The year that was 2007

So, 2007. Wow some year. Highlight has definitely been making new friends, seeing old ones. January was a slow month but I had a great day out in York. I figured there was no reason to goto York on my own, but with friends it was a fun day out. Really enjoyed it. Febuary was when things started happening. A ship crashed on the Mersey, it snowed, Chinese New Year and I found a really nice spot in Liverpool that made it seem like Toronto. This was also the month when I decided to refocus my site from a little personal project into something larger. Its been such a positive force in my life this year and has helped open a lot of doors. In March I finally got around to visiting the Gormley Statues. I was very lucky and the sky was incredible. I’ve been meaning to go back and do more things with them. I also took a trip to London. I was hoping to go HDR crazy but there was no clouds in the sky so I stuck with black and white. In April I was able to go for a walk around Europe’s largest building site, the Paradise Street Project. Quite an insane project and while my 30D was broke I managed to get some good shots with my 10D. I also documented the Hillsborough Disaster service, which was very moving and Prince Charles visit to St Georges Hall. I went for a random walk around Liverpool, got laughed at and the result is currently in the National Media Museum in Bradford. So ner. May was fun. Some friends and I did Shoot Liverpool. We got given 10 clues and had to come up with un-photoshopped images for it. We won a category too, and just had a great day out. June was the start of the summer weekends photographing events instead of buildings. It was the time when I decided I that almost all my people photographs would be in black and white. I covered the Knowsley Music Festival, which was fantastic fun despite the rain and mud.

July was again more events, more people shots and so much fun. I did manage to revisit the Gormley Statues and didn’t use any HDR as I wanted a different feel. August was something else. I was involved with eighthundred which was incredible. 1 day, 8 photographers, 800 people. I still can’t quite believe it. We photographed 800 people in about 8 hours between us, then built the entire gallery in 2 days. When it launched it was great to see the room full of people, and the 2 days I spent there watching people potter about was amazingly uplifting. Just to see people’s eyes light up, to see them spot friends and places they knew. Then in the last hour some tourists from Mexico took their picture in front of my work. That was just so nice. People say my photos are nice, but to see someone wanting to make it part of their holiday snaps, so that when they looked back at their holiday they would remember my work, just something else. I want to thank everyone who was involved with that project. September the QE2 came to town and it rained. Typically, but luckily just as I was on the ferry the sun came out and I was able to work my HDR magic. October I went to Blackpool for the first time since I was a kid. It was quite different seeing it as an adult, and quite different to what I imagined from peoples photos. A very enjoyable day out. November was Remembrance Sunday. A very moving day, especially so since it was pouring down and people still came out. I also finally managed to photograph Sefton Park in early morning mist. December has been fun. I’ve been to Swansea, and Edinburgh twice. A lot of things are starting to come together too.

So, 2008. Its what I’ve been working towards since deciding to become a photographer. Its what Liverpool has been working towards for many years now. I am working on one book documenting every day in Liverpool through 2008 with 5 other photographers. Its going to be immense. I’m also waiting to hear back from a publisher about my own book. I should hear about that in the next 2 weeks. From Feb 23rd to March 9th I will have an exhibition at Albert Dock featuring my best photos of Liverpool. Those are the best things coming up, but because it is the Capital of Culture year it’s going to be a fantastic time for photos. The new shopping centre will open linking the city centre to the Albert Dock. The canal link will also be finished, hopefully. The Pier Head will be quite different when thats all done and I can’t wait to get some photos, however they will still be building the new museum there till 2010 which is annoying for photos. Of course it will look great in 2010, but for now its a task to work around. It’s going to be a great year. I’m also hoping to revisit Toronto. 2008, Capital of Culture and 366 chances to make it better than 2007. Thanks to everyone who’s visited and commented on this site over the past year. I hope you all have a great 2008.