FERRY CROSS THE MERSEY-A FEW SNAPS FROM LIVERPOOL
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The Liver Building
Last August I spent a few days in Liverpool. It was a city I had never been to before,
but had heard nothing but good things about it from friends. I wasn't really sure what
to expect, but was more than pleasantly surprised by the easy going nature of this city,
the incredible architecture, and of course, the never-ending photo opportunities.
Liverpool celebrated it's 800th year in 2007 and was named joint European Capital of Culture in 2008.
Several areas of the city have been granted World Heritage Site status, and Liverpool currently has the
largest number of listed buildings in the UK outside London. The city centre is easy to navigate and small enough to walk around- full of street performers, amazing independent shops, bars and restaurants.
(If you're planning to go, the East Avenue Bakehouse on Bold Street is a must!)
So.....the photographs....
Liverpool's culture was ingrained into almost everywhere we visited. When visiting
a new city, especially one that's a tourist destination I think it's easy to get carried
away taking the 'usual' postcard pictures. Photos that are nice enough but are merely
just a record of your time. Everyone wants a 'Beatles' pic when theyvisit Liverpool,
but with this I was struck by the vibrant colours of the jukebox next to the black and
white photograph of John Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe-it seemed like a past and present thing.
When photographing architecture I try and look for sharp angles, light and contrast. Although the sky
is pretty bland in this shot, I didn't play with it as it was enough of a contrast against the building to be ok, and to keep it simple.
For this trip I took my Fuji XE 1 with me and it's 18-55mm kit lens. It's a great camera to travel with as it's so much lighter and compact than more heavy duty dslr's and can also be much better concealed for street shots. Great for when you don't want to let your subject know what you're doing!
and for when you don't mind......
The area around the Albert Dock and it's skyline is a pretty iconic place where there is loads to see and do, including The Tate Liverpool which I think I spent over 2 hours in, completely mesmerised . Everywhere you turn there is a new angle to see, and we were lucky on the first day we had a very sunny evening that cast a great light over the water. And there were cranes.... a personal favourite of mine!
And if you prefer the more traditional-the spectacular Liverpool Cathedral
All and all Liverpool was a friendly, creative and invigorating city to visit. I took around 450 photos in 2 days-there was certainly no lack of inspiration! We hope to go back again later this year to explore further and spend a bit more time there. But before that we have a trip to Iceland to look forward too....
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