General Information
During the year 2000 D J Clark built a visual record of the Lancaster &
Morecambe district using photographs and information submitted by those that
feature in the pictures. The project was conducted in association with Lancaster
Museum and has been archived for future generations to look back at the district
at the turn of the new Millennium. For more information on the project visit
the information page. If you find a caption is
wrong or there is a fault with the page please e-mail D
J Clark.
Date:
February 8th 2000
Location: Various Locations
Photographer's Diary
8th February - Lancaster Guardian
I suppose I should not have been surprised at the size and mess of the guardian office, I had worked in many similar press offices over the years. This was different though, it was my local paper, with the spacious well decorated reception. Louise Bryning the deputy editor met me and gave me a quick tour. The paper was traditionally positive, but had recently been fighting bad circulation and had taken on a more critical stance to compete with the Citizen, a free paper becoming more popular with the local community.
I was keen to photograph the paper as it had always appeared as the one thing that tied the community together. We didn't go to church on mass anymore or meet in the local pub on a Thursday. The one place that seemed to tie the community together was the columns of the Lancaster Guardian. It was here Lancaster met and made local gossip. But as the other meeting places had disappeared so the paper was under threat. Media is changing and the future of the printed word is unclear.
I spent little time in the office. There was little there other than computers and people. I went to shoot the editor. Danny Lockwood was relatively new to the paper and brought in to boost circulation. He came across as a salesman happy to help out but not the sort of person you would trust too far. I took his picture and left.
Returning an hour later I accompanied Sue Riley (who had recently been writing about my project) to the Police Station. Scotforth Post office had been attacked by an armed gang who had tied up the Postmaster - a Mr Miller (who I knew having photographed his daughters wedding) and his wife and made off with "thousands of pounds". We waited for 10 minutes in a greenhouse like reception area and then were escorted through the corridors of the Station to the canteen where a short press conference was held. Journalists from the evening post, citizen, Morecambe Visitor plus work experience, sat and took notes. The mobile phone of the officer giving the conference kept going off and was answered while the journalists took a break from scribbling.
I retired again later to follow a photographer and reporter out in the streets asking shopkeepers about their ideal Valentine. It was fun, and made some interesting pictures. Darren the photographer agreed to show me around the Photo dept in Morecambe. Lancaster and Morecambe Newspapers was one company owning all the major local publications from which a team of photographers worked.
The office was spacious and well equipped. I watched a photographer develop a film and scan it onto the main network. It was only a few years ago when they were still printing black and white pictures to be cut and pasted onto the paper. I imagine it won't be long before digital cameras will call an end to chemical process all together.
I looked around the Sub Editors room. The bastards had been chopping my pictures for fun but nothing I could do seemed to persuade them to stop. A few pictures, then I was in the car and heading home. The 4 mile journey took me almost an hour in pre rush hour traffic. I got so bored I took some pictures.