Blackpool recomendations

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stupar

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Hi there,

The wife and I are going down to Blackpool next week and I've decided to take my whole kit and caboodle.
can people recommend worthwhile things to shoot whilst I am down there?

Cheers!
 
You will probably see a few floating turds along the prom, maybe try and catch them but you will need a fast shutter speed. haha :lol:

Lytham and St Annes are supposed to be nice.

Head up the tower for a good view, and stand on the glass bottom floor if you dare!

I hope the weather holds up for you mate.
 
It's a shame you will miss the Illuminations Switch on on Friday 3rd Sept.
http://www.blackpool-illuminations.net/

Obviously you have the piers and Blackpool Tower, trams etc. Perhaps you could do the fairground lights in the dark at the pleasure beach. Plenty of good actions shots there in the day too.

Annual Jigsaw Festival no less! http://www.blackpoolevents.co.uk/august-events-blackpool.htm

I've not been there in a good long time though.

You can probably see some good fights too at night ;)
 
And I know it sounds daft but simply typing Blackpool into Google Images pulls up a good variety. I'm not sure on the best place to look for specific events though.
 
There is the UDO dance contest on at the winter gardens with diversity, twist and pulse from xfactor and some other well known acts thats on 27th to 30th.

Also you could visit lytham hall free to go around the grounds, hall only open sat or sun i think.

Take alook here: http://www.visitlancashire.com/site/things-to-do

hope this helps

Gaz
 
The Tower?
Deck chairs?

or both...:)

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A walk up and down the Golden Mile will take a good few hours, plus there is the Pleasure Beach. If you dont go in (which cost a min £5) you limited to around the outside. But you can still get lucky...

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Don't forget Fleetwood too.
If you go in the Tower the Ballroom is worth a look.

HTH :cool:
 
Unfortunatly they are doing work on the tower and part is covered with scafolding. The ballroom is getting a new roof so work is being done in there.
Head down to Lythm and stand on the dunes outside the old pontins/butlins place and get photos of the planes at the airport.

I went for the airshow the other week and honestly can't see how people go there and spend more than 12 hours in the place, don't forget the bank loan to pay for everything chips and peas twice £5.10 WTF
 
It's been quite a few years (best part of twenty) since I visited Blackpool, I spent one day in the area. It's not photogenic in any sense - if street photography is your area of interest then it will probably suit; aim to visit the pleasure beach and the markets, the beach and pier should also provide an abundance of suitable subjects.

Steer clear of the Cenotaph at night, it seems to attract the dregs of society if recent reports are anything to go by - BBC News

Having been once, it's not a place that I would choose to visit again.
 
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The dunes on the way to St. Annes have some fantastic buildings in there. (I think one was an old mental home turned into flats, impressive anyhow...). The deserted pier at St. Annes is very good and routinely on a sunday there's a classic car show on by the pier there, lots of american muscle cars, old jags etc.

Further down there's Lytham with a windmill (if you like that kind of thing? :) ) and some nice beach scapes (the front there empties out at low tide leaving boats on the bare sand)

And in blackpool there's plenty of stag and hen do's, often see some sights worth capturing (if you're brave enough) over there ;)

ETA there's a new structure in the town centre, can't remember what its called but very contemporary and it plays music through speakers, nice at night if you can get it deserted...
 
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stupar said:
can people recommend worthwhile things to shoot whilst I am down there?
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Tourists... Oh, you mean with a camera? ;)

If you want to get away from the prom, you could always head to Stanley Park and the Woodland Gardens over the road (next to the zoo). Some nice shots to be had in there.
 
Personally I wouldn't bother with anything on the sea front or within a mile of it. My wife spent many holidays there as a child and since we married (25years next year :help:) we've visited a number of times as she has relatives inland of there. The place is taking a huge nose dive into the mire if you want my opinion. Even the Pleasure beach used to be free to enter, then pay per ride (usually a couple of quid) and that meant non-riders could watch those who do without paying. A couple of years ago they changed it to everyone paid to get in, then pay per ride!! WTF!!!
Last time we visited was two years ago and these were our observations:
  1. Drab run down houses.
  2. Rubbish everywhere.
  3. No decent eateries (not without getting your shots anyway).
  4. Hen and Stag do's at every turn.
  5. The smell!! Horse manure and drains...
  6. Everywhere tries to fleece you rabid.
I could go on but lets just say we won't be going there again. We now stay at a lovey hotel in Blackburn, travel to the "rellys" and take in a match at Ewood Park if time permits.
 
It's not photogenic in any sense
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Depends where you go...











I used to loathe Blackpool, but not since I got my camera! There's a wealth of places to visit and things to see, all within a tram ride.

Lytham St Annes is worth a visit, even if just for a stroll round Fairhaven Lake to photograph the resident wildfowl. It's only a quick trip down to Fleetwood to get the best fish and chips in the world and sit on the beach watching the windsurfers (or whatever they call the crazy people with waterskis and parachutes!)

Stanley Park is always good, as is Blackpool Zoo, which is much improved on how I remember it as a child.

Like all places, it's got its good and bad points, but if you can't find something photogenic in the area then there's really something wrong!
 
Janet S said:
Depends where you go...

[Snip...]

Lytham St Annes is worth a visit, even if just for a stroll round Fairhaven Lake to photograph the resident wildfowl. It's only a quick trip down to Fleetwood to get the best fish and chips in the world and sit on the beach watching the windsurfers (or whatever they call the crazy people with waterskis and parachutes!)

Stanley Park is always good, as is Blackpool Zoo, which is much improved on how I remember it as a child.

Like all places, it's got its good and bad points, but if you can't find something photogenic in the area then there's really something wrong!
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With the exception of Stanley Park and the Zoo; with examples of both available in almost any large town or city within the UK, you have promoted visiting areas outside Blackpool.

Blackpool has a long standing association with beach-side resort entertainment and the evolution of "thrill rides". It has traditionally been marketed as a location for working class families looking for an affordable/cheap getaway for a few days.

In my opinion, that has been to its detriment; times have changed as have social boundaries and classification. Blackpool has been left behind and is now little more than a Mecca appealing primarily to the young looking for Britain's answer to Magaluf - float about tacky shops, markets, pubs and restaurants during the day then get smashed in the evening, taking back to the guest-house, hotel or reasonably dark location anyone equally hammered for the inevitable end of night goodbye event.

I can easily visit more impressive and infinitely more appealing locations within a quarter mile of where I live - I suspect many people can.
 
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Landscape71 said:
float about tacky shops, markets, pubs and restaurants during the day then get smashed in the evening, taking back to the guest-house, hotel or reasonably dark location anyone equally hammered for the inevitable end of night goodbye event.
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You could be talking about any seaside towns up and down the UK....;)

I think Blackpool is changing for the better. They've spent millions on the seafront and the town centre. Its not finished by a long shot, but they have to start somewhere.

Of course, buildings can be fixed with ease, social probelms take generations to sort out. I think Blackpool is heading toward being one of the poorest in the country at the moment. :(

Oh well, at least Blackpool FC are player with the big boys now...:thumbs:
 
When I was still living there, I thought that seemed like the best way to rebuild Blackpool, just burn the lot down and start over. ;)
 
stupar said:
Hi there,

The wife and I are going down to Blackpool next week and I've decided to take my whole kit and caboodle.
can people recommend worthwhile things to shoot whilst I am down there?

Cheers!
Click to expand...

If I found myself in Blackpool the first thing I would shoot would be myself!
 
This year is the 125th Anniversary of the tram system in Blackpool. there are quite a few events and special trams running to celebrate the event. On the 26th September, I think, there is an open day at Rigby rd depot. Wait for the "tramanoraks" to go and if its sunny the old roof gives some interesting light. It is more than likely the depot will be demolished so its worth capturing abit of history. Type in Blackpool 125 on Google and it will give some good links.

I go to Blackpool regulary, dont forget the international fireworks championships in September as well. Ok really I go for the trams and have to agree with an earlier post, avoid the Cenotaph/ north Pier area seems to be a magnate for the local idiots of an evening time
 
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I saw on TV [Mythbusters?] a mini dropped from 3 metres onto a pane much bigger, didn't even come close to breaking.
 
Starastin said:
I know, I was educated by a tv episode :lol: . it's amazing how much weight can it hold.
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Well I was told off by my missus for scaring people by jumping up and down and stamping on it when we were last up there... I'm nearly 16st! :D
 
You should've said "OMG A CRACK! LOOK AT THAT! I MADE IT CRACK!" ;)
 
There's a multi-storey carpark above the Houndshill shopping centre in the centre of town. There are some great roofscapes to be had from there - the old Winter gardens, for example, plus distant shots of the new stadium & the Pleasure beach.
 
Well We are back from Blackpool. A fine place to have fun in but nothing of photographic interest to justify me taking all my camera gear.
To justify having it, these are the best shots I could come up with.

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On the plus side, on our second day I managed to win the wife a 3rd generation Ipod shuffle out of the grab machine in Coral Island :woot:

Anyway, thanks to all those who made suggestions and assisted.

Thanks!
 
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