If you want to have a crack at long exposure photography but don’t fancy scouting out your own locations, no worries – because Tomasz Kozak has done the hard work for you.
The local snapper has not only found the best spots in and around Greater Manchester for long exposure captures, he’s also chosen to share them with the rest of the city-region – allowing us to gawp at the north in striking new light.
Listed below are just some of the best spots he’s stumbled across during his travels.
Media City, Salford
Media City / Image: Tomasz Kozak
The Metrolink line running to the Trafford Centre offers a great opportunity for budding night time photographers hoping to capture the lights of passing trams on film.
Head down to Trafford Wharf near the Imperial War Museum to find the best spot, or alternatively try Trafford Bridge – which has some great views across Salford Quays and Media City.
ADVERTISEMENT
Victoria Station, Manchester
Victoria Station / Image: Tomasz Kozak
Manchester’s oldest train station is not short of bright lights and cracking photo opportunities.
Tomasz has taken some wonderful snaps here, but does warn that he’s occasionally been told not to use his tripod in the station – with staff sometimes requiring a permit.
ADVERTISEMENT
The good news is there’s plenty of opportunities to grab some good shots from the outside, too – with the exterior of Victoria Station proving equally picturesque.
M60 Ring Road, Whitefield
M60 ring road / Image: Tomasz Kozak
Looping around Manchester, the M60 passes through most of the outer boroughs with the exception of Wigan and Bolton.
It has a glut of opportunities for long exposure hopefuls, but Tomasz recommends two places in particular near Whitefield.
There are few compositions to be captured around Piccadilly station but Tomasz’s favourite is taken from the rope bridge just outside that stretches over towards the village.
Watch out for camera shake as you shoot, though, because it can get very wobbly as people pass by.
Castlefield, Manchester
Castlefield / Image: Tomasz Kozak
One of the most photographed areas of Manchester for a reason, Castlefield is genuinely one of our favourite places in the city.
ADVERTISEMENT
According to Tomasz, the area’s industrial feel “with many old bridges and constantly passing trams” offer some of the best compositions you can get.
Stockport Viaduct, Stockport
Stockport Viaduct / Image: Tomasz Kozak
If you shoot from the bridge at Wellington Road, you get a really nice composition of Stockport Viaduct in the background – but truth be told there are so many different angles to play with here.
It’s actually one of the more surprisingly scenic spots when the sun goes down.
St Peter’s Square, Manchester
St Peter’s Square / Image: Tomasz Kozak
Metrolink can always be relied on for some good light trails, and they don’t get much better than from St Peter’s Square where you can combine them with the striking architecture of Manchester’s Central Library and Town Hall.
There’s plenty more of these terrific images to feast your eyes upon online.
Manchester’s historic Portico Library secures £6.4m funding grant towards its transformation
Emily Sergeant
Manchester’s Portico Library has secured a whopping £6.4 million grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
In case you missed it, ambitious plans to transform the historic Grade II-listed building on Mosely Street were already unveiled last October… but now, The National Lottery Heritage Fund has announced it is committing £6.4 million of funding towards the project, hoping that the building thrives as the UK’s most sustainable historic library for generations to come.
The grant is being described as a ‘major milestone’ in the approximately £12 million Portico Reunited project.
The Portico Reunited project will look to ‘reunite’ the historic building’s three floors for the first time in over a century, creating a fully-accessible and sustainable cultural library.
Founded all the way back in 1806, The Portico Library played a central role in Manchester’s rise as the world’s first modern city, and since then has been serving as a window into the past and a providing a place of inspiration for anyone who needs it.
The Portico Library has secured a £6.4m funding grant towards its transformation / Credit: Purcell Architecture (Supplied)
Crucially, plans will see a step-free entrance and lift installed to make the library accessible to all.
There’ll also be new exhibition and event spaces introduced as part of the scheme to explore the stories of Manchester’s communities and the city’s heritage. There will a Northern Bookshop, showcasing regional and emerging writers, and independent publishers, as well as a creative Portico Kitchen, which will celebrate the city’s food culture, writing, and history.
A place for school groups, families, and all people to explore Portico’s collection and experiment creatively also forms part of the plans.
Dr Thom Keep, Librarian and CEO of The Portico Library, called the funding grant a ‘landmark moment’ in the Portico’s ‘rich and complex history’, and a ‘huge achievement’ for its staff, trustees, volunteers, and partners.
“Thanks to National Lottery players, we can reunite this extraordinary building and make room for people to discover, learn and create together,” he added.
“We have listened to thousands of people about what the Portico could become, and their ideas and experiences have helped shape these plans.
“Our ambition is a library that belongs to the whole city – a place to discover remarkable collections, question the stories we have inherited, and create new possibilities together.”
Manchester City Council has granted planning permission and listed building consent for the project, and the building is expected to close for construction in late spring 2028 and reopen once again in early March 2030.
Following reopening, the transformed library is expected to welcome around 95,000 visitors each year.
Featured Image – Purcell Architecture (Supplied)
Art & Culture
Iconic Manc movie 24 Hour Party People is set to return to cinemas for its anniversary
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s most iconic movies is set to return to the big screen next month.
Remastered in 4K and returning to UK cinemas to mark 24 years since its original release, Michael Winterbottom’s 2002 biographical comedy drama film, 24 Hour Party People, tells the story of Manchester‘s popular music community from 1976 to 1992 – specifically about Factory Records‘ founder Tony Wilson.
The film begins with the punk rock era of the late 1970s, before moving through the 1980s into the rave and DJ culture, and of course, the ‘Madchester‘ scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The narrative largely follows the career of Tony Wilson, played by Middleton-born actor Steve Coogan, while also covering the careers of the major Factory Records artists – especially Joy Division and New Order, as well as A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, and Happy Mondays.
If you haven’t seen 24 Hour Party People before, it’s a dramatisation based on a combination of real events, rumours, and urban legends, as the film is sure to make clear.
Coogan is joined by a cast by a mixture of big names and, at the time, rising stars like Paddy Considine, Shirley Henderson, Lennie James, John Simm, Ralf Little, Andy Serkis, Sean Harris, John Thomson, and even Peter Kay, alongside cameos from other figures connected to the Manchester music scene.
Before it returns to cinemas, the film will first open music and media festival/conference, Beyond The Music, at MediaCity in Salford on 6 October.
The screening at the festival will also be followed by a Q&A with Coogan, Winterbottom, and producer Andrew Eaton.
24 Hour Party People will then be re-released in UK cinemas from 9 October, and you can check your local cinema for screening times and book tickets online now.
Georgina Pellant -
20th August 2021 
