Rochdale Town v Wigan Robin Park 2009-10

Wet and somewhat cold by the end, but at least a day match so could use slower speed. Enjoy

More photos from this game can be found here

A slideshow from this game can be found here

Rochdale Town v Oldham Borough 2009-10

Another evening match. Bitterly cold by the second half and for some reason the battery on my camera decided to give up just after half time, so choice of shots somewhat restricted today.

More photos from this game can be found here

A slideshow from this game can be found here

More 1992 Youth Theatre

Some new photos below. Having gone through my negative files there are large numbers of  group shots that were taken for publicity purposes. They show people who came from the same area and were used for press releases. We only did these one year, or maybe two, but they cover literally hundreds of people.

I know a lot of ex MYT people visit this blog and I'm happy for them to download any of the photos they want. But there are simply too many of these to put on the blog (over 100). If people wanted to I could put them onto an image hosting site with a link from here so they could be downloaded, without overwhelming the blog. If people want me to do this then let me know.

In the meantime, some more photos. Enjoy

Rochdale Town v Atherton Collieries 2009-10

A cold evening match with the usual difficulties of shooting under floodlights, but there's still a few worth looking at. Enjoy.

More photos from this game are available here

A slide show of photos from this game can be found here

Rochdale Town v Holker old Boys 2009-10

First game for a while and I was really looking forward to it. The weather was much brighter (although cold), and the light much better than recent games. Enjoy the photos!

More photos from this game can be found here
A slideshow of the photos from the game can be found here

'Green and gold 'til they die or fold'

The colours of Newton Heath, the forerunners of Manchester United, and very much on display at Old Trafford today. Since I've never been in the ground since the Glazers took over, it was a wistful Gordon that made his way to see what the impact was and it was amazing. A phenomenal number of Reds were wearing Green and Gold as a visible statement of their dissatisfaction with the Glazer regime. Fantastic.

Green and Gold 'til they die or fold

United's soul is never sold
So proudly wear that green and gold
We'll never wear our famous Red
'Til Glazer's gone or even dead
So raise that ancient standard high
By green and gold we'll live or die
That day will come again for sure
When we can wear our Red once more

Dublin

Been away for a bit so this is the first post for a while. Spent a couple of nights in Dublin, but only had my small digi camera with me rather than the slr. But still enjoyed the place - lovely city.

Manchester Youth Theatre again...

More from 1991. I've only rehearsal shots from a couple of years, but I'm realy pleased to have found the first photo in the group, since it shows Geoff Sykes at the end of auditions. One of the few of either Geoff or Hazel that I have, though I'll continue to look for further examples.

Snow, snow and more snow....

Went to post a Christmas card today and couldn't resist the woods at the bottom of the road. They're only about five minutes walk from my house but I have never explored them before. Having had a great hour or so, I intend to visit them many times more. Unfortunately I only had my compact with me - but it shows the truth in the old adage of always having a camera with you.

Rochdale Town v Chadderton, First Division Trophy 2009-10

A much better day to shoot early on with a fairly clear sky, but by half time again it was dark. I had to leave then anyway since I'd a reunion with friends from uni, but the shots from the first half are here.

Further photos from this game can be found here

2 hours on a Manchester Evening

I’ve been a member of the Manchester Flickr group for a long time – unfortunately I’ve had to resign tonight. There’s been an issue about porn being posted to the group – and as a result they’ve decided that all photos need to be approved before being accepted. Now I wouldn’t claim to be the best photographer in the world. I enjoy taking photos and if other like looking at them then that’s great – so I’m not going to claim that my resignation is going to cause any real problems to the group. But there are sometimes issues that you have to stand up and be counted on. Manchester is a city that’s wonderful but it also has a seedy side – and anyone that refuses to accept that just ignores the reality of the world. If you want to represent the real Manchester then you have to show the underbelly as well as the glossy. The choice is an open group or a closed - and that means censored – group. So after several years membership, and with a sorry heart – I’ve had to resign. I just can’t believe in censorship such as this. But this means that the following shots won’t be available on Flickr now, other than on my own page. Pity. A great pity.

Anyway - here's the shots - two hours walking around Manchester on an evening:

First of all a tram passes GMex

Spinnigfields had a travelling fair

Nothing like the Printworks

and the light trails on Chepstow Street

Styal Mill

A fantastic place to visit - one that has industrial and social archaeology in abundance:
First there's the mill...

Then there's the autumn colours

followed by the machinery for the sluices

and finally the water wheel itself

well worth a visit in my humble opinion

Christmas Markets

The Christmas Markets in Manchester are legendary and opened for business earlier this week. So I thought I'd have a snoop around before yesterdays match. Fantastic as usual and I think it might be well worth an evening visit.

Rochdale Town v Ashton Town 2009-10

A very dark afternoon match, with the floodlights being on at the start of the game, hence I had to pack up at half time - the remaining light having faded and being solely reliant on the floodlights.

Settle in North Yorkshire

So I'm back, having spent some time away on the beautiful North York Moors. Based in Settle, I had a fantastic time - although it was very, very wet. A long time since I was there - but it's still as beautiful and peaceful as it always was.

The first photo is of the beck between Ribblehead Station and the Batty Green Navvy Camps there. Nice slow shutter speed and I like the result!

Next it's Giggleswick village.

Stained glass has always been a favourite thing for me to photograph, though I've not come across a great deal of it, so the opportunity to get some detail was a welcome one