9 | Double ‘A’ Side

The fine Spring weather has kick started a new year and a new season here on Forty Five.

We are back with a fearless double A Side! This has never been attempted before and it was conducted without the use of a safety net.

Today for the first time we are posting a stereo 45, featuring the work of Richard Lavelle and Postcard Cafe side by side! This is the first time 45 has been conducted by two people, simultaneously from the same locations. The brief and rules of 45 were applied in the normal way and to keep playing field level both cameras were set to auto. No fancy footing here, just the unadulterated pure 45 experience.

On Wednesday 5 April there was a break in the rather fine Spring sunshine to offer us shooting conditions that were a little less than favourable. For the most part the sun remained firmly hidden behind the heavy cloud cover.

45 is intended to challenge photographers and our unpredictable weather can always lend a hand in making things a bit more difficult. Intrepid as we are the cloudy grey day would not hold us back. We headed out from Sheffield railway station.

It was decided not to share our photographs with one another while on the walk. Instead, after completing the 45 and over a coffee we were able to give time to each pair of images. Sharing the 45 experience with Richard was a lot of fun. We both enjoyed the post-walk analysis as much as taking the photographs. I’m pretty sure myself and Richard will be doing another stereo 45 in the not too distant….

And now a word from my co-conspirator…

I have been tinkering with taking photographs for years. I have a big box full of 35mm film shots from various cameras over the years. I took my first digital picture in 2004. It was of a cup of coffee I was drinking in the Shrewsbury branch of Costa coffee. Today I still take pictures of coffee so not much has changed. However, I don’t think I’m to blame for the phenomena where everyone takes an image of every latte art ever frothed. Or maybe I am.

I am lucky enough to be very good friends with the man they call Postcard Café and his inventive approach to the medium and restless quest for capturing a new angle on the world has been an inspiration.

Taking part in my first 45 was a fine way to christen my new Canon G5X and was great fun. Our 45 started at Sheffield railway station and ended alongside the River Don near Blonk Street taking in the cholera monument and Park Hill along the way. The 45 concept is such a superb way to challenge how you take photographs as you have to find interest in what might appear to be the most ordinary of surroundings.

My usual platform for my photographs is Instagram where I twiddle with filters and tweak settings until the original is largely unrecognisable. So posting these unedited images here is a new and revealing experience. Like in a dream when you turn up naked at work.

So here are my 9 shots. I highly recommend giving the 45 concept a go, it’s a nice way to explore an area and challenge the way you see the world through a lens.

Visit Richard and keep up with his work on Instagram HERE

Visit Postcard Cafe HERE and also on Little Bits of Sheffield HERE

That’s quite enough words for now….

Each pair of photographs below were taken simultaneously from the same location. All images are straight from the camera without any post processing. The photograph on the left hand side in each pairing is taken by Richard and the one on the right is by Postcard Cafe.

Click any thumbnail to view the gallery of full size images.