I took myself off to Berlin a few weeks ago to visit a friend who lives there, and took a few photos of her and a weird open-air karaoke show that we randomly walked into. It was a 6×6 only weekend.

Today I learned about asphalt, bitumen and the difference between motorway surfaces and airport runways when I met project manager Brandi Davey to make some portraits of her for her company’s internal magazine. Some days I love the randomness of my job…

I’ve been taking photos of a live performance by Streetwise Opera – which teams professional opera singers up with the users of homeless day centres around the country. When I was spending time as resident photographer at Manchester’s Booth Centre last year, this was my favourite session of the week and I was sometimes roped into joining in, despite being atrocious at singing. So it was great to be wheeled out by them to take photos today, and to see  a few familiar faces among the cast. I think these quite graphic shots are my personal favourites…I haven’t been able to ponce about in the background like this for quite a while, so it was nice.

Iolanda

“I come from a village 20 miles from Lisbon in Portugal, but I moved to Wrexham three and a half years ago. I came on holiday to visit my partner Luis, who was working here at the time, and his boss ended up offering me a job in his restaurant. For the first three years we lived in Rhos but late last year we opened a café, A Taste of Portugal, in Hightown, together with my brother Fernando. We realised that a lot of Portuguese people here didn’t have anywhere to buy Portuguese products, so thought it would be good idea. We get a lot of local Welsh people in as well, and everyone is really friendly. I think Portuguese people like Wrexham, and Hightown. I love it here. In Portugal it gets too warm, but here I feel I can breathe better. I also love the history. My daughter Kelly is two, and when I was having her people were so kind to me.” – Cristina Carvalho

project gallery here

More here. Two weeks and a terrifying amount of interview transcribing to go

…and it ain’t pretty.

Still, thanks to the Evening Leader for helping me spread the word about my project, even if some people don’t like/get/support it. More images here.

More on this project here. More portraits and transcribed interviews have yet to be added.

“I was born in old Nelson St in 1929, before the flats were built, and my dad had lived in that same house when he was growing up. My parents and brother had to leave when the houses were being demolished in the ‘60s. My mum and dad went to live in the prefabs, God help them, up near the racecourse. It was terrible, they were lovely prefabs but my mum didn’t like it. It was heart breaking.

My husband died 20 years ago but he would have been 89 now. He was from Whitegate and joined the navy when he was 16. He used to come into the pub, The Travellers [Rest], in his uniform and think he was wonderful. It didn’t happen then, but we got together when he came out of the navy, and we got married at St Giles Church.

I wouldn’t like to live anywhere else, only Hightown I think. I’ve got Hightown on my address now and I like that because this is where I belong. That’s how I feel.” – Mary Breeze

Today I started an exciting new project back in Wrexham, my hometown, which will keep me very busy for the next four weeks. I’ve been commissioned by the Oriel Gallery to document and respond to local people’s experiences of their community’s changing landscape – both physically, as some demolition has recently been undertaken – and demographically as the population of the local neighbourhood changes. The work, focusing on the Hightown estate, will be exhibited during the National Eisteddfod, which takes place in Wrexham in early August. This is an amazing opportunity and as always of course a responsibility as local residents entrust me with their stories. Today people welcomed me generously so I’m feeling very hopeful about how the coming weeks will go.