This blog has been created to assist, and perhaps even inspire, people taking photographs of the city of Liverpool. My aim is to populate the page with tips, techniques, routes around the city, maps, information and of course examples.
I will provide areas for the readers to submit their own images, and from time to time set up challenges such as aiming to replicate a given photograph or capturing a certain event etc.
Below is a map of the city centre of Liverpool.
It is from this map I have plotted the routes on which the guide is based.
To start, let's have a look at some photographs of the various landmarks of the city.
THE ROYAL LIVER BUILDING
The Royal Liver Building is a Grade I listed building located in Liverpool, England. It is sited at the Pier Head and along with the neighbouring Cunard Building and Port of Liverpool Building is one of Liverpool's Three Graces, which line the city's waterfront. It is also part of Liverpool's UNESCO designated World Heritage Maritime Mercantile City.
Opened in 1911, the building is the purpose-built home of the Royal Liver Assurance group, which had been set up in the city in 1850 to provide locals with assistance related to losing a wage-earning relative. One of the first buildings in the world to be built using reinforced concrete, the Royal Liver Building stands at 90 m (300 ft) tall and was formerly the tallest storied building in Europe. The Royal Liver Building is now only the joint-fourth tallest structure in Liverpool.
Today the Royal Liver Building is one of the most recognisable landmarks in the city of Liverpool and is home to two fabled Liver Birds that watch over the city and the sea. Legend has it that were these two birds to fly away, then the city would cease to exist.
(Information taken from Wikipedia)
LIVERPOOL ANGLICAN CATHEDRAL
Liverpool Cathedral is the Church of England cathedral of the Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool and is the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool but it is dedicated to Christand the Blessed Virgin. The total external length of the building, including the Lady Chapel, is 189 metres (620 ft) making it the second longest cathedral in the world; its internal length is 146 metres (479 ft). In terms of overall volume, Liverpool Cathedral ranks as the fifth-largest cathedral in the world and contests the title of largest Anglican church building alongside the incomplete Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City. With a height of 100.8 metres (331 ft) it is also one of the world's tallest non-spired church buildings and the third-tallest structure in the city of Liverpool. The cathedral has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.
The Anglican cathedral is one of two in the city. The other, the Roman Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral of Liverpool, is situated approximately half a mile to the north. The cathedrals are linked by Hope Street, which takes its name from William Hope, a local merchant whose house stood on the site now occupied by the Philharmonic Hall, and was named long before either cathedral was built.
(Information taken from Wikipedia)
LIVERPOOL SKYLINE AT DAWN
One of the best vantage points to photograph Liverpool is from the opposite side of the river on the Wirral. The photograph above was taken at around 6.45am in September near the Woodside ferry terminal. The nearest train station is Hamilton Square, just a couple of minutes from Liverpool's James Street Station, but you can get on any Wirral line train from Moorfields, Lime Street (lower platform), Liverpool Central or the aforementioned James Street.
Even with a standard lens, you can capture the famous Liverpool city skyline, and because of the great viewpoint, panoramas are not just simple to take, but also make a very interesting photograph, as shown below.
