
Urban Megalith – Portrack

I’ve been digging through some of my old images of the South Bank Coke Ovens. I took these around 2015. At the time it barely crossed my mind that within a decade the whole industry would be reduced to rubble.
The conservative government had an opportunity to save the industry and made the deliberate decision not to do so. The conservative mayor who vowed to bring steelmaking back to Teesside has also informed us that ‘a Tsunami’ of jobs are on the way.
This sound piece for Radio explores the Tees estuary – it’s living beings and geography – and highlights the current mass marine die-offs, most likely caused by deep dredging to build a new freeport.
Listen here
Thanks to Murdo Eason
The linked photo appears on Mick’s old blog, his current blog can be found here
I had the pleasure of chatting about our current exhibition to Dave Robson of Zetland FM. Interview starts at around 2:20:00
Carl Mole and I had planned to walk from Kirkleatham to South Gare. On the morning of the walk the skies were grey and sleat was falling. We changed our plans and decided to take a walk around Coatham Marshes. When we arrived at the frozen marshes the sky was still overcast but we could see blue skies heading our way, by the time we walked out onto the marshes the skies were gin-clear and blue. From a high point we could the snow-capped Pennines on the western horizon and the tower blocks of Sunderland on the coast.
East Scar-Stokesley Scar-Jenny Leighs Scar-Pardon Bank-East Flashes
Leigh Dams-Mill Howl-Millclose Howl-Red Howl-Bydale Howl
Bydale Howl Fox Covert-Grundales-Marske-Long Beck
Gildert Flat-Black Path-Long Flat
Hall Close-Plummers Bank-Saltburn
As a lecturer of photography at degree level, Jamie Macdonald wanted to create a series of films that would inform, educate and inspire others. Where better to start than with a film about his own father, internationally renowned photographer, Ian Macdonald?