Old Streets by the Sea

As a summer town, Blackpool is usually recorded on film in the good weather. That famous tower is commonly shot against a blue sky, and from the perspective of a busy, bustling foreshore, filled with holidaymakers. So when I was walking these streets in November, 2006, dodging hail and showers between comics shops and fast food shops, it struck me as an atmospheric and atypical way to see the place. Though many of these buildings probably date from the early 20th century, the streets themselves are 19th century or earlier, and the perspective compression of a mild telephoto effect here really shows up the organic lack of symmetry. These streets are probably less than 100 meters from the beach and were built over ancient dunes, thus the rise and fall of profile and undulation along the coast. This gives a rustic, weather-beaten character which is very photogenic. The picture was sharpened, slightly gamma-corrected, and the contrast and colour were brought up a little. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.