Capturing Life at Brick Lane Launderette in 1983
This was the launderette I used when I first moved into a tower block on Old Montague Street in 1982. I wasn’t there as a visiting documentary photographer — I was part of the furniture. Like always, my camera was my notebook and diary. It went everywhere with me.
This photograph was taken with an Olympus XA2 — a marvellous little camera that allowed you to work unobtrusively. It slipped easily into a pocket and never drew attention. For professional assignments I used a single-lens reflex, of course, but the XA2 was perfect for moments like this.
I made ten frames of the couple. During that short time, their mood shifted and they seemed to fall into a disagreement. In the final moments, the young man was left sitting alone, watching the washing revolve in the machine, looking suddenly forlorn.
The launderette — usually a place of waiting, repetition and monotony — was briefly transformed into something intensely private. What began as a public embrace ended in solitary reflection, all within the span of a wash cycle.
It was a fleeting moment, and one I was very pleased to capture. The image has since appeared in several exhibitions, made into a postcard and is included in my book Brick Lane.
You can buy a signed copy of my latest photo book here
In 1983, Brick Lane was very different from its present-day identity as a fashionable destination. When I took this photograph, the UK was in a deep recession and unemployment had risen to around three million. This was the launderette I used at the time; today, it has been converted into a restaurant.
Looking at the image now, it is impossible not to think about the gentrification that has transformed the area and displaced many long-standing residents. Where there were once essential, community-based services, there are now cafés, vintage shops, and curated retail spaces. Brick Lane today is known for street art, markets, and nightlife — a vibrant cultural scene that attracts visitors from around the world.
The launderette stands as a visual record of a pre-gentrified landscape: functional, community-oriented, and economically modest. There are no launderettes on Brick Lane today — but there is no shortage of tourists and ‘digital creators’.
You can buy a signed copy of my latest photo book here
The River Buriganga in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Despite being the recipient of 80% of Dhaka’s sewage and other pollutants the Buriganga river always looks magnificent in spite of its human adversaries. This river featured heavily in the film I made with Hazuan Hashim ‘Going East’.
I took the above photograph in the late afternoon when the light was very diffused because of the smoke pollution—creating a silvery sheen on the water. The haze and smoke created a sense of heaviness.
The people in the foreground boat appear small compared to the industrial backdrop, suggesting a theme of humans versus industrial power.
Brick works and tall smokestacks emit thick, dark smoke that spreads across the sky, forming a heavy horizontal band. The smoke visually echoes the shape of the boats and divides the frame into layers —water below, industry above.
You can buy a signed copy of my latest photo book here
Inside Radio Merseyside With Tony Snell
Yesterday I was at the studios of BBC Radio Merseyside for an interview with Tony Snell about my Liverpool photography book.
After working at Radio City, Tony joined BBC Radio Merseyside in 1997. His popular programme owes much of its success to his deep local knowledge and genuine warmth. As a listener, you feel as though he’s speaking directly to you.
As an interviewee, I was immediately put at ease—it felt less like a broadcast and more like a private conversation.
You can listen to the interview below and view the photographs Tony refers to.
Here are some photos I took following the interview.
You can buy a signed copy of my latest photo book here
Liverpool (125)
You can buy a signed copy of my latest photo book here
