Leeds Minster from the South Bank

Looking across the River Aire
to St Peter-at-Leeds, the Minster Church

Our Christmas Card in 2019

Unlike Lincoln Cathedral which commands the heights of the city and can be seen from miles around, Leeds Minster sits down by the river, even sheltered on one side by Penny Pocket Park and the railway embankment. Nearby you can get a slightly clearer sense of the church (as alongside) but, mostly, there are only glimpses of the tower – stolen views – looking down Kirkgate, for example.

And it’s such a stolen view of the Minster, across the River Aire from Brewery Wharf, which we chose for our Christmas card in 2019 – the lines of converted warehouses leading you to the tower, creating a sense of depth and leaving you in no doubt as to the focus of our interest.

Originally, I’d imagined this image would form part of the series ‘Take a Little Walk With Me’, and I started to post-process it in the series style (the same style which the thumbnail shows) – partly impressionism, partly abstraction. But then a happy accident occurred – the type of mistake which is easy to make in Photoshop (and easy to demonstrate but less easy to describe); white became black, blues and orange appeared.

The mood of the image changed and so did my relationship with it. It stopped representing a casual walk through my memories of the city, minded of times when I've gained strength from its stability. And, instead, it acquired a passion and intensity for the present day. I had an urgency to share it and so it was ideal to be the image on our Christmas card, for friends and family.

Take care

Paddy

December 2019