Wirral Arts

Sep 2 2009 by Matt Hurst, Heswall News

DESPITE being repeatedly informed we are in the midst of a digital revolution, photographer Dave Parry is happy to stick with his 35mm film.

The Tranmere-based snapper compares loading his Nikon to “putting on an old pair of football boots”, adding: “I like never knowing what’s going to come out.”

Dave only picked up a camera four years ago after ill health forced his dad, an enthusiastic amateur photographer, to give up the hobby.

He passed his equipment to Dave and since then the 44-year-old has “just gone round Wirral snapping anything I like, the things people don’t notice”.

Dave is particularly drawn to post-industrial scenes and often gets up at dawn to explore the peninsula at its quietest moments.

He said: “I’m known for getting up and going out before dawn, or at night-time.

“I particularly like dawn and just wandering around areas some people would think are strange, but I think are beautiful.

“I love doing it.”

It’s not all been plain sailing though, and on one dawn trip Dave was chased down the street by a man dressed only in underpants and socks.

But the results are worth it.

His pictures carry a sense of anticipation, of readiness for impending activity or of detached reflection.

They carry an implication of something greater, of a life beyond the image that, by implication, is somehow more poignantly contained within it.

And always there is a feeling that something has passed, of regret, and of history.

The use of 35mm certainly seems to add that extra element.

Dave said: “I do feel, to a certain extent, that the digital cameras take away from the artistry of it and I just get a buzz out of using 35mm.

“It’s just me personally, I like never knowing what’s going to come out.

“Eventually I’ll probably have to change because it’s getting quite hard to get film and it’s more expensive, but I’ll stick with it as long as I can.”

l Dave is currently looking for exhibition space and his images are available to purchase.

Call 07901 612764 for details.