Tower and Town, March 2023 (view the full edition)Photographing MarlboroughLocal photographer, Bob Holman, talks about his passion for his work and his views of Marlborough How did my Alleyway series start? Well, a while back, when conducting a 'teaching photography safari' in my fabulous hometown of Marlborough, a student asked me about one of our quaint alleyways. My intention for this 'hidden in plain sight' idea was to show parts of my town in ways that few would have thought. This project has extended to Marlborough Rooftops, Marlborough at Night, Marlborough Unseen and Marlborough Surrounds. Others will follow, I'm sure! All the images in this project are captured on my iPhone - my preferred camera of choice. And although I do have a 'proper' camera, I find that it's never with me! Whereas my phone is always in my pocket. And the best camera is ......... the one that's with you. It's so much easier to quietly and unobtrusively point my iPhone to capture an angle that wouldn't normally be expected of such places. I firmly believe that there are many compelling photographs to be made right outside our front doors. I find very little need to travel far to shoot absorbing and interesting images. I'm a self-taught, retired, hobby and enthusiastic photographer. When Apple started making outstanding cameras, which made phone calls, I began to get much more interested in photography. The iPhone 6 was the start of this, I think in about 2017. My holiday photos started to get a great deal better. 'Snaps' no longer became 'good enough'. And after thousands of photographs (with a massive number of shockingly poor ones still) I slowly learned a few tricks and my photography knowledge increased in leaps and bounds. My photos started to look better. People started to ask me how I achieved a certain look, or how I edited a part of the image, or why I took it from a certain angle. I publish a twice-yearly 'zine featuring my favourite shots in and around Marlborough - available at The White Horse Bookshop and The Food Gallery. And if you would like to improve your photography and meet with like-minded photographers, why not come along to one of our monthly meetings at The Town Hall? Details can be found at https://www.marlborough.photography This is a photography club I founded in 2020, which doesn't have any competitions. It was launched purely to help others to take better photographs. We have regular outings to local venues and have professional speakers come to us and enthuse us in their area of speciality in photography. And there's coffee/tea and biscuits too! Bob Holman |
So, I carried out some investigation to answer the question. What I discovered was a deep history of the naming of these routes radiating from our high street. I was introduced to several other alleyways. Hence, the Marlborough Alleyways project was born. 
And this ridiculously compelling hobby became something so much more. As some readers may know, my preference is to edit my shots to black and white. I often get asked why. The answer is very simple - it pleases me. I now print, frame, and sell my favourite shots - some displayed in The Food Gallery on Marlborough's High Street.