anti limited presents

Last spring I shot Hannah Nunn’s wonderful shop, Radiance, at night. The result was one of my favourite panoramas of last year: Hannah agreed, and featured it on the shop website. However this spring, Radiance moved to premises closer to the centre of Hebden Bridge: the move provided a great excuse to go back to the shop and reshoot. Rather handy as I’ve recently starting shooting more HDR subjects and have upgraded pretty much my whole rig since last year.

I love the new shop: the larger display area gives more breathing space to the designs of the many artists and craftspeople whose work grace the walls and ceilings. The new site is right in the middle of Market Street, so there’s lots more footfall from interested visitors to Hebden, especially during this 500th anniversary of the town.

It’s also the perfect subject for high dynamic photography, and a great challenge to capture the delicate details and colours. Last time I shot five exposures before enfusing and tone-mapping: this time I’ve shot nine exposures, which goes somewhat further towards eliminating burnout in the highlights and muddiness in the shadows. Of course that’s the geek in me talking, the aesthete simply loves the composition and variety within the scene… fabulous designs and such a range of shapes and colours!

Click the icons below for a fullscreen 360° view of the scene in Flash, or to locate the scene in Google Earth.

This is the wonderful Manchester Craft and Design Centre, a creative jewel set in the centre of Manchester’s Northern Quarter. It’s one of my favourite places to look for unique gifts and goodies from a range of talented artists and craftspeople in the North West. The building’s a gem as well, formerly home to the Manchester Poultry and Fish Market.

Incidentally, the profusion of brightly-coloured woolen accoutrements along the balcony are part of an installation called Yarnbombing, by Salford-based collaborative project Art Yarn.

Click below for a fullscreen 360° view of the scene in Flash, or for more info in Google Earth.

They say smell is the most powerful sense for evoking memories: when I first popped into Harry’s Bikeshop the homely aromas transported me straight back to my childhood. The olfactory sensations of oils, rubber, steel, leather and stonework reminded me of old workshops and hours spent cleaning and maintaining my bikes; the randomly ordered bicycles and parts were equally appealling to the eye. I was only there to get my chain replaced, but the experience stayed fresh in my mind for some time. Obviously time to ask the owner’s permission to shoot a panorama…

There’s so much detail and history in this small shop: years of skill, knowledge, tradesmanship and, well… just stuff everywhere,  creating a delightful visual experience. Workshops and studios tend to reflect the trade and character of the people who work in them, creating a fascinating combination of the professional and personal. Thanks to Harry Ingham (and his cat, who seemed determined to get in all the shots). Finally, special mention must go to the ultimate 70s cult bike… a beautifully restored orange Chopper in the foreground of the shot… absolutely classic.

Click below for a fullscreen 360° view of the scene in Flash, or for more info in Google Earth.

For three days only, the legendary Warp Records shop is back in Sheffield. Bleep and Warp have returned to their former hometown in the Steel City and taken over a unit in the Forum as part of the Warp 20 celebrations. The shop’s selling lots of exclusive goodies, showing various artifacts from the Warp archives (check the Aphex Twin mask in the glass cabinet) and acting as a focal point for the weekend’s events. There are also exclusive sets from Warp artists here throughout the weekend.

I got the chance to shot a couple of 360°s of the store when it opened on Friday; it’s a perfect space for panoramic photography. To quote Nightmares on Wax’s seminal track Aftermath, “there’s something going round inside my head; I think it’s something I feel. It’s something unreal…” This, however, is perfectly real. Explore the shop in 360° by clicking the Flash logo below.

Thanks to the guys at Warp and Bleep for their support and collaboration, allowing me to capture this little moment of history.

Inside the main concourse at Liverpool One, the newest and biggest retail development in Liverpool. I loved the lighting, walkways and the raindrops on the metalwork in this scene.

Click below for a fullscreen 360° view of the scene in Flash or QuickTime format, or for more info in Google Earth and Wikipedia.

Click below for a fullscreen 360° view of the scene in Flash or QuickTime format, or locate the scene in Google Earth.

Click below for a fullscreen 360° view of the scene in Flash or QuickTime format, or locate the scene in Google Earth.

Click below for a fullscreen 360° view of the scene in Flash or QuickTime format, or locate the scene in Google Earth.

Manchester’s music lovers just got an extra treat to savour: one of the best record selections just got bigger and better, and the city’s musical heritage is captured with a new exhibition by celebrated photographer, Mick Rock. Voxpop have expanded their operations and moved into bespoke premises on Thomas St. in the Northern Quarter. They recently hosted this exhibition as part of the successful Manchester vs Cancer campaign.

Footnote: Soon after putting this online I found out Mick Rock had linked to it on his website. I grew up surrounded by some of Mick’s classic works, and felt honoured to be mentioned by this photographic legend!

Click below for a fullscreen 360° view of the scene in Flash, or for more info in Google Earth.