Andrea Brace who I photographed as part of my 'New Town Youth 1985' project is interviewed by Stuart Leithes from ITV Anglia TV as she visits the exhibition at the Peterborough Museum & Art Gallery 38 years afer the original picture was taken. Click on the picture to see the ITV Anglia News interview.

My public speaking and media impacts can be seen by clicking here

Jesus Christ is coming back very soon. Are you ready for him? According to this man preaching the word of God near Oxford Circus, London May 19, 2023. Seems that maybe some 'can't wait'.

   
 

The opening day of my exhibition ‘New Town Youth 1985’ at the Peterborough Museum & Art Gallery January 21, 2023. The pictures document the aspirations, fears and challenges that young people in Peterborough faced as the country struggled out of a deep recession in Thatcher’s Britain in 1985.  The exhibition consists of nine stories and the whole show has been beautifully designed by Verity. There is a book to accompany the exhibition on sale that you can see here. Click on the picture above to see the exhibition planning journey or if you want to know more about the actual exhibition, that will close June 3, 2023, click here.

Paul ‘Stanley’ Coke waits outsde his flat with his scooter on the junction of Lea Bridge Road and Bickley Road, London. Click on the image above for a glimse into my latest ongoing story. The Lea Bridge Road (A104) extends from the Whipps Cross roundabout in Waltham Forest down to the Lea Bridge roundabout in Clapton, Hackey. It crosses over the River Lea which was first bridged in 1745. Today a journey down the Lea Bridge Road offers anyone who wants to take the time a wealth of culture, food, social change, industry, commerce, migration, fashion and images.

We are bombarded with pictures everyday. Technology has allowed anyone to take a picture and share it in real time, these pictures enjoyed in the moment but often quickly lost and forgotten. If you’d like a formal picture of your family outside your home or business, shot with black and white film in the style of classic Edwardian portraiture click on my portrait pictures above to find out more. What you’ll get is a timeless keepsake for your family.

Pregnant Charlie Collins and Ria Brennan in Wanstead Park, in London, Britain February 4, 2021. Their overheard snippet of conversation was ‘I think I am ready to jump ship’.

Almost exactly two years to the day of the government’s announcement of the ‘Roadmap out of Lockdown’, February 22, 2021 the series of pictures I shot of walkers and their overheard snippet of conversation during lockdown were on exhibition. During the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown in London February 2021, many had taken to daily exercise which was permitted under the rules. Most of us had slipped into a routine - same place, same time and often same conversation. The exhibition at the Temple enclosure in Wanstead Park, Epping Forest (February 11 until March 26, 2023) are portraits of the people on their daily exercise with partners, family or a friend, with a small snippet of conversation I overheard while walking, during the two weeks leading up to Prime Minister Boris Johnson announcement to outline the ‘roadmap’ to ending lockdown. Two years later life has, thankfully, moved on from those dark days. We now have different concerns that we share with family and friends, but I thought that it might be poignant to remind ourselves, two years to the month, what was overheard in lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic to show just how far we’ve all come. If you click on the picture above it will take you to the full portrait series or if you prefer video click here. to see the original story.

 

A black and white picture taken in 1983 in the Star & Garter pub on Hessle Road that shows Eddie Cliff walking past Tommy Harding is held up to recreate the same scene in the pub September 9, 2022 that is now renamed Rayners, in Hull. If you click on the picture above you can see other pictures that place the ghost like characters from 1983 into the same venue today.

 

Mary Davies, a former worker from the Ilford Limited Photographic takes pictures of the exhibition ‘Ilford Limited: Analogue Stories’ at Redbridge Central Library and Museum, in Ilford, London December 2022. The exhibition, run jointly by the National Portrait Gallery explores the working life of employees of Ilford's factory and their memories working there in the 60’s and 70’s. Included in the exhibition is a history of the company’s scientific development that ranges from its early start in a basement in an Ilford house to NASA using their technology on the Apollo 13 mission. It was nice that one of my pictures from my story 'A Portrait of the High Street' was included in the exhibition as it had been shot on Ilford 120 HP5 black and white film.

 

Café Royal Books have just published some of my pictures from the Star & Garter pub, known locally as Rayners that were taken in Hull in 1983. This is the second book of three that are planned and can be seen here.

 The Star & Garter pub is sited on the corner of Hessle Road and West Dock Avenue and was the centre of Hull’s fishing community. It was known locally as Rayners, nick-named after larger-than-life 1930’s landlord, Henry Rayner. In its long history it was the traditional meeting place of deep sea trawlerman, who worked three weeks at sea and then came onshore for just three days. The phrase describing these men as ‘Three Day Millionaires’ was coined after a tradition of lavish payday spending on clothes, gifts and partying. The pub was core to Hull’s fishing community.

As the fishing industry declined, so did the fortunes of the Star & Garter. In 1983 the core of many lunchtime drinkers were old, retired or unemployed fishermen, their wives or their widows. The Star & Garter’s name has now been officially changed to Rayners and it is still open today.

If you click here you can see a video that takes you back to the Star & Garter and the characters who drank there at lunchtime in 1983. Enjoy.

Very proud to be part of the Museum of Youth Culture (MOYC) exhibition 'Grown Up In Britain. 100 Years of Teenage Kicks' at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum in Coventry. As well the MOYC archiving 170 of my pictures from Peterborough Youth Groups in 1985 five of my images are part of this visual celebration of teenage life from the roaring 1920's to the youth of today. The exhibition is open until February 2023.

 

I first documented George Norris working life as a 'Rag and Bone' man in 1983. When he returned to the family trade nearly 40 years later, the opportunity to see what had changed was too compelling to miss. I didn't want to repeat what I did in 1983 so I shot full colour digital pictures and video that you can see below. As an ongoing personal exploration of picture style I also slowed the pace down by photographing George using a 1966 Rolleiflex to shoot black and white film. You can read my blog about my visual journey here or just click on the picture above to see the edited pictures. I hope you enjoy them.

 

The cry of ‘Battery! Boiler! Bike Frame! Lumber! Rag, Bone!’ that has echoed through the streets of Hull for generations will soon fall silent. Rag and Bone man George Norris is the last of his family to work the estates and back alleys totting for scrap (or tatting as it’s called locally). After years on the North Sea rigs, George has returned to the family business to help his 81-year-old father, also called George, with his rounds. “My dad will never retire. When my dad goes that will be the last of the original scrap dealers in Hull,” says George. I first documented George’s working life in 1983. When he returned to the family trade nearly 40 years later, the opportunity to see what had changed was too compelling to miss. Click on the picture above to go to a series of combination 'then and now' pictures and read George's insights.

 

In 1981, at the age of 17, George Norris followed in his father’s footsteps into the Rag and Bone trade in Hull. His father, George Norris Snr who is now 81 years-old and still working, started collecting scrap aged 13. He was one six brothers, all sons of a fruiterer and horse trader. Today, George’s horse and cart has been replaced with a diesel truck and most of the Victorian housing used by the fishing community, where they used to do their rounds, has been demolished. Click on the picture above to go to a video that documents their life from the 1960’s through the 1980’s to today as they reflect on the similarities and differences in their communities; And why George says “When my dad goes that will be the last of the original scrap dealers in Hull.”

The picture above is a taster of my exhibition 'A Portrait of the High Street' that was on show at the Temple in Wanstead Park, and on Christ Church Green, Wanstead, London between February and April 2022. Click on the picture to see the full series.

For hundreds of years the high street has been the centre of communities throughout Britain. From as early as the Victorians and Edwardians photographs have been taken of shop keepers proudly posing in front of their businesses. Fascinated by this long tradition I photographed the business owners and staff who work on my local high street, in Wanstead, London. After years of shooting only colour I decided to shoot black and white film as a nod of respect to commercial photographers working in bygone eras. I used a 1966 Rolleiflex camera 80mm F2.8. I was curious to know when the business owners set up shop and why. I also wanted to understand what they think the future holds for the high street given the challenges of online shopping, rising costs and the impact of the Covid pandemic. These exhibitions would not have been possible without the generous sponsorship from the Stow Brothers or the support of City of London Museum and Heritage team at Epping Forest, the Friends of Wanstead Parklands, Redbridge Council and of course all the business owners who agreed to take part in my project.

The opening of my photographic exhibition 'A portrait of the High Street' at the Temple in Wanstead, London which runs until March 31st 2022. The photographic documentary examines the hopes, fears and aspirations of high street business owners as they struggle against online shopping, rising costs and the impact of covid.If you click on the picture it will take you to a video that was shown to all the business owners and shop keepers who are featured in the documentary project. Grab a coffee and enjoy.

 

I’m very proud to be working in collaboration with the Museum of Youth Culture who are publishing and archiving my picture stories of youth groups, taken in 1985. The year-long project was at a time when Britain was struggling out of recession, 1 in 5 of those aged 20 and under were unemployed, only 15% of 18-year-olds went to university and interest rates were 11.4%. Despite this, there was opportunity and fun to be had. Click here to see all the pictures or click on the image above to go to a video and sound track that outlines the whole project, enjoy

In 1985, at the start of my career as a photographer, I was living in Peterborough and trying to balance time needed between going out and shooting pictures and waiting for that call which would mean paid work. It was a pre-mobile phone, pre digital age, the answer phone was cutting edge communication technology. Frustrated by the amount of what i considered wasted time spent at home it struck me the number of people who would knock at my door. I decided that I'd photograph everyone who called, I would stand inside they would remain outside. As a nod to the pre-digital age, I built a darkroom at home, printed my black and white negatives, scanned them and published them here. The callers very much belong to a bygone age. Click on the picture of the Halloween 'Trick or Treat' callers above to see the full set, enjoy.

During the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown in London, many have taken to daily exercise which is permitted under the rules. Most of us have slipped into a routine - same place, same time and often same conversation. The pictures below are portraits of the people on their daily exercise with partners, family or a friend, with a small snippet of conversation overheard while walking through Wanstead Park in London, during the two weeks leading up to Prime Minister Boris Johnson announcement outlining the roadmap to ending lockdown on February 22, 2021. Let’s hope we are well on the way for COVID, these repetitive walks (and sometimes conversations) are finally consigned to history. What is important to me is that the images and comments by ordinary people, during this challenging time, are archived for the future. Stay safe.

 

There has been a river crossing at Woolwich since the Saxon times. State papers from 1308 show that William Atte, a mason, bought the ferry business for 10 pounds. Since then, the rights to run and charge for the ferry crossing have changed hands many times. In 1320, the business was sold for 100 silver marks. During the reign of Henry VIII, the Royal Arsenal ordnance depot was built at Woolwich and the military established its own ferry. In 1811, parliament passed an act to set up a common ferry for the passage of “persons, cattle, carriages, goods, wares and merchandise”. The free ferry opened in 1889, with each boat licensed to carry 1000 passengers and 15-20 vehicles. Latest figures show that on average just under 80,000 vehicles and 22,000 foot passengers use the ferry every four weeks. Click on the picture above to see the story of the Woolwich Ferry now.

 Photographer Russell Boyce poses for a picture at an exhibition of his photography that documents the life and times of the Hessle Road former fishing community in Hull in the 1980's as part of the City of Culture initiative. These pictures now published by Cafe Royal Books. Picture by Verity Watkins
 Just for fun click on the picture of people queuing for the Ginger Pig butcher's shop in London on Christmas Eve to see a video of safe and socially distanced queue that lasted for up to two hours.
The bright colours of morning sunshine and a pre-breakfast red lipstick yawn reflected in Cafeteria Bar Expresso on Charing Cross Road as a London bus passes caught my eye. 
Bride Elli Menze and groom Joe McDonnell-Thomas walk arm in arm over street marking that says ‘KEEP’ as they walk through London’s Soho just after their wedding at the House of St Barnabas. I could not resist converting this colour picture to black and white.
'I'm sitting here on my front door step just listening to the birds. Tomorrow is the fiuneral of my wife and I miss her so much'. A sad but strangely peaceful day in Hull May 5, 2022.
A man walks on Worthing Pier in bright sunshine on a blustery spring day April 6, 2022. The picture was shot through stained glass decorations on the pier to get the yellow cast.
What's not to like? An orange hat that matches a company brand, a black drainpipe that bisects the picture and a reflection in a car roof as it's driven by on Wanstead High Street, in London, March 14, 2022.
A man battles against the cold and drizzle with his umbrella as he climbs the overpass steps heading towards Snaresbrook Tube station, London, in the half light January 11, 2022.
People who are wrapped up against the cold hurry past a phone box that is crammed full of the possesions of a homeless man in London January 7, 2022.
Street cleaners chat, joke and drink coffee as they take a break from work in the cold at the Cafe Brunch on Wanstead High Street, London November 24, 2021.
On Leather Lane, London as well as a free copy of an English version of the Qur’an, Ethiopian coffee, food as diverse as you can wish for, Mexican, Thai, Lebanese, Kosher, greasy spoon and more, you can also get a 20-minute debate about who sets the moral compass, November 11, 2021.
A commuter at Waterloo railway station drinks coffee while she waits as people hurry past trying to make travel connections during a break in heavy rainfall in London October 1, 2021.
A florist sets out her display of flowers and plants on the High Street as man sips at a coffee in a cafe September 27, 2021. This picture is part on an ongoing project about the High Street's recovery from the COVID pandemic and its long term future.
A homeless man sleeps next to a poster promoting a scheme to encourage shoppers to rediscover their high street post Covid lockdown in Bournemouth’s pedestrianised shopping centre September 4, 2021.
Owner of Piccolo's Ristorante Italiano, Julio Campverde poses for a picture in his restaurant in London July 9, 2021. His staff have split loyalties as England and Italy prepare to play in the final of the UEFA Euro 2020 finals but what they all agree on is the ending of England's Covid rules will help their buisness.
A fisherman casts off at the end of Worthing Pier against a perfect blue sky and bright sunshine April 25, 2021.
What a difference 24 hours makes. Combination pictures showing the before and after the easing of the lockdown at The George and The Duke pubs in London April 12, 2021.
Wrapped up against the cold and wearing masks to protect themselves against COVID-19 people are refelcted in windows as they walk through Horsham January 25, 2021.
 A woman clings onto a branch and uses her walking stick as she is determined to get past a large muddy puddle during her walk on New Year's Eve in London December 31, 2020. London is in Tier 4 lockdown as the population continues to battle coronavirus disease (COVID-19).   Russell Boyce  
 
 Rain clouds gather over an offshore wind farm off the coast of Finton-on Sea, Britain, October 17, 2020. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
As a historical document I photographed the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) information notices on every shop, business and residence along the the east side of High Street Wanstead, London, heading north from the George pub. I took the pictures on three days to the lead up to July 4, 2020, when the lockdown was eased in England. These signs will, hopefully, be forever consigned to history. The sound was recorded walking the same route, the High Street now filled with people enjoying, the shops, cafes, pubs and restaurants. A bit of a departure for me as I like to photograph people. Just click on ythe picture for the video.   Russell Boyce
 A social distancing marker is seen in a Shell petrol station during an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Horsham, Britain, April 29, 2020.      REUTERS/Russell Boyce
A car covered in artificial grass is seen parked in a residential street in London, Britain May 3, 2020. REUTERS/Russell Boyce

Children run along the beach as people look over the sea into the haze created by a sand storm known locally as "La Calima" in Arrecife, Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain, February 23, 2020. REUTERS/Russell Boyce

A woman walks past a graffiti mural that depicts Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson alongside fictional characters of a Dalek, Darth Vader, The Joker and Harley Quinn set against a line-up in Worthing, Britain January 25, 2020. REUTERS/Russell Boyce

A man looks up at a boat that is being worked on in Reykjavik harbour, Iceland, December 17, 2019. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
Clocks in London's Canary Wharf financial centre strike 07:00 GMT, marking the time the polls open for Britain's general election, London, Britain December 12, 2019. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
A section of a print of the Brookes Slave Ship diagram dated 1791 forms part of the collection in the Wilberforce House Museum in Hull, Britain, July 5, 2019. According to the museum the print is arguably one of the most recognisable images from the campaign to abolish the Transatlantic Slave Trade in Britain. The publication of this image provided the public with a clear visual representation of conditions on board slave ships for the first time. August 2019 marks 400 years since the slave trade to North America began. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
A 'one-man-band' sings and plays instruments in front of an empty shop that is for let in central Hull, Britain July 4, 2019. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
A man walks along the coast in front of beach huts in Walton-on-the-Naze, Britain December 17, 2018. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
An unidentified man using a smart phone walks through London's Canary Wharf financial district in the evening light in London, Britain, September 28, 2018. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
A breakfast of sausage, eggs and toast is pictured in an office canteen in London, Britain July 20, 2018. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
George Norris, historian and former Rag and Bone man films an exhibition of pictures shot by Russell Boyce in the 1980's that document part of his life in Hull, England, June 2, 2018. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
Seabirds follow a fishing boat as the fisherman throw waste from the catch into the sea off the coast of Worthing, Britain May 28, 2018. REUTERS/Russell Boyce

On June 2nd 2018 I talked about my 30-year visual journey from Bob Carvers Fish and Chip Restaurant and Hessle Road in Hull to my role as the Editor for Middle East and Africa, Pictures, Reuters. The talk took place at the Creative & Cultural Space 2 of the HiP gallery during an exhibition of my pictures taken in 1983/4. Picture stories from the Star and Garter, George Norris on his horse and cart, people of Hull living with blindness, drag act Kandy de Barry (now called Bobby Mandrell) at the St Georges and more. It was great to see characters or family members from my stories show up. Many thanks to George Norris and Alan Raw from the HiP gallery who made this all happen. I was more than a little moved. You can see many of these pictures in the archive section of my site.

A woman carrying a musical instrument in a case on her back waits as an underground train pulls into Bank tube station in London, Britain April 3, 2018. Picture taken April 3, 2018. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
A minaret is seen through early morning haze on the skyline of Cairo, Egypt March 21, 2018. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
A woman walks past hearts that have been drawn in the snow, in Canary Wharf financial district, London, Britain February 28, 2018. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
People pass by an art installation titled Sonic Light Bubble which forms part of the Winter Lights exhibition in London’s Canary Wharf financial district in London, Britain January 18, 2018. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
Shoppers and tourists walk along Oxford Street during the sales in central London, Britain, December 28, 2017. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
People walk in the first snow to settle in the year in Wanstead, in London, December 10, 2017. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
People are crowded on a Central Line tube underground train after a points failure caused severe delays to the service during the Monday morning rush hour commute in London, Britain November 27, 2017. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
A person cycles on a pathway, through an area known locally as the Backs, behind Kings College in Cambridge, Britain November 8 2017. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
Skies over London's financial centre Canary Wharf are given a yellow glow as dust from the Sahara desert and wild fires in Spain, blown across the city by Storm Ophelia, filters out the light, in London, Britain October 16, 2017. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
Syrian refugee women and children work in a field in Al-Khiam village, near the Israeli border in south Lebanon October 13, 2017. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
A bride and groom pose for pictures next to a red telephone box as a bus is driven past near Fleet Street in London, Britain on October 6, 2017. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
A boy jumps along the wall of the castle in the old city of Erbil near banners supporting the referendum for independence for Kurdistan in Erbil, Iraq September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
A worker repairs a street light on the Greek Island of Ithaca, Greece September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
A couple sit on the beach and look out to sea on the August bank holiday weekend in Worthing, Britain, August 26, 2017. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
A Warwick University graduate holds his degree certificate on the day of a graduation ceremony in Warwick, Britain July 17, 2017. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
A couple laugh as they cuddle on a sofa looking at the neon signs and artworks in God's Own Junkyard gallery and cafe in London, Britain, March 31, 2017. REUTERS/Russell Boyce

A man walks past as an official fixes a sign to a wall at a Polling station for Britain's General Election in Romford east London, June 8, 2017. REUTERS/Russell Boyce

A woman smokes a cigarette as she looks out from her apartment balcony in Gdynia, Poland, April 28, 2017. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
People and dogs walk on the beach at low tide in Worthing, Britain March 4, 2017. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
People run through the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, Britain December 29, 2016, in the morning frost. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
 
Disused advertising boards for news papers are left against the shutters of a closed down news agent's shop in east London, Britain, August 29, 2016. REUTERS/Russell Boyce
Workers trim the grass around the gravestones in a cemetery for solders who died during the American Civil War in Alexandria, Virginia, USA , August 9, 2016. REUTERS/Russell Boyce

A man walks in the sunshine through London's Canary Wharf Financial District as construction cranes operate in London, July 19, 2016. REUTERS/Russell Boyce

 

Nice to see one of my archive pictures being used as Chilcot concluded that Britain's decision to go to war with Iraq in 2003 had a "far from satisfactory" legal basis and ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair's case for military action was over-hyped, in his long-awaited inquiry into the conflict.

British Royal Air Force personnel wait in a bunker wearing full Nuclear Biological and Chemical suits after a warning of a Scud missile attack on their base in Kuwait March 20, 2003. REUTERS/Russell Boyce

 

A trader from BGC Partners, a global brokerage company in London's Canary Wharf financial centre waits for European stock markets to open early June 24, 2016 after Britain voted to leave the European Union in the EU BREXIT referendum. REUTERS/Russell Boyce

 

George Norris, who I phoptographed in Hull over 30 years ago recently contacted me. He is organising a photographic exhibition that pulls together daily life in Hull in the 80's and 90s. The focus of the show will be his personal heritage of the rag and bone trade, known as totting. His request for me to send him some prints forced me into the attic where I discovered this picture I had originally rejected as I am reflected in the mirror. To see the original story I shot on George Norris click here.