"Liverpool People" by Stephen Shakeshaft

Waves At The Waterfront

"We call them photographs but they are also history;

telling of men, women and children and their part in passing events.

Once the button on the camera has been pushed

those people are given a kind of immortality, 

for the camera is a third eye adding permanence to the sights it sees."

Following The Walker, and a very amusing lunch in Yate's we went to The Conservation Centre for a small photography exhibition.  On display was an interesting and really varied account of photographic reports by Stephen Shakeshaft, taken during his 40 years working for Liverpool's local newspaper.  He evidently has a talent for capturing ordinary everyday life, reflecting individuals, their personality and being.  I love the black and white photography, and I agree with his own account that "the passing years have added to the atmosphere of these images."  It's so true, it adds a quality to it, a nostalgic warmth.

Though the likes of Cilla, Paul and Linda McCartney, and Princess Diana feature, it is the ordinary that makes up the largest percentage of the exhibition.  And this interests me.  It is refreshing to see acknowledgment given to those people as opposed to the celebrity culture of my generation.  It made me realise that local events and stories shown, are part of what shapes and evolves a social, political and cultural landscape, as opposed to what the National/Worldwide press opt to glamourise and present.  It visually chronicled the old communities that have been through so much together and this is something that has now largely disappeared.  Going to this exhibition has made me think about substance and the direction my work could take.  A lot of what we see in our social scape is materialistic and this might be a fresher way to interpret things in the current climate.

"It is a case of looking left and right and not just straight ahead."

Shakeshaft on being a press photographer.

Betty's Paradise, 1983

"Betty lived there and when they decided to demolish the houses she stood firm,

or sat firm, taking her sun chair and banner.

She didn't wish to leave the community she had grown up in."

Another element that I interpreted was his notable passion and this came across in two ways.  The first being that the vast span of his career shows dedication and personal interest, with many being self initiated and from his personal collection.  The second was in the way he poetically described some of his subjects.  An image of an old woman sticks in my mind (above) working the market stalls.  Stephen speaks of her "Lizzie had a face that tells us life was never going to be easy, her potato stained fingers clutched brown paper bags.  Lizzie epitomised the resilience of old Liverpool.  She was real.  She was Liverpool's."  These details aren't fully evident in the image but his memory and account serves to add an additional sense for the reader and viewer here.

Fire in Fazakerley

The exhibition is on til Jan if anyone fancies it, it's only a small exhibition but I recommend it because I think it is one where everyone will leave with an individual response/perspective.