Guess it's over ..

Well, there you go! You've done it! Pat yourself on the back and get out that brochure for the new Ferrari! The recession is over! It's official - or it will be when they announce it later - so yippidy doo and happy days everybody!..

I've got to say I feel extremely pleased to be able to say I've survived yet another recession as a photographer, and I hope it means the end of having enquiries for Weddings at £200, or folk choosing ONE 7x5 inch print from a full forty-five minute portrait-shoot .. and don't even get me started on PR companies turning down my quotes for jobs! Actually, that's even more pleasing to have survived because it's involved the 'double-whammy' of the increasing use of digital cameras by non-professional camera-owners! My best example - and I kid you not - was of one company having one of the staff's mothers take the shots they wanted because she had .. wait for it .. a good camera!..

So, yes, according to one chap being interviewed on the radio this morning "There is jobs out there!" now. I can only hope that some of that extra dosh trickles down to StudioFiveFour and I can borrow that Ferrari brochure once you've finished with it...

Now will you get down to my studio and have some bloody photographs taken!!...

Image du jour : Eccles Job centre, circa 1977.. From The Archive, of course!

Mum, I'm Board!...

My new scanner was on course for melt-down yesterday after I spent the whole of Tuesday scanning a set of 120 negatives. In 1993 the country was in a recession, and the sad sight of scores of shut-up shops, offices, night-clubs, hospitals and pubs got me out onto the streets one Sunday morning to document the mess! I came up with a project called 'Boardom' - the mis-spelling is deliberate - which featured photographs of 12 boarded-up buildings, each with a copy of a Sunday newspaper pinned to them! To make it even more of a challenge to myself I shot only one frame of each subject on my old Yashicamat, and still have the uncut roll of film in my archive.

So, now we can look back 19 years. We eventually came out of the recession, and whilst some of the buildings got brand new leases of life others were demolished, never to be seen again. Hey, even some of the newspapers don't exist any more! News and Echo anyone? Hell, News of the World, for goodness sake!

Anyway, with the country yet again full of empty buildings, I thought now would be a good time to get these images out into the world, probably with a new set of 12 images from the current recession. I want somewhere to host this mini-exhibition, so if any of you have any suggestions I'd really love to hear them. Cheers!

All out....

I'd be a busy boy today if I were still a Press Photographer, as public sector workers down tools and walk out over their pensions dispute. I could take my pick and photograph striking airport workers, teachers, Mersey Tunnel toll booth operatives .. you name it! At least I don't think the Fire Brigade is coming out today, as they did in 1977. I remember walking down to Eccles Fire Station that November and shooting a couple of frames on my Yashica Fr1 and, to my wannabe press photographer delight, the one I'm blogging today got into the Eccles Journal.

I never want this blog to get political, so I'll skip merrily along from the nitty gritty of today's actions. I mean, it's a worrying time for us all, so who needs another ranting blog going on about a double-dip recession and the rising cost of everything!?

EIGHTY POUNDS it cost me to fill up my car last night! Eighty!!

Oops!

Never look back...

..unless you're a beautiful bride in a gorgeous photograph, of course! This is another shot from Wendy and Phil's Wedding at Manchester Town Hall on Saturday, caught just as Wendy peeped over her shoulder at me. Now, I look back all the time in this blog, what with my constant reminiscing about my 33 years as a 'snapper', but a pal and I had cause to look back with sadness last week.
We all need a hobby, and I've kept tropical fish since I won a goldfish at the fair in 1973. Ever since then I've more or less always bought my new fish from this one particular chap, who used to have a pet-shop in Eccles. After many years there he moved to Leigh, and doubled the size of the shop but, alas, he's come to the end of the line! At the end of this month he's going to shut his shop door for the last time. He's been ground into the dirt by the likes of Pets at Home and supermarkets that sell dog food. All his skill and expertise, his in-depth knowledge of pet-keeping, his patience with new animal owners, his free advice to the constant stream of worried callers... it all counts for nothing when the bottom line is PRICE! People are happy to buy at the 'Pile 'em high' shops, then go running to him when their fish die, but they won't support him by buying from him in the first place from his shop on the high street. He's got two bright flourescent CLOSING DOWN signs on his shop windows, one of the saddest sights I've seen for a long time, but of course, it's all getting close to home when I hear that constant cry of "We like your photography but my friend has a good camera!" Good luck, Steve! All I can hope is that we laugh when we look back on these hard times!

In the sh*t....

Doom, gloom, credit crunch, recession! Must be time for a picture of a cheerleader and a pile of horse sh*t!! Nuff said!...

Hey! Picture the scene! Warm summer's day, car driving past, windows down and music blasting out. So far, so normal, except that the car that drove past me yesterday evening was playing "I wish it could be Christmas every day"! Well, we all need something to look forward to, don't we?