The West Yorkshire Metro, despite its name, does spread into some more rural areas!
In the Middle of Nowhere
Category Archives: Urbanscapes
Twisted Chicks
I was there early to get a photo of the Twisted Chicks, 5.38am to be precise, and without a tripod with me, that meant a shutter speed of 0.5s.
Eerily Noisy
This photo was taken on an industrial estate in Manchester, and being a Sunday afternoon this area was deserted. As a result the man made noises, which you would normally associate with industrial activity, were almost completely absent. However, this area is quite close to Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium which had an event on, and as a result there was the eerie distant noise of people cheering.
Urban Simplicity
A tree fights to be seen in this minimalist urban environment
Beside the Seaside
Since a child I have loved going to the seaside. The ‘big sky’, the far reaching views in good weather, and the ethereal feeling when it’s not so good! I particularly like early morning, just after sunrise, when there are few people about, and the place is at peace, apart from the usual sound of the seaside such as seagulls, or waves lapping. The series, which may be found here, is mostly taken in England.
Urban Winter
Winter is generally not a great time for urban photography, particularly in the UK. During the few hours of daylight we do get , it is either overcast and hence low lighting, or bright sunshine with long distracting shadows. One relief from these conditions is during or after snowfall, which tends to accentuate any little bit of colour that is around. It also provides great opportunities for minimalist style images.
For more examples of my urban winter images please visit a small collection here
It’s a Sign
Signs are all around us, informing us, directing us, and warning us of dangers. By the very nature of what signs need to do, they are generally quite prominent against the background, and therefore make great subjects for both my minimalist and new topographics photos.
Trees
Please take a look at my sales gallery here for more photos of trees.
I am fascinated by trees in the urban environment, and I have featured them in both in my minimalist and new topographics photographs. In minimalism, I am normally trying to avoid them because of the unnecessary context or distraction. In urbanscapes they often affect the balance or symmetry I am trying to achieve. However they do occasionally provide a superb contrast to what would otherwise be a very uninteresting wall or landscape.
Isolation
Just like people, building can find themselves very isolated despite the congested urban landscape. See more more photographs of buildings in isolation here in my sales gallery
Shapes of Bradford
‘Shapes of Bradford’ is a continuation of my interest in urban photography and is the result of many weekends over the past 3 years walking around industrial estates and retail parks in my home city of Bradford. In this project, I have attempted to focus on shapes and lines in keeping with my minimalist photography mindset rather than on the decay and decline which is often the way northern industrial cities are portrayed.
More images from ‘Shapes of Bradford’ can be found here
Bradford in Colour
I haven’t been much further than my home city of Bradford here in England in 2019 yet, but that hasn’t stopped me taking photos. The light here this time of year isn’t conducive to minimalism, so I’ve been using the time to build up my New Topographics collection. More of my Yorkshire Topographics collection can be found in my sales gallery here
Miami, Florida
During a recent business trip to Miami. Florida, I was lucky enough to get some free time. However, rather than head to the beach or the everglades, in typical style I chose the local industrial estates for my rest and relaxation. For more of my photographic musings in the USA, please click here
Douar Erha
I have just returned from a holiday in Marrakech, Morocco and whilst the holiday was mainly about chilling out with my wife, I did find time to practice my new found love of New Topographics photography. Our hotel was next to a village called Douar Erha, just south of Marrakech. Being in an area frequented by tourists, the village has its fair share of holiday villas and hotels. However, surrounding these are the rather more humble homes and shops of locals. Better known for my minimalist photographic style I was naturally inspired by the shape, form and line of the buildings, as well as their eerily isolated feel. However, despite the unfinished look of the buildings and little signs of life, it is quite evident that they are habited. In fact, I was invited into one of the homes to share mint tea and Arabic bread!
The complete series from Morocco can be found here
Stuart Allen 