THE face of Darwen is changing, perhaps not always for the better you may think.
But in, say, 50 years, how will folk know how the town looks today?
Probably the same way that we know how it looked 50 and 100 years ago - largely through photographs.
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Darwen Camera Club have played a big part in preserving the heritage of the town for many years and one of their most enthusiastic members has been Graham Dean.
Deputy head at St Barnabas' Primary School for 25 years, he now encourages teachers to broaden pupils' horizons with the use of ICT.
Not many years ago, members of the club didn't have to think about computer manipulation of their photographs.
But it used to mean hours of patience and work in the darkroom.
For some of the traditionalists, it still is. But Graham is one of those taking photography to a new level, combining skill with camera and computer to produce some really striking images.
Many of them are on display until mid-January at the Sunnyhurst Wood visitors' centre.
It's his first solo exhibition and, as expected, many of the photographs are of Darwen, especially the woods.
Others are from much further afield such as Italy and Spain. Many rely on computer software for their effect. Graham is completely unabashed about his use of modern technology. "My interest in computing was developed in the 80s and my interest in digital photography in the 90s," he says. "I now combine the two with enthusiasm."
"Brief Encounter" is a classic example. The inspiration for it was a "Film Titles" competition. And it combines his wife's bright red briefs on the washing line at his Earnsdale Road home with a grey-blue montage of Carnforth railway station where the classic film was largely shot. The effect is quite startling.
I wondered why the captions of many of the photographs didn't explain where they were shot: "Winter", "Lone Tree" and one of my favourites "Under the Rainbow."
"I like a photograph to ask a question; perhaps a deeper question than that," he laughed. But he did explain that the rainbow photograph was shot at Tockholes and, yes, you can just make out Longridge Fell in the background.
How long did he wait for that particular shot? "I didn't. I don't have the patience of other photographers who can wait around for an hour for the right light.
"I thought I'd lose the rainbow as I struggled to get my camera out of the rucksack but it got stronger. It's a lot to do with luck, I suppose."
Luck? Graham is too modest. I particularly like his shots of Sunnyhurst Wood and central Manchester and if anyone is looking for a challenging hobby, I'd certainly suggest they join a camera club.
Have a look at Graham's current exhibition which has been expertly staged by Peter Coultherd and Margery Collinge of the council's countryside service and imagine that you could do even better.
This made me smile - "Brief Encounter" A few years ago my wife and I were on a Shearing's coach trip staying in Braemar, Scotland. There was entertainment in the hotel bar one evening. Quite a brilliant family - Dad played guitar, Mum accordian and their 21 yr old son was a "cracker on keyboards" (his favourite was "Great Balls of Fire"!!)They were all wearing kilts too. Mum was also a ballet dancer and in the course of her performance she spun round dramatically and for a split second revealed a very nice pair of white panties - at the precise moment that I took her photograph. I named the shot "Brief Encounter" and along with 3 other photos and for a bit of fun I submitted it for the Church Photo Competition. It did not win (!!) but the "Queen's View" at Pitlochry did - I wish I had been able to "earwig" the judges comments on "Brief Encounter" though.....
This made me smile - "Brief Encounter" A few years ago my wife and I were on a Shearing's coach trip staying in Braemar, Scotland. There was entertainment in the hotel bar one evening. Quite a brilliant family - Dad played guitar, Mum accordian and their 21 yr old son was a "cracker on keyboards" (his favourite was "Great Balls of Fire"!!)They were all wearing kilts too. Mum was also a ballet dancer and in the course of her performance she spun round dramatically and for a split second revealed a very nice pair of white panties - at the precise moment that I took her photograph. I named the shot "Brief Encounter" and along with 3 other photos and for a bit of fun I submitted it for the Church Photo Competition. It did not win (!!) but the "Queen's View" at Pitlochry did - I wish I had been able to "earwig" the judges comments on "Brief Encounter" though.....
This made me smile - "Brief Encounter" Some years ago my wife and I were on a Shearing's coach tour to Braemar, Scotland. One evening the entertainment in the hotel bar was a quite brilliant family - all in traditional Scottish attire, kilts and all. Dad sang and played guitar, Mum played the accordian and their 21 yr. old son was quite exceptional on keyboards ("Great Balls of fire" his favourite") Mum was also a ballet dancer and in the course of one of her dances, she spun round quite dramatically for a split second to reveal a dainty pair of white panties. That was the precise moment when I took my photograph!! I named it "Brief Encounter" and for a bit of fun included it in 3 photos for the Church Photo Competition....it did not win!! A more acceptable "Queen's View" at Pitlochry did but I often wonder what the judging panel thought of "Brief Encounter" ....
This made me smile - "Brief Encounter" Some years ago my wife and I were on a Shearing's coach tour to Braemar, Scotland. One evening the entertainment in the hotel bar was a quite brilliant family - all in traditional Scottish attire, kilts and all. Dad sang and played guitar, Mum played the accordian and their 21 yr. old son was quite exceptional on keyboards ("Great Balls of fire" his favourite") Mum was also a ballet dancer and in the course of one of her dances, she spun round quite dramatically for a split second to reveal a dainty pair of white panties. That was the precise moment when I took my photograph!! I named it "Brief Encounter" and for a bit of fun included it in 3 photos for the Church Photo Competition....it did not win!! A more acceptable "Queen's View" at Pitlochry did but I often wonder what the judging panel thought of "Brief Encounter" ....
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