Then and now: Stunning portraits capture England’s ‘great ordinary’ people in 1974… and how they looked 25 years later
- Documentary photographer Daniel Meadows has sought to capture ‘the extraordinary aspects of ordinary life’
- Stunning portraits show people in 1974 and the same people photographed again around 25 years later
- Meadows also portrays the landscape of England then and now, and the work of long-forgotten tradesman
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An evocative series of portraits capturing Britain’s ‘ordinary folk’ in working class communities over a period of 25 years have been brought together in a stunning new collection.
A group of bootboys are among the ‘great ordinary’ captured by documentary photographer Daniel Meadows, who has sought to showcase ‘the extraordinary aspects of ordinary life.’
One of Britain’s foremost photographers, Meadows has worked since the 1970s authentically capturing everyday Britain.
Meadows ran a free portrait studio in Manchester’s Moss Side in 1972, before travelling some 10,000 miles making a national portrait from his converted double-decker bus, the ‘Free Photographic Omnibus’.
From his encounters on the road he fashioned the nation’s story – ‘both magical and familiar’ – and has now brought his works together in a stunning new book and exhibition.
Alongside portraits of people, Meadows also portrays the landscape of England then and now, and the work of long-forgotten tradesman such as the engineer for a steam driven cotton mill and the steeplejack.
His book and accompanying exhibition at Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries present pairs of striking portraits taken in the 1970s and again in the 1990s, alongside short films explaining how the pictures came about and what happened next.
1974: ‘The Bootboys’, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, 1974, by Daniel Meadows. From left: Brian Morgan, Martin Tebay, Paul McMillan, Phil Tickle, Mike Comish
1995: ‘The Bootboys’, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, 1995. From left: Brian Morgan, Martin Tebay, Paul McMillan, Phil Tickle, Mike Comish
Michael and Peter McParland, twin brothers from Barrow-in-Furness, are pictured left in 1974 and again in 1995
John Payne, (centre) aged 12, with his friends and his pigeon Chequer. Portsmouth, 1974
Friends Ken Emery and Ed Murphy, from Southampton, pictured in 1974 and again in 2000
Lyn and Stella Brasher, sisters from Hampshire, pictured in 1974 and 1999
Mother and daughter Karen Cubin and Barbara Taylor, from Barrow-in-Furness, photographed in 1974 and 1995
Mary Clarke, from Hartlepool, left in 1974 and right in 1998. One of Britain’s foremost photographers, Meadows has worked since the 1970s authentically capturing everyday British life
Left, Florence Snoad in 1974 and right, photographed some 25 years later, in 1999
Meadows ran a free portrait studio in Manchester’s Moss Side in 1972, before travelling some 10,000 miles making a national portrait from his converted double-decker bus, the ‘Free Photographic Omnibus’. Pictured, The Free Photographic Omnibus on Granada TV’s Granada Reports
- Now and Then: England 1970-2015, by Daniel Meadows and published by The Bodleian Library, is available now. Daniel Meadows: Now & Then, is at the Weston Library, Oxford, until 24 November.