Photoshoots

Details

Written by Keith Nuttall

Ten of us met on a quiet cloudy evening in Stockport town centre, armed with cameras and tripods.

The challenge was to see what would make a good photograph, given the available light, which wasn't great. Most subjects were poorly or unevenly lit, and the lights themselves were much brighter than their surroundings.

Some of us set up tripods outside the Art Gallery, and tried to capture the gallery or the Town Hall opposite. Some of us tried to avoid the traffic, and some of us wanted more traffic! Occasionally, a confused pedestrian would have to navigate an array of cameras, worried about ruining someone's shot!

Heading down the hill, some attempted the deserted bus station and the viaduct arches, whilst others headed for the public space outside the Merseyway shopping centre, where the most eyecatching subject was the Plaza Theatre.

There was a strange still atmosphere in the 'square', made stranger by a bunch of amateur photographers, desperately looking for something interesting to shoot. The shopping centre didn't really cut the mustard, so we concentrated on the Plaza itself.

The local police circled us a few times, clearly concerned that a bunch of people with cameras on tripods were up to no good, but left us alone once they discovered we were actually just taking photographs.

This was thirsty work, so we decided to call it a night and head for some liquid refreshment, before heading home with our memory cards.