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Moments to capture….

This is the reason I fell in love with photography when I was a child and why I wanted to be a photographer.

Capturing moments with photographs.

I’m not one for getting emotional when talking about photography. I’ve done it for a long time professionally (38 years!!) but occasionally I witness moments and glad I was there. Right place, right time.

These pictures have been used extensively recently and I understand why. I’ve been approached by lots of friends and clients since regarding these pictures – and have had positive feedback.

It was during the mayor making council meeting in Oldham a couple of weeks ago and I was asked to cover this long standing event by the council.

The pictures show Cllr Kamran Ghafoor speaking during the meeting and directing his words towards the leader of the council, Cllr Arooj Shah.

I have my personal opinions on what happened which I will keep to myself but suffice to say it was a moment that absolutely needed recording.

 

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Sacha Lord…..

Back in the summer of 2020 I photographed Sacha Lord for the first time.

That summer was a memorable one as Covid was part of everyday life. Apart from a few construction workers, I more or less had Manchester’s St Peter’s Square to myself to photograph Sacha.

Last week, and almost five years on, I had the privilege of photographing Sacha again in a Manchester city centre bar.

The day after, The Telegraph interviewed Sacha and a couple of my pictures were used for the article.

For decades, Sacha has been a defining force in the UK’s nightlife and hospitality industry.

He is one of the UK’s most well-known night time economy experts, Chair of the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) and Chair of Wythenshawe F.C.

Starting his career in music at the legendary Hacienda, he is co-founder of Parklife (Europe’s largest metropolitan festival) and The Warehouse Project – the largest nightclub in the world.

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Remembrance Sunday…..

I’ve been photographing Remembrance Sunday for over 30 years and this weekend I’ll be doing it again for Oldham Council.

So I thought I’d just publish a few pictures from 2023 at Oldham War Memorial….. plus one of my favourite pictures I’ve at this time of year for Tameside Council at Portland Basin in Ashton a few years ago….

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The aurora borealis…… from Hyde!

Last night I ventured to Gee Cross, Hyde in Cheshire to see if the northern lights were visible. The camera records more than the naked eye but I could still see some colour up in the sky…..  a few pictures below.

The northern lights, or the aurora borealis, are beautiful dancing ribbons of light that have captivated people for millennia. But for all its beauty, this spectacular light show is a rather violent event. The northern lights are created when energized particles from the sun slam into Earth’s upper atmosphere at speeds of up to 45 million mph (72 million kph), but our planet’s magnetic field protects us from the onslaught.

 

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Labour wins general election…..

Well, congratulations to the Labour Party and the UK’s new Prime Minister, Keir Starmer.

Way back in January 2020, I photographed Keir when he came to Manchester to launch his Labour leadership campaign.

I spent most of the day with him and seeing him close up and fairly personal, I liked him. I’ve met hundreds of politicians during my 30+ year press career and I can’t say the same for most of them!

In general, most Labour politicians I’ve met are decent hard working people and are in it for the right reasons. I’m not really in to politics but I suspect the country is in good hands – but only time will tell.