds above Edgeley.

Woods, library and steeple, Alexandra Park, Edgeley, Stockport 11 Feb 2011

Grenville Street Stockport, with setts, which have since been tarmaced over. On the right is my VW Beetle. Captured on Ilford HP5 film, 1988.

Black and white image of a footpath behind houses on Bilson Drive, Cheadle Heath. As a child I rode my bike along this footpath, which leads to the Monkey Bridge. It has since been closed off. 15 August 1994

Berlin Road, Edgeley, Stockport 01.01.2019

Dale Street, Edgeley Stockport and 328 bus – Another still from my short film The Train to Funky Island, made in 2012 and 2013.

St Mathews Church steeple, telegraph pole and rooftops, Edgeley Stockport 08.10.2019

Kensington Road Cheadle Heath at dusk

Sykes reservoirs, Edgeley at dusk 02.03.2011

Path between the reservoirs, Edgeley, Stockport. The posts prevent cars from entering the path. I often rode my bike here as a child.

Still from The Train to Funky Island – Michael looks for a crocodile in the pool – next to Alexandra Park, Edgeley, Stockport

Canada geese on Sykes reservoirs, Stockport. Capture date: 21 November 2000. As a child I played near the reservoirs, but at that time they were closed off by a fence. After closure and demolition of Sykes bleach works, the reservoirs were opened up for public use.

Snowy, Alexandra Park, Edgeley Library and houses in midwinter 21.2.2010

Sykes Reservoirs and birds 26.07.2019

Cheadle Heath, Stockport – Eva Road with setts. I grew up not far from here.

Berlin Road, Edgeley, at dusk

View along Edgeley Road Cheadle Heath towards flats, Wythenshawe. This is the same viewpoint as my earlier, grainy view, but a wider field of view.

View of Edgeley and snowy Pennine hills from Heaton Mersey, Stockport. The spire of St Matthews Church is in the centre. The chimney is Stepping Hill Hospital 6.2.2019

Old Berlin Road street sign, Edgeley, Stockport

Still from the film ‘The Train to Funky Island’ – Sykes reservoirs

I grew up in the neighbouring suburbs of Cheadle Heath and Edgeley in Stockport, just south of Manchester.

I lived on Edgeley Road Stockport and went to Our Lady’s primary school, Edgeley.

As a small child, I played in Alexandra Park with its bowling greens – some now fenced off, its pavilion, children’s playground and woods.

Sykes reservoirs, to the south of Alexandra Park are one of the most striking features of the area. They belonged to Sykes Bleach works, which was later closed and demolished. The reservoirs were then opened for public use.

They are overlooked by rows of terraced houses. There are footpaths around and between these small stretches of water, which at various times of the year are populated by birds.

On the south side of the reservoirs are residential streets with interesting names – Vienna Road, Berlin Road, Stockholm Road and Petersburg Road. As a child I never imagined I would eventually live in Berlin.

Then, as today, Edgeley seems a long way from Berlin. Planes to and from Berlin and other destinations fly directly above Edgeley on their way to Manchester Airport.

The area has a quiet nostalgia about it with streetscapes that have not changed much since the 19th century.

Unlike Cheadle, Chorlton or Didsbury, Edgeley is not regarded as a fashionable or sought after place to live, For some, it’s a just stepping stone onto the property ladder, as there are usually inexpensive terraced houses for sale.

The photos I present here are taken over many years. When taking the photo I am often trying to recapture my childhood. The grainy view over Cheadle Heath is what I saw as I walked home from school. The trees and footpaths of Alexandra Park are mostly the same as they were when I was a child.

As for the reservoirs, I could only look at them through the fence, but I imagined them to be a remote coastline or lake in some far off country, maybe the United States, where I also lived.

A few years ago I was inspired to make a short film drama set in Edgeley. It is available to view by invitation.

All photos are copyright Aidan O’Rourke. Some of them may be suitable for licencing or as prints. Please contact to order.

Portfolio of sketches by Aidan O’Rourke – Dublin, Liverpool, Manchester, Salzburg, Berlin and other locations

2019-08-03 By @AidanEyewitness

In this post I present my portfolio of illustrations, done in various locations and at various times.

I was good at drawing as a child and enjoyed art at primary school. In fact I won an art competition two years running.

The first was a poster for an anti-crime campaign by the police. I designed a poster with a sports car and the slogan ‘Flashy or not, lock it!’.

I won a Kodak Brownie camera, which I remember picking up as a very excited 8 year old from the police station in Stockport.

The second year I did a drawing of Tom Thumb standing on a giant hand. For that I won a Kodak Instamatic camera, which I also collected from the duty desk at the police station.

Both works were exhibited at Stockport Art Gallery.

Unfortunately, I don’t have these pictures today.

At grammar school I wasn’t able to study Art due to a timetable clash with Music. I drew from time to time and finally started to experiment with photography more seriously at university in Dublin. I turned to photography as I had grown impatient when doing drawings and found it difficult to draw faces.

For me, photography and art are complimentary. I’ve done mostly photography but occasionally, when I’m in the mood, I’ve done drawings.

I attend life drawing classes, but drawing the human figure is difficult. The face is even more difficult. But with sketches of buildings, it doesn’t seem to matter if the proportions are not quite accurate. My style is sketchy and scribbly but it seems to work.

When I do quick drawings, the results are often good. People seem to rate art higher than photography due to the talent and skill that goes into a drawing or painting, although photography also requires lots of talent and skill.

I prefer drawing to painting and I especially like to do line drawings.

I’m inspired by art and often go to art galleries such as the Walker in Liverpool, Manchester Art Gallery and the Tate Britain in London.

I love Japanese woodblock ukuyo-e prints by artists including Hiroshige (1797-1858) , Hokusai (1760-1849) and Utamaro (1753-1806).

I’m very interested in fashion illustration from around 1900s to the 1920s, which was actually quite Japanese-influenced.

I love the illustrations of Georges Barbier (1882-1932), the Russian emigré fashion illustrator Erté (1892-1990) and the Czech artist Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939), all three part of the Art Deco movement.

David Hockney’s (b. 1937) line drawings are fantastic and some are quite risqué!

Talking of risqué, Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898) is another artist I like.

I really appreciate the illustrations of Patrick Nagel (1945-1984) who designed that famous album cover for Duran Duran.

The drawings of Swedish artist Carl Larsson (1853-1919) are amazing.

I have lots of ideas, which I intend to explore and I’ll share my work my on Facebook and social media.

Many thanks to my friends on Facebook for their positive feedback and encouragement.

Cadishead Bridge on the Manchester Ship Canal. Copied from a photograph. 28 Nov 2015

Media City, Salford Quays

The Champs Elysées, Paris, drawn at the location, July 1977

The former Smiths Arms, shortly before demolition, Ancoats, Manchester 31 Aug 2016

The Fernsehturm or TV tower, built in the former East Berlin 1973. My drawing 7 June 1980

Drawn at the location on a visit to Salzburg Austria, 1980

Test image made in Photoshop copied from photos. 1 Jan 2010

The Brandenburg Gate, das Brandeburger Tor – Berlin 27.03.2017

Salzburg, drawn at the location on a visit to Salzburg, Austria / Österreich 21.09.2019

Illustration of an orange VW Beetle on Blackpool Promenade

Test cityscape illustration made in Photoshop. With the towers of Manchester town hall and Royal Exchange, looking towards Winter Hill. 31 Dec 2009

Douglas DC3 Dakota, copied from a photograph. Watercolour drawing 11.07.1988

Rapid sketch of the LIver Building drawn at the location. It had to be rapid as the temperature was freezing! 18.12.2011

Levenshulme Baths – traced from a photograph 17.01.2015

Copy of artwork from the opening credits of The Untouchables tv series, made in the 1950s. The buildings are in downtown Chicago. When I visited Chicago, I saw this location. The viewpoint is at the southern end of North Michigan Avenue. Drawn around 1988

Copy of a postcard. I lived in a flat which overlooked a courtyard – Hinterhof – like this one. Drawn 1980.

A very rough sketch of the east facade of Manchester town hall in rain. The viewpoint is the window on the first floor of Manchester Art Gallery. 09.11.2016

Fantasy cityscape image of New York, drawn first on paper from a 1930s photograph, then scanned and built up using Photoshop layers. 27.12.2017

Facades on the Landwehrkanal, Kreuzberg, Berlin. drawn around 15.05.1980 during my year spent in West Berlin

The Custom House, Dublin, drawn at the location. 21.05.1977

Cityscape of Liverpool, drawn in around five minutes from my photograph taken from the top of the Liver Building 22.06.2019. I was surprised and happy to receive lots of positive feedback on Facebook.

The beauty of the baths captured on the Victoria Baths Photo Workshop

2019-07-02 By @AidanEyewitness

I’ve been running the Victoria Baths Photography Workshop for a few years now and have welcomed a large number of people, ranging from complete beginners in photography to highly experienced professional photographers. The age range is very wide as well, from teenagers to octogenarians.

Every time I run the workshop, I see something in the Baths that I’ve not seen before – not with my own eyes but through the camera viewfinders of the people on the workshop.

The aim of the workshop is to give people the opportunity to photograph this amazing building. I’m on hand to chat to people, giving tips where needed and also asking questions. There’s no formal instruction due to the widely differing levels of the participants.

I normally chat individually to each person on the workshop for ten minutes or so. There are normally between 7 and 10 people attending.

I always look through the photos on each person’s camera screen to gain an idea of what they have been photographing. I give positive feedback and suggestions for improvement. I also look at photos and say things like: ‘Wow, I wish I’d taken that!’ and ‘You’re very talented, aren’t you?’ or perhaps ‘That’s incredible, look at this everybody!’

I’ll also give them a task to complete, for instance making use of exposure compensation and asking them to do a series of bracketed shots to show me later.

The workshop that took place on Sunday 9 June followed the usual format: Start at 10am in the Turkish Baths rest area, by the magnificent stained glass window. Participants then go and explore the building. I chat to each one individually. We then meet at 12pm to go up the ‘secret’ staircase to the abandoned rooms at the top of the building. After 30-40 minutes we return to the ground floor and go to the canteen to chat.

This time I found some of the photos taken by the participants to be so impressive, I decided to do a write-up and showcase their photographs.

So here is a selection of images, sent in by people. I asked them to pick out three of their best images, particularly the ones I had praised on the day. I chose two images for each photographer who got back to me, and what follows is my critique of the photos.

This photo by Emily Pickering of a light switch and torn wallpaper really captures the atmosphere of the abandoned rooms on the top floor, which we always visit on the Victoria Baths Photography Workshop. She has caught the textures and details very well. She has placed the switch in the lower right of the frame, leaving room to display the wallpaper layers, patterns and colours at the top of the image.

Emily Pickering has captured the stained glass windows superbly in this image. Very often, with stained glass, you have to underexpose the image in order to make sure the colours look saturated. The camera’s exposure meter will often photograph coloured stained glass wrongly. Often it makes the glass too light. By making use of the Exposure Compensation setting on the camera, Emily has achieved the ideal exposure – not too dark and not too light. The viewpoint, from slightly to one side, gives a hint of spontaneity.

Maggie Malyszko took this excellent shot of the ‘sunrise’ window on the stairs. She has adopted a different viewpoint from most. She is looking from behind the staircase through the gap, giving a sense of an observer. This viewpoint creates an unusual pattern and composition in the image. The strong verticals and dark tones give a sense of mystery and atmosphere.

Maggie Malyszko’s photo of the door and corridor is another superbly composed image. She has placed the part-open door in just the right position so that we can see through it, and so that the door at the far end of the corridor falls inside the middle pane of glass. Having a foreground element like this placed at the front gives a sense of depth. The textures of the wood, the shiny tiles and the marks on the out of focus windows give extra visual interest. She has placed the light on the wall in the upper left exactly inside the curve in the door. Great composition!

Richard Waldock created this very enigmatic image in the abandoned rooms at the top of the building. Eventually these rooms will be converted into apartments though at the time of writing – June 2019 – this is still a long way off. In the meantime the peeling ceilings and torn wallpaper will continue to fascinate visiting photographers on the Victoria Baths Photography Workshop. What’s disturbing about the image is that it looks almost as if there is a human form under the dark blanket. Lighting and composition are very good.

Chris Currie has adopted an unusual viewpoint for this shot of the bath in the abandoned rooms. He has reduced the composition down to two areas of grey wall at the top and the white of the bath in the lower part, with taps, holes and stained sides. The wide angle lens has magnified the edges of the bath. It’s as if we are sitting in it ourselves, (though thankfully no legs are visible, unlike in those ‘me on the beach’ photos!). Of all the photos taken of that bath I’ve never seen one quite like this! All credit is due to the photographer!

This image by Chris Currie shows that simply by adopting a different viewpoint, you can create an image that’s unique and with a lot of visual impact. He has re-interpreted the angel in the stained glass windows by moving to a low position and looking upwards. The shallow depth of field has made the stained glass out of focus in the upper and lower parts of the image. This works well as it adds a sense of depth, and the out of focus effect is visually pleasing.

Richard Waldock took this photograph on the stairs near the main entrance. In any other building, the question in the viewer’s mind might be: ‘What made him take that photo?’ but in the Victoria Baths, every inch of the building is photogenic. The hand rail takes a zig zag path from top left to bottom right, and the reflections in the shiny green tiles are pleasing to the eye.

Laura Gritti took this photo in the abandoned rooms on the top floor. In this part of the building, objects lie on the floor for no apparent reason and can be used as subject matter for photography. Here a section of pipe and a meter provide an interesting focus, lit up by the direct sunlight through the windows, which cast a pattern on the floor. It’s a well composed image and quite enigmatic.

Laura Gritti took this shot of the Gala pool, looking across towards the changing cubicles and the balcony above. She has placed the ‘water 4 and a half feet deep’ sign on the left and just passing underneath, a man walking towards the right. She has used a slow shutter speed – I would estimate about one quarter of a second. The image is well composed with almost perfect horizontals. The picture is mostly static, but the moving figure provides a dynamic element. She pressed the shutter at just the right moment, when the guy was just in front of one of the red and white striped curtains. A great example of ‘le moment juste’ – the right moment – to press the shutter.

All in all I was very impressed with the photographs taken by this group. Every photographer who enters the Victoria Baths comes away with something unique, something memorable. This is a building that likes having its photo taken!

If you’d like to come on the Victoria Baths Photography Workshop, just get in contact with me directly and I will reserve a place for you.

Please visit my information page on the Victoria Baths Photography Workshop.

Video: 7 reasons to use ‘analogue’ photography – Editorial style video presented in two languages

2019-04-09 By @AidanEyewitness

In 2018 I made a video entitled ‘Is it time to go back to film?”

In 2019 I decided to do a new version of the video using my new bilingual format, presented in English and German. The ratio is roughly 90% English and 10% German. This is part of my Campaign for Languages initiative. I want to promote language learning and incorporate foreign languages into my videos so that a wide range of people get to see them and experience them. The video is fully accessible to English speakers.

So here is the exact wording of the voiceover. All photos are by me, Aidan O’Rourke and were captured on film from around 1980 to the present.

In this video we look at Seven reasons to try analog photography and as part of my campaign for languages the headings are in German

Reason number one,
Film has a particular ‘look’.
Film hat einen besonderen ‘Look’

I first became interested in photography in my final year at TCD. I wanted the best picture quality, so I used Kodachrome because of its rich, saturated colours.

The positive image is captured within the emulsion of the transparency – das Diapositiv. There’s no print, you needed a viewer or projector to view them. But in the digital age, a scanner – ein Scanner – or even a smartphone – ein Smartphone – can be used to import them into the digital medium.

With a film camera, the depth of field – die Tiefenschärfe – is fantastic giving a background that’s nicely out of focus.

I continued my photographic explorations in New York. I taught myself photography from the book ‘The Complete Photographer’ by Andreas Feininger, (1906-1999) his father was the German-American artist Lyonel Feininger (1871-1956).

My first long exposure photo – meine erste Langzeitbelichtung – was of 9th Avenue, taken on the Fujica camera I bought in New York.

My first long exposure photograph, taken using my first roll of Kodachrome 25 film

Number two

Film photography can make you into a better photographer.
Filmfotografie kann dich zu einem besseren Fotografen machen.

I continued taking photogaphs on visits to Berlin, east and West. When you use a film camera you have to be patient and selective. It forces you to think carefully before you press the shutter – den Auslöser drücken.

In England I photographed my home region of north west England and wanted an element of nostalgia. That’s why I used Ilford HP5 with its grainy, atmospheric quality. Black and white film still has that effect.

It was exciting to scan the photos and open them in Photoshop and transform them using digital enhancement. Film and digital can be used together. They are not mutually exclusive. They are complimentary.

The Manchester Ship Canal and Trafford Wharf before the Imperial War Museum was built.

Number three
You can experience how photography used to be
Du kannst erleben, wie die Fotografie früher war.

It’s great to use similar equipment and materials to those used by the great photographers such as Lord Lichfield, Helmut Newton, David Bailey, Ellen von Unwerth and many others.

Whilst working in the Middle East, I used Kodak Ektrachrome as I was able to develop it at home and I used 35mm and medium format cameras.

Number four
A film camera will set you apart from others
Eine Filmkamera hebt dich von anderen ab.

Film will give your photos a different look – and a film camera is a talking point.

When I started photographing Manchester in the mid-90s, film was still the only affordable medium. I took literally thousands of photos on film, had them developed – or developed them myself, scanned the film and enhanced them.

It was a hybrid form of photography – capture on film, enhancement in digital. I went over to digital around 2000.

Number five
Good film cameras are inexpensive
Gute Filmkameras sind kostengünstig.

Today it’s possible to buy film cameras that used to cost hundreds or even thousands. In Manchester I went to the Real Camera Company where I got an Olympus OM30.

Number six
it’s fun to use a film camera
Es macht Spaß, eine Filmkamera zu benutzen.

Putting in the film – den Film einlegen – can be difficult at first. You’ll learn about the lens – das Objektiv – the aperture – die Blende and the shutter der Verschluss.

The large, bright viewfinder, the stunning depth of field, the ability of good quality film – such as Kodak Ektar – to capture subtle shades, these are some of the many plus points of using a film camera.

No 7
Developing and scanning are inexpensive
Entwickeln und Scannen sind kostengünstig.

There are plenty of places where you can have film developed. I used the online service Photo Hippo, based in Burnley in NW England. Or with a tank and some chemicals you can develop the film yourself – du kannst den Film selber entwickeln.

For my website Eyewitness in Manchester (1998-2005) took literally thousands of photographs . Many of the places and people – such as the Hacienda and Tony Wilson – are sadly gone.

In the early days of digital enhancement, scanning was slow and computers couldn’t cope with large file sizes, so I have many photos only at small size.

Dusk view of Manchester from Werneth Low, captured on grainy colour negative film

As digital photography became more established after 2000, I used film less and less. but recently I’ve partially gone back to film. I still like to take photos with a nostalgic quality, and for that, film is ideal – dafür ist der Film ideal.

There are Photoshop filters that emulate grain and the look of certain films, but I think in this age of fake news and digital dishonesty, it’s better to use the real thing. Oh, and I can’t stand the term ‘analog’ photography, for me, it’s film.

Not all film photos are technically perfect. There are spots, colour casts, but those imperfections can make the pictures unique.

I’m glad I had the opportunity to use film photography and I think everyone who is seriously intereted in photgraphy today should use it.

It’s not for professionals – in fact most professional photographers don’t use film any more – film is for everyone an additional format alongside digital.

So here again are seven reasons to use film photography
Sieben Gründe, Filmfotografie zu benutzen.

this time only in German!

Film hat einen besonderen ‘Look’

Filmfotografie kann dich zu einem besseren Fotografen machen.

Du kannst erleben, wie die Fotografie früher war.

Eine Filmkamera hebt dich von anderen ab.

Gute Filmkameras sind kostengünstig.

Es macht Spaß, eine Filmkamera zu benutzen.

Entwickeln und Scannen sind kostengünstig.

If you found this video interesting, please don’t forget to subscribe, hit the ‘like’ button, post a comment and click the ‘bell’ to receive updates.

Vielen Dank fürs Zuschauen – Many thanks for watching and Auf Wiedersehen.

On the Kings Road 1986, showing the out of focus background it’s possible to achieve using a 35mm film camera

Is it time to go back to film? 7 reasons to use analog photography – Video online

2018-08-11 By @AidanEyewitness

I made my Back to Film video (above) in 2018 in response to a comment I received an earlier video feature I did 2014 on the subject of Kodachrome (see below).

Set against a slide show of my favourite film photos from 1981 to 2018, I explore the reasons why film is still an important and viable photographic medium.

I urge people to try using film because of its special qualities and because it’s important to gain experience with the old technology if you want to fully experience photography.

I make the important point that it’s not a choice between digital and ‘analog’ (I’m not keen on this word, hence the quotation marks!). In fact the two can be used together. I don’t advocate going back exclusively to film and ditching digital altogether.

A film camera can be an extra means of capturing photographs in addition to your digital cameras.

Here’s the script as well as a selection of the film photos I featured in the video.

I first discovered the power of photography in my final year at university in Dublin, when a friend lent me an Olympus Trip and I went on my first early morning city photoshoot. In the camera was a roll of Kodachrome 64 film. It was a magical experience.

I chose Kodachrome slide film because of its rich colours and fine grain and because I wanted to take more than just snapshots.

inspired by the classic photographers of the past, I wanted to capture the city in all its colours and shades. I became fascinated by the glamour of photography, cameras and the magic of film.

It’s amazing how much detail can be caught within the emulsion of that tiny 36x24mm film transparency.

I continued my photographic journey in New York, where I bought my first camera – a Fujica STX-1 – in a camera shop near Times Square. It cost me 70 dollars.

I started to experiment with exposure and composition. I taught myself photography from this book, the Complete Photographer by Andreas Feininger.

In 2009 Kodachrome ceased production and I made a video about it, featuring this photo. Someone replied and said ‘ Why don’t you try using film again and make a video about it?’. And so in this video I’m going to ask the question:

Is it time to go back to film?

7 reasons to use analogue photography.

And by the way I don’t like the word ‘analogue’.

And so my first reason to use film is…

1 – Film has a special quality.
There is something about the quality of the colours graininess that’s quite different from digital. There are filters that try to emulate film, some digital cameras are designed to look like film cameras, but why not use the real thing?

Reason number 2 – Film and digital work well together.
You can capture on film, scan the film and enhance in digital. I did that for six years before going mainly digital in 2000. It’s fun to transform film images in Photoshop, easy to correct colour casts and there are filters to remove dust and scratches.

3 – You can become a better photographer by using film
Using a film camera encourages discipline, patience and self-confidence. The pleasure of viewing is delayed. There’s no instant gratification. With 12, 24 or 36 frames, each photo is precious.

Reason to use film number 4 – You will set yourself apart from most other photographers.
Your pictures won’t have that ‘digital’ look. And your film camera will attract attention. It’s a talking point. By using a film camera you are helping to keep our photographic heritage alive.

Reason number 5 – Film cameras are inexpensive.
It’s tragic but equipment that used to cost a fortune is now available at a very cheap price. Manchester I went to the Real Camera Company in and got an excellent quality Olympus OM10.

6) You will learn a lot about photography.
You’ll see the aperture, f numbers and the shallow depth of field. The viewfinder is big and bright with split image focusing. You might find loading the film is difficult at first, but you’ll get the hang of it. Taking photographs with a film camera has a purity and simplicity about it and you’ll love the sound of the shutter. I always look at the back of the camera and realise this is a film camera. Today’s digital cameras are a hybrid, they use digital technology to capture and store the images, but everything else is inherited from film.

Reason number 7 – It’s cheap and easy to have the film developed and scanned.
I used a mail order service. The scans are available to download in a day or two. You’ll receive the film strips and prints, which are more secure than images stored on a hard drive.

So is it time to ditch digital and go back to film? No, of course not. Digital is today’s technology. The quality is good, the cost per image is very low.

But if you’re really want to experience photography to the full, then you need to try film. Really it’s just alternative form of image capture and storage.

If you’d like to learn photography, film or digital I’d love to help you. Take a look at my one-to-one tuition, photo walks and other resources. I’m proud to say, many people give them as a present.

So thanks very much for watching and I’ll see you again soon.

Top 50 best and Worst Modern Buildings in Manchester – Video online

2018-06-08 By @AidanEyewitness

Please click here to subscribe to my channel and view more of my videos- Thank you!

In this video I present my personal choice of the Top 50 most notable modern buildings in Manchester – mostly good but I start with a few that are not so good.

I’ve been interested in the development of Manchester since I was a child and I’ve been photographing and commenting on the changes in the city since 1996.

I’ve also campaigned against the destruction of heritage, for example Piccadilly Gardens, Library Walk, Ancoats, Bootle Street near Albert Square and other many other locations.

As a photographer interested, among other things, in architecture, I need something interesting, inspiring, maybe historic or perhaps futuristic, to photograph.

I started with 30, then I had to increase it to 40, finally it went up to 50!

Here is a selection of the images in the video.

Please note, my number one favourite building is one of the buildings on this page!

I decided to make a video about modern buildings as I am a big fan of modern architecture. I love Victorian and other types of architecture as well but I feel the best modern architecture is neglected and under-valued.

So what makes a good modern building? Uniqueness is undoubtedly a very important factor. It should be innovative, unusual, beautiful, maybe a bit impractical – in a good way. These are the qualities I like.

Unfortunately a lot of the architecture built in modern times is what I call ‘banalitecture’ or as @McrShield calls it ‘blanditecture’.

There is a problem with modern architecture. There is no consensus of what good modern architecture is. People often disagree about contemporary buildings.

Manchester’s Beetham / Hilton tower is a good example. Some people like it, others loathe it. I’m in two minds about it!

Unfortunately not every building can be unique and innovative. But in any city there should at least be a good number of buildings that attract attention, that enhance the cityscape, that demonstrate the ingenuity and imagination of architects and planners, that provide a pleasant, inspiring ‘world’ for people to live in.

I’ve always said that architects are like gods – they create the world we spend most of our lives in – the built world. Unfortunately their designs often fall far short of god-like!

In this selection of fifty buildings I am trying to highlight what I like.

OK, here are a few points:

To draw up the list, I wrote the names of the fifty buildings in a document, printed it out, cut out the names and arranged them on my desk. That’s the best way to arrange items into a list.

I start with a few not so good examples of modern architecture and then I progress to the good ones, going up in ranking to the ones I think are the very best.

Sometimes I’ve grouped related buildings together on the list.

The video is presented in English, my native language and in German, my first foreign language. I want to reach out to audiences in other parts of the world as well as provide interesting content for my language students here.

All photographs are taken by me, Aidan O’Rourke and date from around 1998 to 2018.

This video is showcased on the I Love Manchester website – many thanks to them for featuring my work.

Interview with me on the I Love Manchester website

I will continue to highlight the value of modern architecture and the importance of photographing it.

I also teach people how to use a camera and I’m planning an online course in architectural photography.

Interview with me on the I Love Manchester website

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Night time images of Bata Building, Prague – Article & photos

2017-10-27 By @AidanEyewitness

I took this photograph of the Bata Building in Prague on a visit to the city in 2005. The images is dated 26.10.2005.

I was struck by the lights and colours of the facade, the sihouette of the trees and the people, and the contrast with the rest of the buildings on Wenceslas Square.

This image was selected for inclusion in a new edition Sir Banister Fletcher’s Global History of Architecture.

Here’s an alternative image taken from further back and to one side.

Photo-impressions: American urban architecture and street lights

2017-08-28 By @AidanEyewitness

Music and architecture are connected. When I hear some genres of music I think of architecture, cityscapes and streetscapes.

Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin makes me think of New York in the 1920s and 1930s. The opening clarinet rising to a high note conjures up a picture of the Chrysler Building. My viewpoint rises from street level right up to the top of the building, with the 1930s Manhattan skyline visible beyond. I feel I have a connection with the New York of that time as my father lived there from around 1929 to 1931.

A Kind of Blue, the album by Miles Davis, also gives me strong visual associations with Manhattan in the 1950s. The album was recorded in 1959 in New York. When I hear it I can see a yellow cab making its way uptown by mostly empty warehouses.

Does my mental association come from a magical quality of the music to capture the essence of time and place, or is it just that I know it was recorded in New York at around this time? I think it could be a bit of both.

Another group that for me capture the atmosphere of New York is Weather Report. They recorded in the 1970s and 80s and that’s the era I think of. I was in New York in summer 1981, around 50 years after my father was there. When I listen to Weather Report, I can see yellow cabs, the subway, the Twin Towers, the streets and highways.

There is a quality of nostalgia, like the films of Elliott Bristow, with whom I worked when I was in New York. There’s a frustration with taking photos today. The USA of today is quite different from the one we have in our minds from times past.

The cover of the album ‘The Best of Weather Report’ has a remarkable photograph that completely echoes the images in my mind. It looks to me like it was taken on the West Side Highway at a traffic intersection. It must be looking west, as it appears to be a dusk sky.

On a visit to New York and Philadelphia, I took photos in a similar style to the Weather Report album cover. I’ve always found street lighting to be an important part of the cityscape and very visually interesting, especially at nightfall when the lights start to glow against the dusk sky.

These photos are not going to win any photography prizes. I don’t take photos to win prizes or to make money. I take photos to capture my mental impressions and make them visible to others.

All photos taken on the Canon 550D digital SLR camera with the Tamron 16-300mm zoom lens.

Many fascinating architectural features can be seen way above street level if you lift your eyes. The retro style street lamps are typically New York.

The rooftops of buildings in New York are often full of detail and surprises, mostly unplanned. In addition to the water towers there are now cellphone masts. I’d love to live up there.

Suspended traffic lights above East Houston Street Manhattan. I’ve made the image black and white except for the green traffic lights in the lower right.

A typically American scene. These are American style lamp posts. In Europe, power cables are under the ground.

This is a typically north American design of street light. Power lines cut across the frame. I made the picture black and white but left the amber colour in the light.

Dusk is a special time for photographers. The dusk light has almost drained from the sky. I took several photos from this location using the zoom lens.

A Sunoco advert next to Interstate 95 with the Philadelphia skyline in the distance.

A street lamp on Interstate I-95 and the Philadelphia skyline with the distinctive form of One and Two Liberty Place.

The scene at dusk is full of atmosphere. The lights of Liberty Place are off as it’s the weekend. To the right is the Comcast Center.

Industrial buildings are considered ugly and uninteresting but I find they have a special fascination. The light from the sunset lends a painterly quality to the scene.

The random shapes of the industrial buildings, chimneys and the water tower have a special fascination at dusk. This could be another era – the 70s, 50s or even the 30s.

I love the effect of buildings silhouetted against the sky. Everything is reduced to a simple arrangement of forms.

Street lighting and traffic lights in south Philadelphia at dusk. Taken from the window of a car. With contemporary cars and other features hidden, the scene could be any time in the recent past. The clouds at the top and silhouette at the bottom make a composition of thirds.

To me this is beautiful and typically New York. The tall buildings leave canyons between them, interspersed with lights, which have not yet come on. This is a composition of vertical thirds.

My review of the Liverpool Albert Dock and Three Graces Walking Tour

2017-08-26 By @AidanEyewitness

If you’re visiting a city and want to get the inside story on its history and attractions, who should you go to? A tour guide of course.

I know Liverpool well but I’m always interested in finding out more. That’s the reason why I went on a tour of The Albert Dock and the Three Graces. I wasn’t disappointed. I discovered many new facts.

For instance, I didn’t know that the Albert Dock is the largest complex of Grade 1 listed buildings in the UK, that it was a state-of-the-art building when first built in 1846. I knew already from a tour with historian Quentin Hughes that it was nearly demolished. That was in the 1970s when the Albert Dock was in a derelict state, the basins were silted up and the entire district was closed off. The proposal was to demolish the buildings, fill in the docks and replace them with a car park. Thankfully the Albert Dock was restored and is now Liverpool’s top tourist attraction. It is a unique place – inside the solid brick warehouses house restaurants, apartments, shops, the Tate Liverpool, the Beatles Experience and the Liverpool Maritime Museum, incorporating the Museum of Slavery. The Albert Dock is a must-see for all visitors to Liverpool and a regular haunt for those of us who live in or not far from the city.

There are many reminders of its past – the Dock Traffic Office with its Roman style portico – actually the pillars are hollow and made of cast iron. It was used as a studio for Granada Television. Round the corner there’s a curious ‘helter-skelter’ chute on the exterior of the building. I’d never even noticed it before. It was used to carry ice cubes from the upper floors to a cart where they would be transported to the homes of Liverpool’s wealthy families. The Pump House – now a restaurant – contained the hydraulic pumps used to open and close the lock gates. The Piermaster’s House has been furnished in the style of World War II, when Liverpool was a major target for bombing. You can imagine the Piermaster and his family listening to the wireless and then hearing the air raid siren echoing over the docks.

A few minutes walk away and we come to the three magnificent buildings which are the most famous symbol of Liverpool, often referred to as the ‘Three Graces’. They were built on the site of St George’s Dock. Around the turn of the 20th century it was filled in and two streets were extended across it – Brunswick Street and Water Street. dividing it into three rectangles. On each of these three sites, three buildings appeared: The Port of Liverpool building, the Liver Building and the Cunard Building, completed in 1907, 1911 and 1916, respectively.

The Port of Liverpool Building was designed by Sir Arnold Thornley and F.B. Hobbs and is magnificent inside and out. It was the headquarters of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board until 1994. Today the building is used by private companies. I was surprised to discover it is only Grade II* listed. It has many superb architectural features. The dome is similar to St Paul’s Cathedral and Belfast City Hall. Many people are not aware that it’s possible to go inside the lobby and admire the magnificent view up towards the inside of the dome. It is a building with ‘wow’ factor. The exterior made of Portland Stone.

It’s important to note that up until the 1960s the exteriors of all three buildings were blackened by air pollution. I will never forget visiting Liverpool in the late 1960s just after they were cleaned. The Port of Liverpool Building seemed to me like a gigantic wedding cake made of pure white icing sugar. Today, in bright, clear sunlight, the exterior for me has a ‘singing ringing’ effect. There are many parallels between architecture and music, but that’s another story!

Next door to it is the Cunard Building, which is also Grade II* Listed. This was once the terminal for wealthy passengers boarding transatlantic liners. They would complete their paperwork in the grand hall and make their way to the front lobby to await embarkation. Our tour guide painted a vivid picture of the hall, with its elegant interior and perhaps a string quartet playing tasteful music. Today that area is the British Music Experience, a permanent exhibition dedicated to the history of popular British Music. It’s not possible to go to the upper floors of the Cunard Building. This is a working office building, and surely one of the best addresses in Liverpool. The building was designed by William Edward Willink and Philip Coldwell Thicknesse, and was inspired by the Farnese Place in Rome. It was the headquarters of the Cunard Line until the late 1960s. Since 2015 it is owned by Liverpool City Council. The office of the Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson, is in the Cunard Building. One interesting fact: It is slightly wider at the rear and so has the shape of an uneven rectangle. Like the Port of Liverpool building it is faced in Portland Stone.

The Liver Building is the most famous building in Liverpool. It is made of granite and so the exterior colour is rather dull. But due to its unique design and the two clock towers at either end, topped with the world famous Liver birds, it has become a powerful symbol of Liverpool. Local people are very proud of the building, which can be seen from many vantage points in the city and across the Mersey. It is a building of superlatives. It was Europe’s first skyscraper. It was the tallest building in Europe from 1911 to 1932. The clock faces are bigger than those on the Elizabeth Tower of the Houses of Parliament – more commonly known as Big Ben. The Liver Building is inspired by architecture of the USA, reflecting Liverpool’s rich transatlantic connections. It was designed by Walter Aubrey Thomas and is rightly Grade I listed. Two mythical Liver Birds at the top of the building soon became the symbol of Liverpool. They were designed by the German woodcarver Carl Bernard Bartels.

Originally from Stuttgart Carl Bernard Bartels settled in England and became a naturalised British citizen. He won the commission to design the mythical birds which were completed in 1911. Despite having British citizenship he was interned on the Isle of Man during the First World War and was deported in 1918, leaving his wife behind. He returned and spent the rest of his life in the UK.

The interior of Liverpool’s most famous building may surprise many visitors. Unlike the other two buildings, the Liver building has an interior space. After renovations, the lobby is contemporary in style, with some original features visible, including a plaque dedicated to Carl Bernard Bartels. Looking up through the glass roof of the lobby into the inside space, you will see that the interior walls have been covered with a modern style glass cladding. It’s invisible from the outside of course, but in my opinion, it spoils the character of the building. In my opinion the building should at some time in the future be restored to its original state.

And after we emerged from the side entrance of the Liver building, our tour came to an end. Our Blue Badge guide Tony Boner really entertained and informed us with his deep local knowledge and Liverpudlian sense of humour.

My advice to anyone, anywhere: Even if you’re a local, book a guided tour with a knowledgeable guide. You’ll learn many new things!

The Liver Building, the Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool Building reflected in the Albert Dock (Image turned upside down and flipped horizontally)

Albert Dock Liverpool, looking across Canning Dock towards the Dock Traffic Office and the Pump House

Panorama of the Albert Dock with the Liver Building, Cunard Building and Port of Liverpool building on the far left.

View of the Three Graces before the construction of the Mann Island building (15 April 2002)

View along the Albert Dock towards the Three Graces. The new building constructed on Mann juts in on the right, obscuring the view of the Port of Liverpool Building