Author: darren

A couple of weeks ago I photographed this year’s UCO Graduation day – well done to all the students and staff for making this a fantastic and memorable day!

 

Please contact Darren if you wish to purchase any of the following images….

[email protected]   OR   [email protected]

 

 

Recently, Oldham Council have asked me to photograph the Civic Centre tower on two occasions. The first was for when it was lit green to commemorate Mawlid Al Nabi – the second (this week) to mark Baby Loss Awareness Week.

Personally, I think Oldham Council should be applauded for marking these occasions and for highlighting them to the residents of Oldham.

Thanks for looking.

Recently I photographed the opening stage of the Tour of Britain in Oldham for Oldham Council.

Amazing crowds and fantastic weather greeted the riders as they rode up the category 2 climb on Grains Road out of Delph.

The below pictures are taken at the top of the climb at Grains Bar and Dutch rider Olav Kooij went on to win the stage which finished on Deansgate in Manchester.

 

The British Weightlifting Championships 2023 took place at Manchester Central last weekend. A fantastic venue for a great event.

I have to admit I haven’t photographed weightlifting since the Commonwealth Games in Manchester back in 2002 but it was a pleasure to record these amazing athletes doing what they do best.

Manchester Central is an award-winning venue in the heart of Manchester and hosts a huge range of events throughout the year.

Enjoy the pictures!

I recently spent a few days in Croatia and made sure I travelled to Split, the country’s second largest city.

I tend to stay away from the beaten track in popular holiday destinations, I usually find the best photographic opportunities – however, sometimes you have to make the best of the tourists that are around!

I would highly recommend a visit to Croatia and especially to Split – an amazing city.

Anyway, just a few of my favourites below… all taken with a Canon R5 and a 35mm f1.8 RF lens (for the photo geeks!)

Oh, and I make a rare appearance at the end!

Thanks for looking…..

 

I recently photographed the amazing Whit Friday Brass band contests in Saddleworth for a client.

I first photographed a Whit Friday contest way back in 1990 at Carrbrook in Tameside when I was starting out my press career.

The contests date back to 1884 when contests were held in Stalybridge and Mossley.

I managed to get to four contests on the beautiful sunny evening… Lydgate, Greenfield, Friezland and Dobcross.

If you’ve never witnessed this fantastic evening, make sure you put it in your diary for next year… it’s the 24th May!!

Thanks for looking.

Just had a welcome break in Lisbon – one of the best cities I’ve ever visited.

Most of you know I don’t do the traditional tourist photo type stuff so here are a few I’m happy with.

 

I’m going to miss the Oldham Coliseum Theatre. It has played a big part in my career over the last 32 years.

I photographed dozens of photocalls for the Oldham Evening Chronicle and I especially loved the panto.

Since starting my freelance career in 2017 I have photographed the pantomime dress rehearsals for the theatre and I’ve always regarded this as my favourite job of the year.

So yes, I’m going to miss it. The town of Oldham will miss it.

I was fortunate enough to photograph the final show ‘Encore’ for the theatre on Friday night last week. It was an emotional evening for the audience who witnessed an historic event in Oldham. The theatre has stood here since 1885 but 138 years later the curtain dropped for the final time.

 

My pictures were used by the BBC, The Guardian and the Manchester Evening News the following day as seen below.

I’ve also put together a selection of photographs taken on the night.

I’ve been looking back at some jobs from a few years ago and found this from 2018.  A fantastic job for a client who was working on St Paul’s Cathedral in London. They were removing the bells from one of the bell towers for refurbishment and I was there to photograph this for them.

I love this style of industrial/ editorial photography and would love to do more. I’m going to publish some similar jobs I did in the days and weeks to come so watch this space!