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.

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

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.

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