AS winter is fast approaching, a photographer who grew up in Bradford has looked back at images of snowy scenes from the past.
Ian Beesley has shared a number of wintry scenes from sights across the district, taken in the late 1970s and 80s.
The snow-covered locations include the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Saltaire, allotments at Myra Shay, Bradford Moor and Undercliffe Cemetery.
The striking black and white images also feature children enjoying the snowy conditions in Otley Road. Two boys sledging near Tunwell Mills in Eccleshill are also captured.
Grays Fisheries, North Wing, Bradford is also included.
Other wintry locations included in Beesley's latest collection of photographs are Harris Street in Little Germany and the cobbled street of Albert Terrace in Saltaire and Lister Mills.
He also includes an image of a snicket in Bolton Road, raising the 'do you call it a snicket or a ginnel or something else?' debate.
Beesley said: "It's the stereotypical picture of the north, of cobbled streets.
"I like bad weather for photography, it's really good.
"It's only a short day this time of year. In Yorkshire, we can have all of the four seasons in one day.
"Bradford is a big bowl, it does really interesting weather changes. At Queensbury, it is pretty high, and Undercliffe as well, you get snow, but on the same day in Bradford city centre, there might not be any.
"I've always been interested in what people like to describe as a snicket, ginnel or back passage. The picture at Bolton Road is a perfect example of a snicket. It's got the beautiful wall steps. Imagine all of the people who have walked up those steps.
"The winters seemed to be harsher when I was taking these pictures in the late 1970s. I remember kids were sledging."
Who is Ian Beesley?
He was born in Bradford in 1954 and after leaving school in 1972 worked in a mill, a foundry before going to work at Esholt Sewage works, where he was part of the railway gang.
Encouraged by his workmates to go to college and find a career, he took up photography and eventually was accepted to study at Bradford Art College, after which he went to Bournemouth & Poole College of Art.
On graduating he was awarded a Kodak Scholarship for Social Documentation and started to document the demise of industry particularly in Bradford and West Yorkshire.
His work is held in the collections of Bradford City Art galleries and museums, the National Media Museum, the Imperial War Museum, the Royal Photographic Society, the V & A London, the National Coal Mining Museum for England and The Smithsonian Museum Washington USA. He has published 40 books.
In 2012 he was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and in 2019 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Bradford for his outstanding contribution to the art and culture and the social and economic development of the city of Bradford.
He is currently artist in residence for the Bradford Institute for Health Research, Gallery Oldham and Yorkshire Water.
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