Buses and books

I try to follow Niall McDiarmid's blog on Tumblr but I often miss a few days. Luckily I spotted the announcement that a second book was imminent so I've been checking to make sure I didn't miss out. Having placed my order it's safe for me to let my reader(s) know that Via Vauxhall is now available to pre-order!

Having enjoyed Niall's previous book, and having seen a number of photographs from this project, I'm looking forward to receiving my copy.

It seems like there's a bit of a thing in the UK for bus centred photography. Tom Wood's All Zones Off Peak is out of my price range, but George Georgiou's recent Last Stop is tempting. Maybe the subject appeals to me because I spent a lot of time on buses as a student and took photographs of my own in bus stations and even on buses?

Bus stations are places where people gather with a common purpose of travelling, but are often preoccupied and oblivious to everyone else. There's also something about the functionality of bus stations that suits photography - not least the now listed Preston bus station which I am far from alone in having photographed. The three photos below were made circa 1979/80 in the now 'redeveloped' bus station in Southport. I wish I'd made more of them, but at the time the place was somewhere that would always be there. Just like everywhere. We assume nothing will change, although it inevitably will. Reason enough for recording any of the everyday places we visit.

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