1000/403: 29 March 2011: Clipper's Quay, Salford

1000/403 a photo by nmonckton on Flickr.

Took the daughters to see Taylor Swift in Manchester this evening, which would have meant an evening hanging around in a car-park if a colleague from work hadn't been good enought to invite me over. Thanks Matt!

Anyway Salford Quays is full of amazing architecture which provides quite a lot of shooting opportunties as the light fades. Thi sone is just a sample.

365/284: 30 November 2010: Xmas Market, Manchester

Very picturesque – all these little huts in the middle of freezing cold Manchester selling who knows what. Must be absolutely freezing spending all day in one. Was tempted by the gluhwein stall but sadly didn’t have time.
This particular stall is outside the Royal Exchange Theatre on Corporation Street. I even used one of the pillars as a handy tripod.

365/145: 14 July 2010: Manchester contrasts

Another night in Manchester – at this rate I’ll start to know my way around and half the fun of wandering aimlessly around a huge city centre will be gone. At the Ibis in Portland Street again to night, waiting for my pizza to arrive. OOOH! Luxury!

Went for a stroll in the surrounds and found this shot next the Bridgewater Hall. In my book it’s this kind of contrast that makes cities so interesting for photography.

365/134: 03 July 2010: Portland Street, Manchester

In Manchester today – mainly to move Rhiannon from her student halls to a shared house in a leafy suburb, but also to see/hear The Halle at the Bridgewater Hall. First night of the Halle Proms apparently so nice accessible programme – Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Rachmaninov’s 2nd Piano Concerto, Karelia Suite, Peer Gynt 1 and William Tell. Rousing stuff and great fun was had by all.

Sadly, but unsurprisingly no photos in the Hall so I settled for this shot of one of the dozens of magnificent buildings that make up Manchester city centre. This one is opposite the Ibis Hotel on Portland St and was shot from our second floor window.

365 Challenge – Days 24-27 : 15-18 March 2010

Another four days on the road. First night (Monday 15) was yet another late arrival at the Park Royal, but the bathroom came up trumps with this one. Quite like shooting in hotel bathrooms (sounds like a Psycho remake) because all the white tiles make for more uniform lighting. This one shows the distortion you get with an ultra wide angle – if you’re in to photo geekery.

On the second night we moved to the rather pleasant Lowry Hotel in the middle on Manchester for a big two–day meeting. Just love city architecture, and the Lowry has some really interesting stuff quite nearby – like this bridge over the River Irwell. Wished I brought my proper tripod with me as photographing in light this low is always a challenge with just a monopod.


The first full day of the meeting finished early enough for me to get out in the evening light  and have a go at catching the spirit of the odd-shaped building in the top left of the previous photo. I shall have to find out why it was built like this:

And finally home again (18th March). As I wore a collar and tie for most of the conference I thought I’d celebrate this unusual feat with a picture of one of my ties.

So there we are. Back on blogging schedule – with the first month of the challenge in my sights.