Category Archives: Portrait

Clare, adding up

Saturday 3rd December 2011, 11.10am (day 100)

Clare, writing, 3/12/11

Another effort today by the Whitworth family to sell various forms of artwork (home-made and otherwise) to a mildly interested public. Better than three weeks ago: we made a reasonable amount for two hours’ work.

This blog is now 100 days old so I’ve put some more photos up on the ‘Best of the Rest’ page. Of the 100 photos I’ve used here are some stats – the numbers don’t quite add up because sometimes I’ve just had to classify them in more than one category:

  • 8 of the photos are landscapes, 5 of these from the Lake District – 30 urban scenes (of which 14 are in Hebden Bridge and 7 in Manchester) – 25 portraits (6 of Joe, 5 of Clare, 6 of friends or colleagues, 8 of strangers and, mercifully, only one a self-portrait) – 10 of flora and fauna – 6 classed as ‘transport’ and 22 interiors.
  • 14 of the daily photos are taken outside of the UK: 4 in Russia, 3 in Finland and 5 in Norway, plus two at indeterminate locations, somewhere over the North Sea in planes (to and from the same trip to Bergen in early November).
  • The most popular time for photos is the morning: 40 of the 100 have been taken between 8am – noon. Only four have been taken after 8pm.
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Joe, hiding

Thursday 24th November 2011, 8.45am (day 91)

Joe behind lamppost, 24/11/11

I know this pic is out-of-focus but it gave me the biggest laugh of the day, which is enough reason to put it on here. Joe is really hiding here, this is not just a random shot that happened to catch him in this position. Fellow fans of Arrested Development may share my humor if I cite the line – “you can always tell a Milford man”. But then again, they may not.

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Boris at the Christmas market, Manchester

Wednesday 23rd November 2011, 5.45pm (day 90)

Boris at the Xmas market, 23/11/11

This (on the right) is Boris, one of my colleagues from Moscow (see October 23-27), visiting Manchester for a couple of days. He is well into his 60s but has a 6-year-old daughter, which I find kinda sweet. A nice guy, if you don’t enquire too deeply into what he did in the Soviet era.

I also quite like Manchester’s German-inspired Christmas markets, which achieve the (for me) astonishing combination of being both highly Christmassy and yet not twee nor over-commercial. I like this shot because of the stallholder’s pleasant look of satisfaction as Boris decides whether to get a gift for his daughter.

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Clare’s photo shoot

Wednesday 16th November 2011, 11.00am (day 83)

Clare, photo shoot, 16/11/11

Yesterday we had the mysterious purchase of the mask, today I was engaged as official photographer in the wife’s latest shoot. She’s definitely up to something.

By the way, I took a lot of photos today, some of which might even be classed as ‘good’, but I did say that this blog would feature no staged shots. This was the one candid shot I took today, however. Just as well it was a nice one, otherwise you’d have ended up with a picture of a train or something (I’m currently on my way down to London for the evening & work there tomorrow morning); but C is just so much more aesthetically pleasing, don’t you think?

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John B by the bonfire

Sunday 13th November 2011, 7.30pm (day 80)

John B, by the bonfire, 13/11/11

Busy but interesting weekend ends with a pleasant evening party among friends, chilling out by the bonfire and listening to Joe be enthused by access to an electric guitar – with amplification.

The party was a birthday do for another friend, Mick, 43 today (so happy birthday to him). There is a huge rush of birthdays at this time of year, at least 7 family members & 3 close friends within a month. Why? Because it’s 9 months after New Year, of course. ‘Darling, I will stop taking the Pill, but let’s wait until after Christmas, OK?’.

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The Amex Stadium, Brighton

Sunday 6th November 2011, 4.15pm (day 73)

Amex stadium, 6/11/11

The story behind this place is such a long and difficult one to tell – North & Hodson’s book Build a Bonfire will give you the first part, doubtless someone will write the second instalment one day. Suffice it to say that as a Brighton fan making my inaugural visit here this afternoon, when I first entered it, I cried. Just a little bit.

Today’s result: Brighton & Hove Albion 2, Barnsley 0. We won’t mention the failure of Southern rail to get me and a few thousand other fans back to Brighton because of a ‘staff shortage’. I mean, it’s not like they knew we were coming.

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The morning after

Sunday 30th October 2011, 11.00am (day 66)

Clare and Caroline, 30/10/11_low-res

Nice to come downstairs and find two beautiful women in the lounge dressed in their bedwear. After that the rest of the day was taken care of.

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Halloween Burlesque Party

Saturday 29th October 2011, 8.00pm (day 65)

Halloween burlesque, 29/10/11_low-res

Let’s edit out the text that originally accompanied this photo, written last night when I was too inebriated to be lucid and pithy and all those other things I’d like these texts to be. Let me instead just reiterate what a good night it was. The audience were asked not to take photos of the performance and stick them online – so I should respect that – though it’s a shame, as I got some good ones including of the wife making her own performance debut. But the audience were also a sight worth recording. Happy Halloween – a couple of days early, it is true.

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Clare dressing for our night out

Saturday 22nd October 2011, 4.00pm (day 58)

Clare dressing, 22/10/11

It’s early in the day to be posting I know, but I don’t want to take the camera to the gig in Leeds, and do you think I’d get a better shot anyway?

Moscow tomorrow. I will try to keep up with the blog but might not be able to post daily for a few days. Rest assured I will catch up when I get back.

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Our neighbour and his motorcycle

Saturday 15th October 2011, 2.25pm (day 51)

Richard and bike, 15/10/11

I’ve lived in this house for over 10 years now and all that time the house across the road has been inhabited by this gentleman. And every Saturday morning he is out there working on his bike and listening to his ’60s music. And then on Sunday morning we are usually roused briefly from sleep at around 7am as it farts into life across the road and he heads off for whatever rally or off-road session he is visiting that weekend. He seems pretty happy. I’m ashamed to say I don’t know his name.

Postscript: It’s Richard.

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