Manchester: Autumn inertia

An endless blanket of thick grey cloud. Barely a breath of wind. Nothing moves or changes.

This is the weather we’ve had on repeat in Manchester and much of the UK recently, as a vast autumn anticyclone settled over us.

Sluggish grey skies tend to put a downer on capturing colourful, active photographs.

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. In my Castlefield neighbourhood, the waterways were so still that reflections were solid and dynamic. Autumn leaves hadn’t been strewn about in the wind.

One morning the gloom descended deeper in the guise of fog, making the local skyscrapers shrouded and eerie.

Do you like the dull calm or prefer your weather to move faster?


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Photographer Mike Osborn flat on the pavement capturing Manchester's skyscrapers.

I lay flat on the ground to see foggy skyscrapers!

Link to mikeosbornphoto's Instagram account

Manchester: Stunning Spring

Spring got off to a spectacular start in Manchester and across the UK.

For three weeks we enjoyed dry, sunny and settled weather thanks to a prolonged period of high pressure.

My local high rise buildings gleamed blue under the sun. The cherry blossom season also flourished.

I took a trip to Dunham Massey south of the city to see the gardens sparkle. What a time to take photographs – and be alive!


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Link to mikeosbornphoto print shop

Link to mikeosbornphoto's Instagram account

Fifty shades of blue

July has been a month of grey clouds and heavy rain here in the UK. There’s been little blue sky and that invigorating, electrifying colour.

I’ve combed back over five years of photographs to bring you this true blue gallery from travels near and far.

The Croatian coast produced a post dedicated to blue back in 2017, while Salford – just a walk away from my Manchester home – can dazzle on a bright day.

Do the blues put you in a good mood? Please share your thoughts below!


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Link to mikeosbornphoto's Instagram account

Manchester summer

July. While southern Europe battled wildfires in intense heat, Manchester and the UK were stuck in a rut of cool temperatures and torrential rain.

Here’s an ode to June, when dry and sunny weather graced this city.

It was an era of warm photography walks in my neighbourhood of Castlefield.

Wearing shorts was the norm, local waterways were still, and the colours on new apartment blocks pinged deep into the long evenings.

What will August bring? Inevitably more worrying signs of climate change which are a huge deal for us all.

How has the weather been with you? It’s less of a banal question these days…


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Link to mikeosbornphoto's Manchester photo shop

Arctic Manchester

How’s the weather where you live today? January has been mostly grey, miserable and sodden here in Manchester.

But in December there was a prolonged blast of frozen weather with bone-bitingly chilly temperatures.

The city turned into a different place, with stellar light throwing out glossy blues, industrial plumes of steam and strong reflections in still waters.

I spent a day with photographer William Perugini on his first visit to Manchester. It was a very cold, productive day filled with Arctic magic.


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Link to mikeosbornphoto's Manchester photo shop