monochrome photography Archives - Blackpool Social Club

14 Mar

Retro photo gallery: a walk on the south prom

David Simper0 CommentsVisual Arts & Exhibitionsblackpool art scene, blackpool photowalk, film photography, monochrome photography, photo gallery

David Simper takes a creative look back to January 2024. Lured out of his domestic fastness by bright January sun, he took his film camera for a bracing walk from Starr Gate to central Blackpool. 26 January 2024 was my post-Yuletide leave day and I wanted to use it to do something creative. Waking to sun, a photo walk was the obvious choice and some useful exercise too. Picking up my 35mm Yashica Electro 35, with its excellent 45mm lens, and loading it with a favourite Kentmere 400 black and white film, I headed down to catch the service 18…

10 Apr

Photo essay: Blackpool’s South Promenade

David Simper0 CommentsVisual Arts & Exhibitionsblack and white photography, Blackpool, blackpool arts scene, blackpool promenade, blackpool south promenade, monochrome photography, rangefinder cameras, zorki 4

As anyone who's read my articles will know, I am a fan of retro-photographic equipment and materials and a stalwart of film-based monochrome photography. I'd fancied another 35mm camera that was, well, more expendable, for a while. On a trip to Manchester to buy film and art materials, I returned with a Soviet made Zorki 4 rangefinder camera. This camera is based on the Leica series with a focal plane shutter and is very simple. It does have a split image focusing, but no exposure metre; I have a hand-held metre to contend with that. The camera weighs a ton,…

28 Feb

Gallery: Blackpool and North Fylde on film

David Simper0 CommentsVisual Arts & Exhibitionsblack and white photography, Blackpool, cleveleys, fleetwood, Fylde Coast, leica, leica cl, monochrome photography, public transport

The light dawned photographically bright on 5th February 2023 and it was time for a photo trip. That roll of Kentmere (other brands are available) film had been sat on the shelf too long and was screaming 'shoot me now, shoot me now'. I used to use and like Kentmere photographic paper in my teens and 20s (I can just about remember that) and was keen to try this affordable 400 iso product. I selected my Leica CL 35mm camera and the Jupiter 50mm lens, with 'Made in USSR' engraved on the barrel, and loaded that film. With a 24…

20 Jan

Exhibition: Emilia Zogo – Blackpool in black & white

David Simper0 CommentsVisual Arts & Exhibitionsblack and white photography, Blackpool, blackpool art scene, monochrome photography, photography, tea amantes

The exhibition may be titled Blackpool in Black and White but Emilia Logo has in fact photographed a number of other places to assemble this very fine solo photographic exhibition currently on show at Tea Amantes, Albert Road, Blackpool. The room was quite full on my arrival and got busier through the evening. Enlarged and framed to a good size, these photographs are perfectly composed and grab attention straight away. Some were of the now closed Bonny Street market, being dismantled at the time of writing and are therefore now a historical record. More images were presented on a video…

07 Aug

‘Stagefright’ – Dawn Mander’s exhibition wows at Tea Amantes venue

David Simper0 CommentsVisual Arts & ExhibitionsBlackpool, blackpool arts scene, colour photography, dawn mander, monochrome photography, photography, photography exhibition, tea amantes

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Once more on the service 3 bus to Tea Amantes to view local hero snapper, Dawn Mander’s, excellent street photography based exhibition. On my arrival the place was already buzzing, full of the great and good of Blackpool creative society and others from as far afield as Leeds and Bedford. It was rather bizarre to see photographers taking photographs of photographs (including me), but so it was. Dawn seems to have a reputation for keeping out of the limelight, but with this quality of work, the question is why? She says of her photographs:[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1659864185019{padding-top: 10px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-bottom:…

30 Dec

Just a walk down the prom with my camera

David Simper0 CommentsVisual Arts & Exhibitionsartworks, Blackpool, buses, Film, film photography, great promenade show, medium format photography, mirror ball, monochrome photography, photography, public transport, solaris centre, south promenade, they shoot horses don't they, tidal organ, trams

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Just a walk down the prom with my film camera, in the sun taking in the crisp cool air. Here are some of David's favourite black and white, medium format photos from that day. A lovely little trip and break. Come back nice weather and we can do this again. One Saturday I decided to take a trip to Fleetwood Market to buy some things from the art supply store that's opened up there. A good day in itself. I returned with a new sketchbook, which I admit I'm yet to try out, sweeties, a new kitchen knife, a…