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Book Review:- "Liverpool Through The Lens"
PHOTOGRAPHER
Edward Fitzmaurice Chambre Hardman was born in Dublin in 1898 and
was set to have a massive impact on how we see Liverpool's up's and
down's today. At the age of 18, he spent 4 years in India as a
regular officer in the Ghurkha Rifles and through this service he
developed an interest in photography. On leaving the army, he set up
a portrait studio in 1923 and made Liverpool his home. His passion
that laid in landscape photography was to shape the view of the city
we love, thanks to well over 140,000 photographs that he exposed
over his lifetime. Sadly he died in 1988, but a trust was luckily set
up to conserve his irreplaceable record of the city.
Today you can see his house and studio at 59 Rodney Street,
Liverpool, thanks to the National Trust. For that reason the trust
felt that is should publish a selection of his prints to celebrate
Liverpool in it's year of European Capital of Culture. At the cost
of £15.99 this is a fantastic hard back book of photographs that
shows an impressive view of how the city has changed over the years.
I have to say that this is a well edited book that contains a very
powerful sense of the cities landscape that I have never seen before
in a photographic book before. Not only that, but is has a very
interesting foreword written by Mike McCartney. the book's
photographs carry informative and easy to read captions and printed
on a lustre print type of paper.
It is odd though, that the most evocative shots in the book for me
is not a landscape and is found on pages 107. It is a fantastic
black and white abstract print of chains and could have been taken
anywhere, but to me it symbolises the cities engineering and
industrial past.
The other shot I love is a simple street landscape photograph, found
on page 39, that has been sepia toned. It is a picture of buildings
the long since demolished buildings by Lime Street Station, taken at
night. You can see the rain drenched road and the damp air, and its
ghostly feel makes it seem timeless. IT clearly depicts to the
modern eye, how much has changed with in the city and yet seems much
like any image you can still get in any city today, making you ask
have things really changed? I have to say though that all the
photographs keep drawing me back to them and it is hard to put this
book down, if you like history or photography. But if like me you
like both, well this is a joy to read.
If you would like to order it, then I would truly recommend this.
The ISBN is 978-1-905400-54-6. The book is classed under Regional
History and published by National Trust Books, 2007.
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Southport Station Renovations
SOUTHPORT'S
Railway station's renovations are now well underway. Please email us
your views on how this work is going and what impact it will have on
the town for the future...
News24@SouthportReporter.com
Royal Caribbean International visits Liverpool
A few days ago
2 representatives of the cruise line Royal Caribbean paid a visit to
Liverpool on a fact finding mission. The line has said that the
market is growing rapidly throughout the world. Sadly though its
liners in its fleet are to big for Liverpool's new Liner Terminal,
but it is hoped that the fleet might, in a few years, be able to pay
visit to the Mersey. The representatives also informed the media on
Merseyside about its latest massive liner, the 'Independence of the
Seas', the biggest and most exciting cruise ship in the world, that
will be based in Southampton from 2008. The Line has praised the
start of Liverpool's return to the cruising market and wishes it all
the best for the future.
Click
here to hear our exclusive audio
interview.
Ben Brown @ the Latin Lounge
SOUTHPORT'S
Ben Brown was again playing at the Latin Lounge on Post Office Ave,
in the heart of Southport's new Post Office Quarter. On Friday 23
November 2007, do not miss the fantastic 007 Night, at the Latin
Lounge..
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