“Wirral has so much to offer - it's the place that keeps on giving”

This week, we’re looking at Rob Orr’s favourite photographs and hearing about his passion for photography.

Rob, who lives in Birkenhead, has taken photographs for as long as he can remember.

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Wirral Globe Camera Club member Rob Orr

When and why did you take up photography?

I have had a camera ever since I can remember but when I started work in 1966 I bought my first SLR camera. It was a Zenith and cost £20. That camera went everywhere with me up to about 1980. After that, I got more into video until the late 90s when digital cameras came into their own. I always use Panasonic cameras as they are so adaptable and strong so can take all the knocks.

Morning dew

What do you love about taking pictures?

Images for me are everything - that moment in time that can never be caught the same again and this is so exciting. Music is my other passion and when you put the two together, there is nothing more powerful. I’m a member of Swan Movie Makers and we meet in Victoria Hall in Higher Bebington. Seeing my images on the big screen is always a treat. I like taking black and white photographs - it must go back to when that was all we had. Colour was a late 1960s thing. When I lived in Somerset, in the early 70s, the flat had a walk in pantry and that became my darkroom. So many black and white pictures came out of that pantry.

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Storeton Woods

Where is your favourite place to take pictures and why?

Everywhere and anywhere one can capture that magic moment. Storeton Woods has always been a special place for me to take pictures but the coast of Wirral is stunning - great light and the best sunsets and sunrises. My wife and I love canal walks, which provides loads of photo opportunities. She also loves capturing images on her phone. Wildlife is always on our picture-taking list.

Swans in Birkenhead Park

What is your favourite subject matter and why?

I love portraits and animals but old buildings too. When taking a picture, for me, it’s always about the light. Framing an image is also important. Trees are a great source of imagery with their texture, shape and form. I’m part of a set of artists called ‘The Wirral Urban Sketchers’ which gets me out there looking at things in a much deeper way. It helps when photographing subjects as it sharpens the eye. I’ve always enjoyed photographing musicians and we are so lucky here because there are plenty of them. Birkenhead Park and Bidston are great places to get some good images. Where else would you get a lighthouse, an observatory and a windmill in one place? North Wales never lets me down when comes to image taking and castles are always good to shoot. I’m in the middle of making a video of the history of Flint Castle.

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“Photograph is about capturing the moment that we can look back on and remember”

Birkenhead Park

What do you enjoy about being part of our Camera Club on Facebook?

Sharing art in any form always gives me great pleasure and to see other people’s pictures is fascinating. Facebook is a great place to show off and that suits me. Wirral has so much to offer - it really is the place that keeps giving.

If you could photograph anyone/any place/anything, who/what would it be?

My wife and dog are top of my list but local foxes come a very close second. My ambitions as a camera person are to just keep taking pictures for as long as I can. At my age, the camera gets me out and about and that’s great. Video is so satisfying and I’ve made hundreds of films over the years, with many on YouTube.

A fox in the garden