Exposure Leeds, a photographic society, held a photo walk on 17th November at Sunny Bank Mill in Farsley, Leeds.
The photo walk was a Joint Event with the hosts Sunny bank Mill, with the hope of involving local people along with Exposure regulars. Learning a bit about photography and the social history of an important and prominent Building in Farsley.
The Mill owners are keen on promoting Farsley and also getting some interesting images and story's for the community web site, "Farsley Village". Some of the images will also hopefully be added to the Archive that they are building. The photo walk was a perfect opportunity to record a little of the history of a fascinating mill before it is fully refurbished.
There was a tour of the Mill lead by John Gaunt, whose family have owned the mill for decades. We started down in the Sunny Bank gallery, allowing attendants to gather and muse around the work of Shane Green, the artist responsible for the Calverly Angel.
From
there it was on to the mills archive. This was an absolute treat for
historians and photographers alike. A room full of 200 years worth of
cloth samples filed along the edges and typewriters, telephones,
beautiful cracked leather seats and office and mill equipment displayed
along the length of the room. Next it was on to the Spinning mill and Weaving shed, rooms in which the echos of gentle chatter between the photographers really gave you a sense of the volume of noise and atmosphere that would have filled these rooms over a hundred years ago.
One
member of Exposure Leeds commented on how it's interesting to see
evidence of the remnants of the industrial past mingling with more
modern items. Pieces that have been left, scattered about like little
snapshots of history.
The walk was rounded off with a visit to either the 1912
mill tower or to the Northern Lights studio, which was opened up by Flickr
member Tom, allowing attending photographers to have a fun session playing with
lighting. The 1912 mill tower is an example of what the whole mill will
hopefully look like. At the top the photographers found a room with wall to
wall windows, filling the room with beautiful light with views of Farsley
village and small patches of woodland surrounding.
Seeing the interest and excitement on the faces of the photographers and the amazing photos that have come from the event, it's clear to see that the photo walk was a great success on all counts with people of varying ages and experiences all getting involved and creating some fantastic images. Photographer Simon Cliff said "it was an interesting and rare opportunity to see parts of Farsley that aren't often seen by local residents".
On
Tuesday 27th November 2012 3pm to 7pm, John and William Gaunt, together
with their site Architects and site
Property consultants are hosting an Open Day to launch their "Vision for
the Future" of Sunny Bank Mills. The open day will be held at The
Sandsgate Gallery, Sunny Bank Mills and the display will run until 11th
December. For more photos from the photo walk visit http://www.flickr.com/groups/
For more information on up and coming events in Farsley pay a visit to the Farsley Village website or follow them on their Twitter page.
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