Having an old world feeling to the city, York has captivated my imagination since I first visited it nearly 10 years ago. The cobbled streets and architecture permeates its history.
The last time I visited York a few years ago, I had walked much of the city wall with a couple of friends of mine. What really caught my eye were the rooftops of houses and buildings.
York is one of those few places that lends itself well to both b&w and to colour photography. However, it seemed only natural to photograph the rooftops in b&w. It was about the geometry and interplay of the rooftops, and gave me a very different view of the skyline of the city.
Regardless of whether it was intentional or not, they rooftops gave a frayed, and yet ordered, edge to the city’s skyline. Walking at rooftop level gave a different view of the city, which is not common to most cities.
Not really at street perspective, but not quite heaven height, it feels like you’re in-between. A bit like a bird, I did have a sense of having the ear of heaven and the view of earth.
The texture of the buildings also caught my eye. The stone and brick buildings along with the slate roofs lend themselves well to nicely textured b&w photographs, and give a sense of York’s history. You can visually feel the photos.