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Frequently Asked Questions
Why take these sort of pictures?
I arrived at the title 17minutes after chatting to Alan, one of the subjects in the "Pictures with stories" gallery. It refers to the ammount of time required for a can of strong lager to take effect on his system.
My Name is Lol Owen. I was born in the 60's and have lived all my life in a small industrial town in the North of England. I have a long held interest in photography and, after an 18 year layoff, decided to start shooting again in late 2005. After a lot of equipment buying and experimenting with different areas of photography I settled on "Street". For the technically minded I use mainly a Nikon F3HP with Nikkor 28mm lens and either Ilford XP2 Super or Kodak Tri X.
I'm based in the industrial north of England in a small town once dominated by mining and heavy engineering.
I have thought long and hard as to why I shoot the things I do, and in truth there is no simple answer. People such as Alan or Grandad stir up strong feelings against the system that condemns a man to sleep in old buildings or in the woods. Graffiti reveals much of the state of the world we live in, increasingly it becomes more defiant or aggressive. Mis-spelt signs or notices amuse me, not in a superior way but as a realisation that in one of the wealthiest economies we still produce adults with sub-standard skills. Years ago I ate in a cafe advertising "chilly and rice", I didn't order any. Old buildings are a link to our past, which in truth most of us would rather visit than the future because it is safe, warm and invariably remembered as being better than it really was. As to the rest, well it seemed a good idea at the time.
All the prints on this site are available in the first instance for non-commercial uses at a cost of £25 including carriage for UK residents. Overseas customers please contact me for carriage prices. The preferred method of payment is PayPal, it's safe, secure and free for the customer. If you prefer not to use PayPal drop me a line using the Contact button, include your name, address and picture reference or description including the page it appears on. I will reply asap with payment instructions and a delivery estimate, which is usually 10 working days from receipt of cleared funds to allow for processing time and posting. As standard all prints are 9x6 inch inkjet prints on A4 archival matt paper using a dedicated black and white inkset. Other sizes and finishes are available by negotiation on price and delivery.
For commercial usage rates will be determined by intended use.
Any other questions
For any other questions use the "Contact" option on the main page and drop me a line, I promise to answer as soon as I possibly can, usually same day.