Simon Lowe

@simonlowephoto.bsky.social

1487 Followers 673 Following

Photographer | Whitley Bay | NE England ‘Taller in real life.’

A colour photo of a bench in Sant Tomas, Menorca. The bench sits on a paved margin between the road and a dedicated bus lane. A man and a woman are sitting on the bench, perhaps waiting for the bus. There is a young tree planted in the pavement to their left. In front of them is a low concrete wall and beyond that a view of the resort. A white apartment complex on the left; the road out of the resort; whitewashed apartments with red tiled roofs and the wooded hills rising up beneath a blue sky.
A Tyne & Wear Metro pulls in to Monkseaton Station. This model of train has been in service since 1980. They will finally be withdrawn from service later this month (June, 2026).
A black & white photo of Brunswick Lane in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. It had just rained and the low winter sun brings out the textures on the street and the hoardings surrounding Emerson Chambers which is being renovated. A temporary barrier belonging to the council is propped against the hoarding in the bottom right. A passerby in the middle of the photo is in silhouette, as is the base and column of Grey’s Monument in the background.
Colour photo taken through the window of a Tyne & Wear Metro carriage showing the platform of Four Lane Ends Metro Station obscured and blurred by the condensation and dirt on the window.
A colour photo of the platform of Jesmond Metro Station as seen through the dirty, rain-streaked window of a Tyne & Wear Metro carriage. The poster on the platform wall and the figure of a passenger walking out of the frame on the left are both blurred into abstraction by the beads of rain that streak the window’s surface. These metro carriages are gradually being phased out and soon photos like this will be impossible to take. The new design of metros have seats that face inwards, so only a contortionist or a passenger with very understanding fellow travellers will be able to point a lens towards the windows. Also, Nexus who run the metro network seem to be making a a concerted effort to keep the new windows clean on the outside, while the new air-conditioned interiors stop them fogging up. This is why I take photos. There’s no point in waiting until next time. There won’t be a next time. Only a new time. With cleaner windows.
Colour photo of the view from the Old Low Light, North Shields looking across the mouth of the River Tyne. The red Herd Groyne light at South Shields is on the horizon.
Colour photo of tailor’s mannequins in a shop front in Hoi An. The mannequins are gold skinned and blank faced, like a Daft Punk tribute band. Tight crop on this one as the tailors don’t like photos - supposedly so their designs aren’t copied. Or so that others don’t see their own designs copied? Who knows…
A colour photo of the market in Hoi An, Vietnam. Traders and customers on mopeds weave past me and each other. In the background the awnings of stalls and the tops of palm trees. From last month’s trip to Vietnam.
Colour photo of the paperback edition of Helen Castor’s excellent The Eagle And The Hart. A great study of the reigns of Richard II and the man who deposed him, Henry IV.
A black & white photo of the Grey’s Quarter entrance to Eldon Square Shopping Centre in Newcastle. The massive digital screen above the doorway is offline. Instead of the glossy ads it usually broadcasts seamlessly on a loop, the screen is striped and overlaid with a DOS command prompt window, whose message reads: ‘The system cannot find the path specified.’ Unfortunately the shutter speed I used meant the end of the message is blurred because it was slower than the refresh rate of the screen. As well as a glimpse behind the curtain of modern tech, I liked the way all the passersby are walking in different directions. There is no specified path, folks, just do your own thing - we’ll get by anyway.
A black and white photo of an abandoned coat on a traffic bollard seen this morning. As I was approaching it, the way the coat was hung upon the post made it look alive. Like a figure crouched and half buried in the street, head bowed and trying to move against the pavement it was trapped in. I took a couple of photos then went on my way. By this afternoon the coat was gone. If you see something that interests you, take a photo. It won’t be there next time. Because there won’t be a next time.
A colour photo I took while leaving the house last week of light refracted through the stained glass in our front door onto the inside wall of the porch. The scribbles of yellow light at the centre looked, to me, like the figure of a woman surrounded by grey washes of other refracted light on the light blue walls of our porch. Maybe it looks something else entirely to you.
A colour photo of the Upper Promenade at Whitley Bay. A red sign on rusted metal legs, weighed down by a yellow sandbag. The sign reads ‘Pedestrians’ with an arrow pointing left. Behind the sign is the promenade railing and behind that, the North Sea at high tide.
A black & white photo of Mount Fuji, towering over the hills and mountains surrounding Lake Ashi in Kanagawa Prefecture. The summit and slopes of Fuji-san are covered in snow, cloud passes in front obscuring its lower sides. A small boat is in the foreground close to the lake shore; the roofs and windows of some buildings on the lake side are visible too. This was taken from one of the pleasure boats that cross Lake Ashi, a crater lake in the Hakone region of Japan.
A colour photo of the crowds following the open top bus parade of the Newcastle United squad, celebrating their first domestic trophy in 70 years. Taken from the off-ramp of the central motorway, this normally busy dual carriageway is filled with people, including one fan who’s climbed on top of the bus stop to show his support.
A black & white photo of the open top deck of the bus taking the Newcastle United cup-winning squad through the city to the club’s celebrations on the Town Moor. Taken from the off-ramp of the Central Motorway which was closed while the parade was under way.
A black and white photo of a man asleep on the metro. He is sitting, his head leaning against the side of the carriage, one foot resting on the edge of the seat opposite him. His backpack rests on the seat opposite too. I don’t often take candids on the metro but I liked the way the light was falling on him and he seemed so relaxed - a peaceful start to his day.
A black and white photo of Grainger Street, Newcastle. In front of the facade of a restaurant, 2 council workers in hi-vis jackets stand on the pavement, their bodies are obscured from the waist down by the steam rising from the machine they are using to remove chewing gum from the pavement. The machine itself is obscured by the steam too. The pavement has been closed for cleaning with bollards joined with striped tape. A woman in a raincoat walks in the road past the men and out of shot.
A colour photo from above of the contents of our brown garden waste wheelie bin. The bin is collected by the council once a fortnight between Spring and Autumn. Before I put it out for collection, I lift the lid and take a photo. I’ve been doing it on and off for a few years now. It’s the tale of our garden, but also indirectly of our home too.
A black & white photo of Via B. Colleoni in the Citta Alta of Bergamo. A view of the white façade of the Palazzo Nuovo with its columns in bright sunlight is framed by the dark narrow sides of the street. In the bottom of the frame, the silhouettes of two men in the foreground who are about to step into the light of the piazza in front of them.
A black & white photo of the view between 2 Tyne & Wear Metro carriages.
A colour photo of the Shibuya cross-walk in Tokyo. A long shutter speed has blurred the pedestrians on the cross-walk. One of them is wearing a bright red skirt which is blurred into a red triangle.
A colour photo of the remains of a red directional decal on the pavement. Placed there by the city council during the lockdowns of 2020-2021 to encourage social distancing as part of a one-way system for pedestrians during the pandemic.
Tiny thumbnails of photos taken in Osaka, Japan. https://simonlowe.myportfolio.com/neon-on-water
A colour photo looking across a street at night. In the foreground are Road markings and in the centre an orange e-scooter stands by a fence and a telegraph pole, illuminated by a streetlight out of shot. In the background are the foggy silhouettes of trees on Nuns Moor, one of the green open spaces on the northern edge of the city.
A colour photo of a shop window display of door fittings including letterboxes and doorknobs. The condensation on the window blurs the goods behind it. The street opposite is reflected including, serendipitously, a Royal Mail van.
A close-up colour photo of the side of a green metal junction box on the street. Pink paint has been swirled across the surface as graffiti. I just liked the patterns. 🤷🏻
Steam, Wet Pavement. Blackett Street, Newcastle upon Tyne.
A colour photograph of this morning’s sunrise over a street near to my home. Pink clouds and a brightening sky above while the street is still in shadow lit by streetlights.
A black & white photo of the lane that runs between Carliol Square and Pilgrim Street in Newcastle City Centre. The walls on either side are tagged with graffiti and at the top of the path in the centre of the two men are walking away, their backs to the camera.
A colour photo of a loading yard in North Shields. Sloping roofs, firedoors and a dumpster. I just liked the look of it.
A colour photo of the view over the River Tyne from Howard Street, North Shields. Looking south, across the River Tyne just before sunrise, the sky above the horizon is several shades of red, grading into purples and blues. In the foreground, streetlights illuminate the warehouses on the Fish Quay.
A colour photo of the pier at Tynemouth during a storm. High waves crash over the pier which is at least 30 feet high.
A photo of the window of an amusement arcade. Through the bright red frames, the neon and lights of the machines can be seen inside. A yellow sign on the window reads ‘No Youths.’
A colour photo of one of the busy walkways in Shibuya, Tokyo. A slow shutter speed blurs the passers-by. In the background is a colourful abstract mural.
A colour photo through a car window covered in frost. The red brake light of a car lights up the icy patterns on the glass.
A colour photo of reflections in a restaurant window as seen from the inside. Fairy lights and other light fittings can be seen as well as the early evening view outside including a car and road signs, giving the effect of a double exposure.
A colour photo of the view from one Metro train carriage into another. One window reflects the view outside and the other shows the seating. A man in a flat cap looks out of the side window.
Black & white photo looking down Grey Street from Grey’s Monument. Bright morning sunlight creates lots of contrast, lighting up the sandstone façades of the street in the background. Council workers are using a machine to remove chewing gum from the pavement. The steam rises and blows across the street. I. The foreground centre of the photo, a man walks across the street looking back at the cleaning work, his long shadow cast towards the bottom right.
Black & white photo of the digital billboard that straddles the centre of Northumberland Street in Newcastle city centre. Instead of the usual feed of slick ads, it displays an error message which starts ‘Alert, Keyboard not found.’
Photo of a shop window, slightly misted. A white front door with a brass letterbox is on display. In its quarter lights and the rest of the window the street is reflected, like a double exposure. A smudged and slightly faded paper sign reads: ‘We make doors. Any size, any style.’
Ok, before you all get over-excited and write to your MP, the council etc, it’s a freestanding unit for the Christmas markets that’s appeared a bit before the rest of them. Still ugly though.
Sunrise at Monkseaton Metro Station, the early pink light reflected in the rails.
A photo of a bookshelf (a shelfie?!!) with a range of photography books on it. Titles include PhotoFile: Saul Leiter, How I Take Photographs by Daido Moriyama, a biography of Henri Cartier-Bresson and a zine by me!!! As I said, very esteemed company…
A right whale calf breaching in the Indian Ocean off Mossel Bay, South Africa.
Photo of the dust jacket for Stephen Shore’s book Uncommon Places, The Complete Works. It shows a parking lot of restaurant in a city in 1970s USA and the streets beyond.
A marching band walk through the grounds of the Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town, South Africa. They are brightly dressed in white or orange suits, carrying or playing their instruments. The skyline of downtown Cape Town is in the background.