Visit MPB Visit MPB Visit MPB

Manchester Photography Exhibition

Posted 01/02/2013 - 01:20 Link
Hi all

I just wanted to give you the heads up re a photography exhibition I'm doing in Manchester over the next few weeks.

It's from Feb 10th - March 1st at the Wendy J Levy Gallery in Didsbury, and centres around a project I've been working on for the last 3 years or so, specifically featuring photographs I've taken in and around Manchester.

Comment Image


Entitled "Passing Through", it's an exploration of the passing of time, and the specific impact it has had, and continues to have, on Manchester and the North West.

It concentrates on many of the places, and themes, that intrigued me about the area whilst I was up there working: the constant juxtaposition of old and new, industrialisation and reinvention, past and present.

Comment Image


How each generation has left, and continues to leave, their own unique footprint as they pass through. And what happens to that footprint once it has been left behind.

As some as you might have noticed from some of the pics I've posted on the gallery at PU, I'm particularly interested in how the passing of time can be captured in a single photographic frame: most of the pictures were taken with long exposures, sometimes up to 3 minutes, and occasionally beyond.

Comment Image


I'll be giving a talk (!yikes!) at the exhibition opening between 3 - 5 pm on Sunday 10th Feb. All are genuinely welcome. Would be great to put some faces to names if any of you are around that way and fancy dropping by.

The exhibition itself runs from Feb 10th to March 1st 2013, and is at:

The Wendy J Levy Gallery
17 Warburton Street
Didsbury
Manchester
M20 6WA

Here's a link to the Wendy J Levy Gallery link

And here's a link to the exhibition pictures on my website... link

Do drop by if you can... would be great to see you there.

Thanks very much
richandfleur
Posted 01/02/2013 - 02:58 Link
Great stuff, very involving and thought provoking for the viewer.
(Well at least I read that from these images :wink

Technically, what time of day were these taken, and what sort of ND filter did you have to achieve that sort of exposure time please?

I've always been worried about the sharpness somehow taking a dive by putting a dark filter in front of the lens, but these shots are stunning on that front.
Posted 01/02/2013 - 10:50 Link
Hi Richard

Thanks for this... I usually take pictures around dawn and dusk (and most of the rest of the pictures in this exhibition were taken around those times)... however, for various reasons (light, weather, location, my availability), these 3 were taken mid afternoon I think...

I used a 10 stop B&W screw in filter, which is made of Schott glass, and is tremendous on the picture quality front... less accurate on the colours front (I've also recently got a Lee Big Stopper, which is easier to colour correct in post), but I've blown a number of these up to 36" x 24" and they're very sharp indeed...

At 3 minutes and above, the thing most likely to affect long exposure images in my experience is wind... I spend a lot of time literally draped around my camera and tripod with my body in the way of whatever wind is around...

Best
Posted 02/02/2013 - 17:49 Link
Thanks for the heads-up Bill, and the invitation. Unfortunately I doubt that I will be able to make the Sunday talk but will certainly try to get over to see the exhibition. Your images look stunning.
Posted 07/02/2013 - 20:36 Link
Thanks John... Do drop by if you're in the area...

Best
Northgrain
Posted 07/02/2013 - 21:22 Link
Hope the setup goes smoothly Bill. I'm unlikely to make the Sunday talk , but will certainly find a slot to get across to the exhibition. As John says, stunning images you've posted. Looking forward to seeing them larger
bforbes
Posted 07/02/2013 - 21:47 Link
That is one hell of a set you'r showing on your web site. Did you set out with the intention of only using B&W or did it evolve with the project?
puma
Posted 07/02/2013 - 22:51 Link
Good luck with exhibition i hope all goes well
PPG link
davidstorm
Posted 07/02/2013 - 23:00 Link
Best of luck with the exhibition Bill; after looking at your website and studying the images in some detail they definitely deserve a public airing. I like the way that you use long exposures on subjects that one would imagine wouldn't require this method. Your images are pretty distinctive and always catch my attention on the Gallery.

Best wishes
David
Flickr

Nicola's Apartments, Kassiopi, Corfu

Some cameras, some lenses, some bits 'n' bobs
DrOrloff
Posted 08/02/2013 - 10:30 Link
Good luck Bill with your exhibition. I really like the exhibition images on your website, they have a real sense of place and I love the forlorn mood. I would attend if I could in order to view them as they should be viewed but I'll have to miss out (will have to miss out on the Spice Girls musical too:lol. P.S about time they got rid of that ugly structure at Old Trafford.
Edited by DrOrloff: 08/02/2013 - 10:38
AndrewA
Posted 08/02/2013 - 10:46 Link
Good luck with the exhibition Bill, Mrs A and I may very well have a trip over to view your shots before it ends.
Andrew

"I'm here because the whiskey is free" - Tyla

PPG link
Flickr link
Posted 10/02/2013 - 00:15 Link
Hi all

Thank you for all your best wishes above... very much appreciated... will keep you posted how it goes...

Barrie, to answer your question, actually this originally started out both in my head and on the page as a colour project... but the b&w evolved along with the subject matter as it progressed... until by the end, I was shooting specifically for b&w... which was a first for me, and something I rather enjoyed...

All the best
Gamka
Posted 12/02/2013 - 08:25 Link
So, ex-Coronation Street Actor moves to the BBC!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-21401759
davidtrout
Posted 12/02/2013 - 10:29 Link
Stunning images Bill and I would dearly love to visit your exhibition but I'm not expecting to be in Manchester in the next few weeks.
Your approach to the project is interesting, starting out in colour and then deciding the most effective method was to do it in black and white.
I'm sure the exhitbition will be a huge success.
PS: Wasn't Sean Wilson a Coronation Street actor too? But I dont think he's the same guy as our Puma.
David

PPG: http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/davidtrout
Edited by davidtrout: 12/02/2013 - 10:30

Add Comment

To leave a comment - Log in to Pentax User or create a new account.