Photos of West London 1956-1962
Hi,Whilst doing research on what Hammersmith and Chiswick Looked like in the 50s I came across this website with lots of very interesting Black and white Photos of Hammersmith before the fly over was built and Notting Hill Gate before it all got demolished.https://jamesrmacdonald.wordpress.com/About the BlogToward the end of his school days my father Alisdair Macdonald was what job he was aiming for and with no hesitation he replied he was to become a photographer. This was laughingly dismissed and he was asked again where he saw his future.Unperturbed he set to work learning the trade. He bought a camera, set up a small dark room in the family house near Shepherds Bush in West London and began taking pictures. Pictures of anything; fetes, birds, building work, shops, snow, celebrity visits to local events and everything beside, all with the goal of getting them into print.He got his break after selling a few photos to the papers around Kensington, Chelsea and Fulham area and eventually began freelancing for the Kensington Post, then based in Church Street.In the early 1960’s he submitted pictures of the Notting Hill Riots to the national press and shortly after became a staff photographer for the Daily Mirror where he remained through the next 30 years.This blog will share some of the images from 1956-1962, a record of his learning the art that eventually led him to become one of the most respected photojournalists in Fleet Street.
A. Whitehouse ● 457d3 Comments