SEP/OCT 2024: GARY WILLIAMS
PHOTOGRAPH: CHANGE
THE ASSIGNMENT BRIEF
From Gary Williams: “When I was photographing my project Camden Passage, ‘change’ was something I observed over the four years of making the photographs. I noticed how things changed, how people changed. There are people that I photographed at the beginning of the project who are no longer with us. There are shops that have closed and new ones that have come in. Things are changing all the time, although, over a four-year period, it was easier to see and track that change; I think it may be interesting and a great challenge to try and capture change in one photograph.”
HOW TO ENTER. IMPORTANT NOTES ON FILE SIZE AND ENTRIES
Send your entries to stories@photowalk.show. Your picture should be 2,500 pixels wide, if possible, for online optimisation. Or send the full-resolution photo, which we will optimise. Feel free to provide text as well if you think it will help explain the location, context, etc.
Entries are shown below. Good luck!
Neale
GARY WILLIAMS
This is Annie on the very last day in her famous vintage shop just before handing the keys over to the landlord. She had been a fixture in Camden Passage for decades and in happier times was well known for opening a bottle of champagne at the end of each week and enjoying it outside her door. Rents went up and she moved on. Now there’s a Buns From Home a bakery that made its name during the pandemic on social media. It’s thriving, as is the street but change isn’t always easy for everyone.
The book is available here.
GERRY O’FARRELL
My offering for the assignment is a photo I took back in 2010 of the Old Srahmore Primary School, Co Mayo on the West Coast of Ireland. There is a new modern school built with about 50 children attending. I don’t think 50 children would fit in this building. I don’t know when this building stopped being used as a school, but I would guess in the 1960/70s. The wall down the middle was to separate the boys and the girl’s playground. I wonder where the children from this school went when they finished up, I am guessing most of them emigrated to the UK or USA.
KELVIN BROWN
While taking the scenic route home to Norfolk via the peak district from Winsford, Cheshire, I came across this derelict cottage; this once sturdy building has been CHANGED into a shell of its former glory by wind and weather. It’s crying out for a change of fortune to be renovated to once more be a wonderful shelter for a family or, more likely, an Air BnB.
MATTHIES WESCHE
Here's a drone shot I took a few weeks ago in the Harz mountains near the town I grew up in when we had a kind of family reunion. The wife and I decided to try to shoot the sunrise, should there be one, as the weather forecast suggested. My brother's kids were all excited to join us despite having to get up pretty early at night. And while they were complaining about cold, wet feet all the time and the colourful sunrise, of course, not happening, they were happy they had been with us as soon as they had a hot chocolate for breakfast. Anyway, while my brother and his kids were heading home, I decided to let my drone rise and take a shot of them walking through the forest - and here's why I feel this picture does fit the assignment.
Due to drought and diseases, the forests in the Harz mountains have taken serious losses over the last few years. Especially around my home town... village... of Buntenbock, there's not much left of that dark, dense coniferous forest that once was and served me to build huts, explore, and foster a beginning love for landscape photography.
But change is starting to become visible. The first hardwood trees become tall enough to be visible, carry colourful leaves in fall and are a sign of hope for a much healthier mixed forest in contrast to the monoculture that dominated the area. Now I'll probably be old and grey(er... my wife keeps mocking me whenever she finds another hair...) by the time I can enjoy a walk through a proper colourful forest here, but seeing these first signs are a silver lining.
See more of Matthies’ work on his website.
CHARLES NEUZIL
I made this photo on the highway between where we live in Arizona, on the Colorado River, and Las Vegas.
The photo was taken in Searchlight, Nevada, an old mining town in the Mojave Desert.that began in 1897. Gold was mined there until around 1910. At its peak, the town had a population of 1500. Today, about 500 people live there. The town got a bit of a boost when the Hoover Dam was built in the 1930's, and again when a dam on the Colorado River formed Lake Mohave in 1951.
MICHAEL MIXON
When there was a dearth of trees, back when we lived in the desert, I wished to be surrounded by them. Now that I am surrounded by trees, they sometimes become wallpaper; I walk past without really noticing them. But then they change their colors, step out from the background and remind me how fortunate I am to be in their company.
See more of Michael’s work on Instagram.
ERIC JOSEPH
This photo is part of a project I decided to put together last minute that focuses on the smaller details of the leaves changing color in the fall.
See more of Eric’s work and thoughts on X.
MARK MACKAY
I’ve been walking every day pondering change. Thought this captured it. A plant against a wrought iron fence with nowhere to grow, and so decline and death occurs, yet the other leaves continue… soon to repeat the cycle of change.
DAVID HIGTON
Here's my image on the Change assignment. I made it whilst walking around Mam Tor this morning. When I set out I had hoped to see a cloud inversion in the Hope Valley, however it was more low cloud over Mam Tor. In case your other listener isn't aware, Mam Tor (the Mother Hill) has an alternative name which is the Shivering mountain although it is only a hill. It is a very popular location in the Peak District in that it is a short but fairly steep walk to the summit from the car park and after that there is a glorious ridge walk before you descend into Castleton.
It has a history of landslips, which affected the former route of the A625, which is one of the routes between Sheffield and Manchester. The road beneath Mam Tor, however, was subject to regular subsidence and repair due to the unstable subsoil before it was finally abandoned in 1979, and the traffic diverted to the nearby Winnats Pass. The road is available for walkers, continues to subside and change and looks different each time. After walking along the ridge whilst the cloud burnt off, I descended to the Broken Road and made the image.
See more of David’s work on Instagram.
MICHAEL TENBRINK
I photographed behind-the-scenes a family-friendly drag performance at our neighbourhood food hall in Milan, Italy. I wanted to tell this story in an effort to portray the vulnerability and humanity, the power and playfulness, and the transformational talent of my local drag queens. This shot is of Lancaster Hall, who's been performing for more than a decade now. Drag is performance art, it’s camp, and it’s fashion, but it’s more than all that. It’s about breaking free of norms and expectations, about self-acceptance, self-expression, and liberation. And it's about change, if only for a few hours.
See more of Michael's work on Substack.
VICKY ROBB
My entry, prompted by the latest episode that it is now the end of October and the last chance to get it in (yikes where did October go?) An not an uncommon sight at this time of year, but this sycamore leaf has three seasons in it, it feels, with the changes within it from green, yellow to brown.
BOB SIMMONS
I live in the northeastern United States, and Autumn is now passing the peak colors. But when I took this image at a nearby state park, the leaves were just beginning to turn. The beach and the lifeguard chair were empty, and a couple of the trees were starting to turn orange marking the change of season.
See more of Bob’s work on his website.
JOHN KENNY
The photograph is a composite of a postcard from 1907 by the photographer Tom Watson of Lythe, of The Black Bull at Ugthorpe, and the front of the pub today. Pictured within the doorway is the landlord, Isaac Welford (who passed away in 1913) with his children. Finding the postcard on Ebay inspired me to try and look for further information on the history of the place. The first innkeeper mentioned is in 1851, Elizabeth Jackson. Unfortunately, further digging will need to be by microfilm at the North Yorkshire County Records in Northallerton, which is on my to do list. Whilst the subject of the challenge is change, this image gives me a sense of continuity. In that whilst times and people change, some things have remained constant. The enjoyment of good company and the occasional good pint.
See more of John’s work on his website.
JENS ROHDE
I haven’t written for a long time, and to be honest, I have had a break from listening as well. I have had a period without podcasts at all. Don’t really know why, but suddenly I hadn’t opened Overcast for several months. To paraphrase Lennon: Life is what happens while you are busy listening to other stuff.
But I’m back, and I am more or less up to date now with the episodes. So now I have heard about the assignment and am in time to participate! The fact that it has been running for 2 months helps :)
Attached is my entry. Nothing fancy. Autumn is for me a time of change, where the mind has to prepare for the long dark period - you know, this winter thing. Yikes! But it is beautiful this time of year. And I have done my best to capture it.
MIKE MILLER
It's been a while since I've sent an image in for the Photo Challenge, so I thought for a change that I would submit something.
The attached photo shows the challenge theme well - the change in seasons/weather; the change of colours; and the change of the venue. There was frost on the ground when this image was made early Saturday morning, which you can see in the foreground.
RYAN HELSEL
While my photographic output tends toward non-peopled landscapes and scenery around small cities and towns in central North Carolina, USA, when presented with the current assignment and the word 'change' it was this photograph I took of my father this past summer that immediately came to mind.
There is, perhaps, nothing that I have seen change so dramatically and personally over my life than this face, here staring back at me some 43 years after I first saw it. In this face, you can see physical changes, but also sense the changes experienced over the past 73 years - the good, the bad, the hard, the hopeful. I also catch glimpses of changes in my own life through this portrait, and maybe those in my future.
See more of Ryan’s work on Instagram.
JOHN CHARLTON
I believe no single picture I have taken in my life better represents 'change' than this one. Photographed on July 16, 1969, I was just 13 years old when I pressed the shutter on my Kodak Brownie Bullet camera to preserve forever this fleeting moment in time. In doing so, I captured the vapour trail of Apollo 11 from Daytona Beach Shores, some 50 miles north of the launch site as the crow flies. My family had been vacationing there for about a month and were preparing to leave to go back home. My Dad was anxious to hit the road the day before the launch but my brother and I convinced him to change his mind, especially after having seen the giant spaceship on the launch pad a few days earlier. We then then raced home to Montreal arriving at the same time the astronauts rendezvoused with our nearest celestial neighbour. The photo represents a unique moment in my life as I stood upon the threshold of becoming a young man. For the larger world, the moon landing represented the culmination of a quantum leap forward in science and technology which dominated my boyhood years. This to me then is change, major change, wrapped up in a single photo.
See more of John’s work on Substack.
PAUL FRIDAY
It's that time of year again when the change of seasons sneaks up and drizzles down your neck.
DUNCAN FERGUSON
I’ve never got round to completing one of the monthly assignments. My time is generally spilt between working long hours in one of his majesty’s public services and when I’m not asleep, I’m generally helping out around the house and doing the day to day jobs that need doing. Photography is my little bit of space, my creative outlet, something that just me does. So when the biggest change in my life came along, my beautiful daughter, my camera has pretty much stayed in its bag as I have not been able to afford the time to use it. Step forward a few months and we are now in the swing of things with a new baby and the steep learning curve that comes with it I decided I needed to get stuck into a project to get myself back into photography again. I’ve been taking monthly shots of my daughter with a 7kg Perello Olive tin as a prop to show her growth and development over the first 12 months. These I’ll be making into a small book for her when she’s older, the tin is massive in comparison to her so it’s been a fun measure. The photos have ranged from her being plonked next to it to as she’s developing now crawling over it. Whilst I have broken out ‘the big camera’ for these my iPhone camera has been the majority of the picture making as of late helped along by a small Bluetooth camera grip that is now attached to the back of it which cheats me into using it more often. One of my favourite images is the one I have submitted for this assignment. My pictorial representation of one of the biggest and happiest changes in my life, my baby daughter unlocking a new fear, the grabbing of the beard.
CHARLES NAGY
I was thinking about the assignment and saw our Black Eyed Susans in various states of change. There was a thick fog that I think made the bokeh a bit nicer.
See more of Chuck’s work on his website.
MARILYN DAVIES
My photowalk took me to Clontarf and the Woody Point Jetty. On the jetty, as seems the case with a lot of similar places (like bridges) there were a few memorial padlocks placed at varying points. The padlocks represent a great deal of change in people's lives with the loss of a loved one. My attention was drawn to this one where someone had recently attached a small bouquet of flowers to it. The padlock had obviously been there for a while as the clasp was rusting but the flowers are quite fresh. Someone still cares and remembers! An interesting representation of the topic of "change".
MARK CHRISTENSEN
I'm writing to you from California again and hope you're doing well. As I always do, I listened to your latest podcast while driving to a concert I was going to photograph and you announced the assignment called "change".
Immediately my mind went to the attached image which is a then and now image from a horrible forest fire near my home here in California four years ago. The fire was called the Bobcat Fire and it lasted three months, it was terrible. During that fire, I was allowed to get quite up close and personal and made the left half of the image, which is of a young "hotshot" (forest firefighter) looking straight into my lens and, at the same time, looking absolutely exhausted. In our little community, we owe these unsung heroes countless thanks. I do photography for our local magazine, and they asked me to pick an image that I found powerful that I could split to show then and now four years later. The mountain area where this image was made is not a beautiful, lush green Scottish landscape, but it is not quite arid either; it is somewhere in between. That being said, I think you can see the change and why this image is important to the people who live here.
See more about this picture on Mark’s blog page. Also see his Instagram and website.
DAN LANGER
Greetings from Lindsay, Ontario. Below is my submission for this month’s assignment: change. The photo was taken on the grounds of the Gooderham and Worts distillery in Toronto’s Disterilly district. The district has been revitalized with boutique shops and restaurants. There is also a microbrewery. In case you want a refreshment. I was struck by the dichotomy of the new condo building looming over the structures of the distillery that was built between 1859-1861. This contrast is symbolic of the changes in the architecture of the city.
COLIN MAYER
Just a phone shot from my almost daily commute to Sydney CBD or airport, depending on what day of the week it is. Wolli Creek Train Station. All change for Airport, Macarthur, Waterfall , Cronulla, or South Coast services. Perfect, my car is parked at Sutherland, I'll change train here.
See more of Colin’s work on his website.
DENNIS LINDEN
Season, sky, direction, elevation, light.
KELLY MITCHELL
Changing Seasons from Light to Dark
Rippling Shadows through the Mountain sides
Changing the Land from Light to Dark
Racing Clouds across the skies
Changing the Landscape from Summer to Autumn.
See more of Kelly’s work on her website and newsletter.
KAMIL
When summer changes into fall, the colors of nature also will change.
See more of Kamil’s work on his Instagram.
EWAN MCNEILL
Canoeing is a particularly good way to explore the Scottish lochs as it gets you away from the midges and you can carry as much as you want without any concern for weight. One of the islands has a tree on it, where everybody hammers coins into the trunk.
ANDREW BOSIER
I have do a photo a day when the old garage was demolished, we used to use it to store buses, engines and other equipment. The image was taken on my phone but showed it coming down.
See more of Andrew’s work on his website.
JEFF SMERALDO
I recently got a macro lens (from MPB of course!) so I have been doing small photowalks around the house, my friend’s barn and looking at things on the small scale. I was doing some yard work and cleaning up the hosta beds and noticed this leaf going through change as Sumer slips into autumn that I thought would be good entry for this month. Thanks as always for creating a great place to display our work.
See more of Jeff’s work on Instagram.
MARK CHRISTENSEN
This isn't the most interesting or compelling image I've ever made by a long shot but these three Shaolin Monks not only stuck out walking through our neighborhood but made me think of change. The change came first in the fact that their attire seems to not have changed much at all from when I would see men like this when I was a kid, but look at the ears of the middle and left monk, they're both listening to bluetooth speakers. They've got earbuds in! Talk about change. Also, a change happened in me directly related to your podcast. Had it not been for the motivation of your guest Gabrielle Motola, I would have never stopped to ask these men to let me make a portrait of them. I would have noticed the earbuds and the monks and just kept on driving. But this time I stopped, I asked, they didn't understand so I had to use hand gestures and showed them my camera and this was the result. I'm going to continue trying to ask people to let me make portraits and see where this leads me.
See more of Mark’s work on his website.
