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Every Autumn, and now through to  New Year, Blackpool puts on a fantastic light display that stretches over 6 miles along the seafront and features over a million bulbs. They are, of course, the world famous illuminations and well worth a visit – obviously when it’s dark! They’ve been a fixture here since 1879 and apart from a 10 year gap during and after the Second World War have entertained millions of visitors. If you grew up in the North West they were probably part of your childhood. However just as spectacular is the lightshow created by the biggest natural light we have – the Sun – and this takes place every day of the year. Blackpool, like anywhere on the western coast of the UK gets spectacular sunsets and with an unobstructed vista over the Irish Sea, given the right conditions, is a perfect place to watch the sunset - ideally with a bag of chips in hand. With a choice of 3 piers and a well populated beach there’s plenty of opportunities for some different styles of photography. We both enjoy pushing our cameras to the limit, experimenting with different exposure levels and metering settings. With the right approach even a bright sunny day can be transformed into a moody, sepia-toned, silhouette-heavy landscape. Add in a setting sun and some foreground interest like people, water or even the piers themselves and the results can be spectacular. So, whilst the Illuminations brighten up the dark skies for several months in the year, get there before it goes dark, look out to see and watch nature’s own spectacular light show.

May saw us at the Spring Transport Show at the British Commercial Vehicle Museum in Leyland. Not a planned visit and definitely not on our radar, but thanks to an invite from our our steam, train, engine, bus loving cousin Phil (you can find him on youtube @philquine ) off we went. I was so interested (Viv) I didn't even take my camera, but how wrong can you be! Phil the expert in visits like this, met us bright and early when the car park had very few vehicles on it. We always follow his advice! Once again I was thinking there was definitely no need for my camera (which was in the car) although there were a few nice buses and lorries, but the sky was beautiful and the vehicles were all really interesting. One of the problems of being a photography couple is when you have to share one camera! Someone always has it when the other one wants it so eventually (many, many years ago) we invested in another so we could photograph in peace! (probably saved our marriage!!). It's been a long time since we had to share, but thanks to my camera being in the car (which was my choice!) it soon became apparent that it was either squabble all morning over who was having the camera or it was time for a walk to the car! Best decision ever! By now the car park was full of lots of glorious, gleaming trucks as well as cars, bikes and all sorts of things on wheels. And, as a bonus (particularly for me who loves rusty, old dilapidated things!) there were lots of old and tired looking things (definitely not Chris and Phil!) to photograph too and some nice retro type close-ups on offer. Never sure whether something that needs a bit of TLC or gleaming paintwork looks better? I like both! A vintage Chevrolet reversing So now I find I'm a bit obsessed with vintage cars and desperately looking for the next event we can attend! (Don't worry our resident expert Phil will keep us informed!). And after we'd posted our favourite photos on our insta account ( married_with_grown_ups ) one of our lovely insta artist friends (surname Leyland!) decided she wanted to paint a few, so we now have a beautiful piece of art waiting to hang on our wall. Thank you Kay! (you can follow her artwork on insta @kay_leyland )

I'm sure you know and love (or hate!) Gerry Marsden's wonderful song 'Ferry 'cross the Mersey'. Released by Gerry and the Pacemakers all the way back in 1964 it's become one of those songs etched in peoples memories, evoking a time and a place and telling the story of the Mersey ferries criss -crossing fthe Mersey on a daily basis. The Mersey Ferries explorer cruise is a great way to spend an afternoon , particularly for photographers, as it skirts both sides of the river offering great views (and shots!) of the iconic Liverpool skyline on one side and everything from beaches to shipbuilders, towns and ferry ports on the other. On a sunny day it is the most relaxing way to pass an hour with your family and friends (that's you Jan and Nick!) and there's a bar and food on board! In addition to the explorer cruises during the year Mersey Ferries run a variety of themed cruises from Eurovision to birdwatching, disco to photography. In 2024 we took the Liverpool Bay cruise - three hours out into the bay with commentary and live music from a shanty band. We loved it - the views in the sunshine were perfect and that moment when the ferry turned around out in the bay and you realised how far you had travelled was breathtaking. Warm sun on the way out, freezing cold wind on the way back, great views, good company and an arrival back into Liverpool with another great song - The Leaving of Liverpool. Crosby beach and the statues, Seaforth docks, Evertons new stadium, wind turbines, New Brighton, birds, seals, a shipwreck and even a dolphin! It was great! Although for us the weather was good, but apparently the previous cruise had been in torrential rain and wind and everyone including the band was instructed to remain seated for the full 3 hours! Think we were lucky! In the past they have run special cruises to view other big ships arriving at Liverpool - Prince of Wales, QE2, Queen Anne on her naming ceremony and more. Due to commitments - work and otherwise - we have never been able to take one so imagine our delight when in May 2025 the stars aligned! Cunard's newest ship the Queen Anne (which had had her naming ceremony in Liverpool the previous year and guess what? we were busy!) was due to arrive in the port to celebrate Cunard's 183rd birthday and we were free! The weather had been glorious for weeks, the Queen Anne is a beautiful ship and we got to sail along the river at night. Wonderful! Now we all know life has a habit of throwing obstacles into your plans and sadly obstacle number 1 was a city tragedy taking place the day before at the celebrations for Liverpool winning the league. The Queen Anne celebrations were scaled down a little in respect, but we still witnessed the arrival of Princess Anne complete with a band accompaniment although she didn't hang around long walking quickly up the gang plant thanks to obstacle number 2 - the weather! After weeks of hot, sunny, blue skies the weather that day was dark, windy, cold and very, very wet. The perfect night to sail the Mersey. Thankfully despite getting a soaking throughout the day the evening started off dry. The cruise was supposed to be to view the boat and accompany her as she left Liverpool at 8 that night, but here comes obstacle number 3...for some reason (possibly the tides) the departure time was changed to midnight. Our cruise now became a 3 hour relay race going up and down the Mersey. This actually wasn't any problem at all. The views changed almost every minute thanks to some very erratic weather - fog, rain, sunshine - we had everything! And of course as the sun began to set the views of both sides of the river were like a photographers dream! We both had our cameras and spent the whole time taking hundreds of photos. But the best bit? After the sun had gone down the ferry turned and the lights on the Queen Anne had been turned on. Magical, beautiful it is hard to describe just how amazing it was. Dark skies, the glow of the ship and the iconic liverpool buildings behind it. Well worth the wait! The last obstacle of the day? How to fit a 113,000 tonne ship with 3000 guests (many who were out on their balconies waving as we passed for about the hundredth time!) in your shot or video, but think we managed OK do you?

Have you ever noticed how some things just explode on social media? Not posts that go viral just things that everyone wants to capture. Your feed will be full of photos and videos of exactly the same thing - same view, same shot. So how do you find some originality? During the autumn of 2024 and early part of 2025 The Design Museum in London hosted Tim Burton's travelling exhibition 'The World of Tim Burton'. We love his work so much that we had been tracking the exhibition world wide for the past 10 years and hurriedly got on the pre-sale list when we heard it was stopping in London. We bought tickets to coincide with our wedding anniversary in March, so by the time we went we had seen reels and YouTube videos, walk throughs and photos of almost every item in the exhibition. I suppose you shouldn't look but sometimes you see things before you realise what they are and almost everything these days from film endings to Strictly results is spoiled by someone who feels the need to share it. But we all keep scrolling... So we didn't take our cameras and had no plans to video - we thought we would just enjoy the experience, but when I got inside all I could see in my photographic brain was portrait shots of some of my favourite characters in model form! And much smaller than expected! Almost everything I like in a portrait - expressive features, big eyes and real characters! And unlike real models, kids and dogs they don't move! Here's some of my favourites - see who you recognise! And my favourite? And I'm sure you might recognise these two...

Every artist needs a muse or a guinea pig, whichever you prefer! Someone you can trust to bring an equal passion and creativity to any idea that's currently in your head! Someone you trust and someone who shares your enthusiasm and it helps if they're also a good friend. Now one of us loves portrait photography (big clue its not Chris!) and having tried the usual routes of weddings, families and even cake smashes (won't be doing them ever again!) I didn't really find any satisfaction in what I was achieving. I was looking for something more creative, more arty so time to go and find inspiration! I love shadows and creative uses of light and my favourite portraits are by photographers who achieve emotion and drama in their portraits, bringing out the personality of the subject. Thankfully I have within my circle of friends the perfect person to try and achieve these aims. A sports person who is the master of 'posing' and, having worked together on a wide variety of creative projects and events, we can intuitively work together towards the same goal. Studio or outside, gel light filters, creative lighting we've tried them all. We are both pleased with all the results, but I know I have much more to learn and explore and there are more than a few portrait photographers on insta who I will learn from, but in the meantime what do you think? And these two? Well they are AI Photoshop experiments - frighteningly quick to do and scarily realistic. Just need to watch for odd hands! So big thanks to my muse/guinea pig for all her time and support - oh and sometimes the dogs come too!

At the end of last year we were delighted to be chosen to be Mag North's featured North West photographers of 2024. Selecting our 12 favourite north west photos of the year for the feature, led to a surprising (but not very exciting!) discovery! We had hardly any photos of our local area! Now it is a known fact that most people 'travel' for days out and almost ignore their local attractions - not that Wigan really has any! But in the interests of supporting our local town, which has many interesting places and features and isn't just pies (as some people seem to think!) we decided we had better put that right. When we first started Married with Grown ups back in 2016 one of our aims was to highlight the beauty and history of all our local northern towns (which are mostly ignored as tourist destinations) with the aim of maybe producing a guide. We used to plan walks around our local towns - Bury, Bolton, Salford and of course Wigan, spending many happy hours creating the routes, videoing, photographing and collating, but as it so often does, life (and covid) took over and we stopped mid project moving on to something else -as is the pattern of our life! Restless souls. One of our first walks to a ruined bridge in Standish. Another oldie from an area of Manchester which is now vastly different! So one sunny, blue sky morning in May we decided to just take the cameras out on a whistlestop tour of Wigan. Good for your health and more importantly your soul we managed to visit lots of features of what is a great northern town and didn't even stop for a pie! Although I think we had a few mintballs!

Have you ever encountered the pelicans in St. James's Park, London? It's more than a little unsettling when they approach as you stroll through the park, but they make for fantastic iconic photos when they cross over to Horseguards Parade. I'm sure the ones we met were deliberately posing for shots! The pelicans have been in the park since 1664, a gift from the Russian Ambassador. They spend their days lounging on their favourite rocks in the middle of the lake (hopefully in the sunshine!). Despite being free to roam they hang around the rocks the majority of their time and just occasionally cause great excitement if they wander around the park and beyond. Just be warned they like to sit on park benches next to picnicking visitors - can't think why can you - and maybe cause a park pelican picnic panic?

We were up and out early to beat the crowds and see the brand new Amphitheatre for a Tree in Wigan's Haigh Woodland Park. From the creative minds of renowned international artists Al and Al (sadly no longer involved in the project but leaving behind a lasting legacy) it is a wonderfully striking piece of art inspired by an 18th century painting of Sir Roger and Lady Bradshaigh. Haigh Woodland Park had big plans involving Al and Al and like many other local people we were looking forward to our own version of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park or something similar. This is the first of the artist's plans to come to fruition, but many of their ideas will no longer be achieved after they were removed from the project by Wigan Council. Whatever the future may now hold for the park, we love the new feature particularly the use of reclaimed bricks and stones around the area. It is a fascinating piece of art and definitely well worth a visit. If you've never been, Haigh Woodland Park has cafes, shops, playgrounds, golf (normal and crazy!) and lots of walks and beautiful parkland. Definitely a place you need to visit!

I’m sure that if you know Liverpool’s Crosby beach at all it is for the striking art installation by artist Antony Gormley which moved to the beach back in 2005 and thankfully is now a permanent addition to the coastline.  Another Place consists of 100 cast-iron, life-size figures based on the artists body spread out along three kilometres of the beach and almost a kilometer out to sea. The figures stand on the beach, looking out to sea, staring at the horizon whilst they naturally weather - changing colour and attracting nature including barnacles, greenery and a constant stream of dogs who seem to like the smell of them very much! ​ We love Another Place. Every time you visit the photo opportunities change – the skies are different, the tide from the River Mersey could be anywhere (and please read the warning signs before you go wandering out too far), a very active shipping lane could bring you anything from the regular Isle of Man and Ireland ferries, cruise ships to occasional ships from the Royal Navy fleet and everything in between! At the Waterloo end you have the docks adding more excitement to your photos and people. There are always lots of people and personally I think they enhance your photos so much adding a definitely LS Lowry feel to your shots! You might be able to tell we really love Crosby beach and visit often, so consider how surprised we were to find out that if we walk further up the beach there is a very poignant and unusual part that we knew nothing about. Anyone who knows about Liverpool’s wartime history will know that it was bombed relentlessly in World War 2 thanks to its proximity to the River Mersey and its large port. Liverpool was also the base from which the Battle of the Atlantic was run. Now at this part of the story it begins to get very personal for me. All my family are Liverpool born and bred although thanks to my Dad’s job me and my sister were both born in Manchester and our part of the family never returned to Liverpool. Anyway, both sides of my family experienced the horrors of WW2 Liverpool with my Dad’s family closely experiencing two bombs which thankfully were just far enough away not to cause any damage to them – although one blew my Grandie up the hall as he opened the door to find out what was happening (one of those stories we were all bought up on- I’m sure you have them too!). My Mum’s Dad was a merchant seaman serving on ships which were responsible for bringing in much needed food and supplies to the country. He was torpedoed twice during his service once turning up on his doorstep dressed in someone else’s clothes with nothing else as everything had gone down with the ship. Both of my parents remember seeing the bomb damage surrounding the city, streets lost, houses just rubble. At the start of May 1941 Liverpool was bombed relentlessly for 8 days. 1,900 people were killed, 1,450 seriously wounded and 70,000 made homeless…. in just 8 days. 8,000 out of 17,000 houses were destroyed or damaged in just one area of the city, Bootle. Liverpool, like many other towns and cities in many other countries were left with tonnes of rubble from derelict streets and houses and churches. At some point the decision was made to move the rubble to shore up the coastal defences in Crosby and create what is one of the most poignant and moving beaches we have ever visited. Nothing prepares you for the rubble stretching along the coastline. Decades old, worn and smoothed by the tides of the Mersey, bricks, masonry, tiles, parts of peoples lives and probably even deaths all piled up with the River Mersey washing over them each day. Tiles from houses still brightly coloured, parts of churches which remain recognisable and grand and apparently (although we didn’t see this) there are parts of gravestones scattered around. ​ In Chris’ words… ” The effects of the sea and tide over 80+ years has created a unique landscape - man made but now gradually becoming naturalised and shaped by the elements. All shapes and sizes and all with a story to tell, a place that's poignant and completely fascinating that's prompted us to do some more research into the history of the place and what you find there. It's also somewhere that, despite temptation is most definitely a place we should leave as we found it for nature to continue to do what it does.” So, take a trip out to Crosby. Park by the Coastguard building and go down to the beach. Turn left and you’ll see the Antony Gormley’s stretching all the way to the docks. Turn right, watch your footing and wander among the rubble of people’s lives destroyed by war. A moving and thought-provoking experience. ​ 'Way back in the forties, the world had went mad Mister Hitler threw at us everything that he had When the smoke and the dust had all cleared from the air...' ​ In My Liverpool Home Peter McGovern You can read more about the bricks and the statues just click below...

Manchester's Flower Show has a long history dating back to the 1950s when it took place in Platt Fields. It ran until 2003 when it was given a rest, which turned into a 15 year break. We first visited back in 2019 when the city streets, shops and restaurants were filled with flowers and floral based activities. Wonderful. Now as we all know the following year along came a certain virus, which put a stop to the show just as it was getting re-established. Shows were held in the following years, but it took us until 2025 to find the time to go back to find the whole show on a much, much smaller scale. There were still street floral tableaus and some real beauties, but the overall feel of the show was much reduced. I imagine the cost of taking part has skyrocketed in this world of high prices and low availability. It was still an entertaining way to spend a morning, but nothing like the grand scale it once was. Hats off to all the business and organisations who did take part, it definitely bought people into the city and hopefully they spent some time and money while they were there. Our favourite? The wonderful digital ceiling inside the old Printworks building...

Wigan Pier. You’ve probably heard the name. Famous for its industrial roots, literary fame (thanks, George Orwell!), and being the punchline of countless music hall jokes. But what do you picture when you hear the name? A grand pier stretching into the Leeds and Liverpool Canal? Barges moored up, maybe a helter-skelter and a few fairground stalls for good measure? Well, prepare to be surprised. Navi the German Shepherd for scale before the current (possible) redevelopment started. Wigan Pier began life as a simple loading jetty on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, built during the Industrial Revolution to transfer coal from the bustling mining and textile town of Wigan. When the UK’s mining industry collapsed in the 1980s (cheers, Maggie Thatcher), all that remained were echoes of the past—mills, slag heaps, a single pit head gear, and of course, the now-iconic Wigan Pier. Today, the pier sits in an area that’s seen several waves of redevelopment—some completed, some not, and some... well, who knows whats going on? It’s also the main walking route to Wigan’s Brick Stadium and, fun facts, we danced away many a night in the iconic (long gone) Wigan Pier Nightclub and it’s where we got married back in 1989! These days I'm sure many people stroll past the actual pier without even realising they’ve encountered the legendary Wigan Pier. On a good day, it’s a photographer’s dream. The original warehouses still stand (possibly mid-redevelopment—again, who knows?). Bridge 51 offers fantastic views—especially if, like us, you have a soft spot for canal bridges (well any bridges!). Just beyond it, you’ll find a lock system, charming canal-side cottages (still lived in—so no garden hopping!), and Trencherfield Mill, home to the huge original steam engine that once powered the entire mill. Sadly, it’s been closed for years, with its future uncertain. The canal itself on calm days is perfect for reflection shots. There’s even a headless miner statue (courtesy of some local vandalism), and you’ll often spot a canal boat or two making its way to somewhere a little more exotic than Wigan—though that’s not hard! And the pier? We think it makes a great photo. Hope you do too. (just make sure you don’t fall in!)

Thinking about the passing of time a lot recently - maybe its age who knows? As photographers there are certain times of the year we love - spectacles of nature, annual events, blossoms and signs of the seasons changing, all which we love to photograph. As January arrives, usually bringing grey skies and bad weather, we eagerly await (like many other people) the arrival of the snowdrops - the first sign of spring approaching. Snowdrops, otherwise known as their scientific name 'Galanthus nivalis' the 'milk flower of the snow', the tiny little flowers, which despite looking so fragile, battle their way through frozen ground each year producing carpets of white to admire and photograph! We have tried many times to grow the beautiful little flowers in our garden, but have never been successful. Someone once told me that they are a delicacy to squirrels and we do have the occasional grey squirrel visiting the garden, so maybe they have taken them home as a family treat every year! Thankfully, we are lucky to live close to some spectacular winter gardens, which, if you visit at the right time of year, become a sea of tiny white flowers. This year we paid a visit to the National Trust's winter garden at Dunham Massey and were delighted to find snowdrops everywhere and even some early narcissus poking their heads up! There was many a fellow photographer crouched down trying to capture that perfect shot - when you reach our age you can still get those low down shots, but you might need help getting back up! Thankfully we're a twosome, so one can always pull the other up as long as we remember to coordinate our crouching! And as you try to capture that perfect shot, it invariably attracts attention with other non photographic visitors stopping to see what you are doing and offer advice. This year we met a lovely couple of ladies who travel the country on snowdrop tours and advised us where we should visit to see even more of the lovely flower. Lytham Hall and Rode Hall were just two of their recommendations and both local to us. Of course we didn't find time to visit this year - partly because the weather was so awful and partly because we are not too good at time management with all the demands of our family life, but they are on our list for next year (which will be here before you know it!). Now when you've got that perfect shot what to do with it? Thankfully we have a very supportive and popular Instagram account @married_with_grown_ups so that is where our shots usually make their way, but this year something very strange happened... ... a comment appeared on our photo feed asking did we know how unlucky snowdrops are considered by some people? We were really shocked - never having heard this at all, but on further investigation it would appear that these beautiful little flowers have quite a reputation! In many parts of the country it is considered very unlucky to bring a posy of snowdrops into your home as they bring bad luck, even death, into the house. It is even considered unlucky to glance on a single snowdrop and some people believe this is another indicator of death. What a shock! Our favourite little flower has quite a macabre history! Superstitions are hard to dispel particularly ones passed down through families and the history of this one goes a long way back. Are we superstitious - not sure really? Do you walk under ladders, count magpies, keep your shoes off the table? Might have to add snowdrop posies to that list now! We'll just keep photographing them and leave them in the ground! They look better there anyway don't you think? If you know anymore about the snowdrop superstitions let us know! A really fascinating subject to keep us both busy!