FV | A Fresh Vision of Blackpool

With a travel time of 4 hours, visiting Blackpool was never a pleasant experience for me. The Blackpool Magicians Convention always took place in mid February. This time of year means it is cold, wet, windy and just plain miserable. Even more so Traveling to the north west of England.

I came up to Blackpool yesterday to do some rehearsal for a big project I have been involved with. It was a last minute decision to make this trip - it was worth it. The rehearsal went great and I had my camera with me.

I am glad I had my camera because my experience of Blackpool has been 100% positive.

I took my XT1 with the XF16mm F2.8 & the XF50mm F2. This gave me a field of view equal to 24mm & 75mm on a Full Frame.

This turned out to be a perfect Travel set-up.

I arrived late afternoon so the light levels were dropping. The images above were created during The Blue Hour - not Long Exposure. The XF16mm at f2.8 was good enough for the low light levels.

Blackpool is famous for being a Seaside Family destination. Many famous celebrities built there careers playing at The Winter Garden Theatre.

Whenever I think of The Winter Garden Theatre, I think of Ken Dodd.

I saw Ken Dodd perform live at this Theatre and he was superb😆. He was the funniest comedian I have ever seen.

This morning, I met up with dear friends Martin and Marina. It has been a few years since I last saw them. Today brought back happy memories - “Stardust Memories”.

After breakfast, I had two hours to create some images that capture the essence of Blackpool.

As a tribute to all the great entertainers who brought their talent to Blackpool, the local council had commissioned, “The Comedy Carpet”.

The Comedy Carpet is right opposite The Blackpool Tower on The Promenade. It’s a broad open space with a gigantic flat plague with the comedy writings, jokes and aphorisms of great comedians.

This was presented to Blackpool and unveiled by Ken Dodd.

While walking through town, these Telephone Boxes caught my attention.

They were all neatly lined up in perfect formation which I found visually aesthetic.

I thought I would work this scene just a little bit; I found it playfull and full of curiosity.

A few moments of gentle interaction with the locals yielded a few Portraits.

Blackpool has a new face and energy from what I remember. It’s still a cold, wet and miserable time of year to visit. I think I have changed too. I feel differently about a lot of things since my mum died. I guess I am much more appreciative of the moments that make me smile, time with friends and celebrating life - especially through my Lens.

I am on the Train back to London as I type up this journal entry.

It’s Friday, I buried my Mother on Monday, I traveled to Paris on Wednesday for the day, Traveled to Blackpool on Thursday. Life is a whirlwind of action, emotions and meaning.

Life is a series of adjustments and transitions. I am walking this dark night of the soul right now.

Onwards

Thanks for reading

“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don't give up”.

Anne Lamott