41 Syd Young – Hull’s Bridges from a Bicycle

Hull’s River Bridges: Syd Young – Hull’s Bridges from a Bicycle

Syd Young is an artist and photographer. His most recent exhibition – Relics and Rails – at Goole Museum and Gallery and Nordic House in Hull, was a multi-media retrospective of over 40 years’ work. The photographs below show how he’s captured the beauty of the river’s bridges in their many different lights and moods.

“I’ve always been one for heading out on my bike armed with a camera to see what I could see. Living in the Avenues area for a number of years, I often rode along the old railway track from Park Grove and then beside the River Hull, stopping to take photos when something caught my eye.

Early morning was usually the best time as the lighting was often really spectacular and there was frequently a mist over the river which gave an ethereal atmosphere to the images.

I’d heard about the Banksy from a mate of mine down in Gloucester who had received a tip off and messaged me to say it had been done that night. I got up early the following morning, pedalled off to go and see it and captured a lovely sunrise behind Wilmington Bridge. When I got to Scott Street, there were a handful of people there, including three lads on their way to work in a van who had stopped to take some selfies. A few more people turned up, but it was still relatively early, so the masses hadn’t arrived yet. I stayed for a while, taking some pictures of the people either snapping selfies or just photographing the work. One chap had his iPad and I got a photo over his shoulder of his screen as he took a photo. I got chatting to him and discovered he was a local teacher called… Mr Banks. I was therefore very happy to have a shot of Mr Banks snapping a Banksy on Bankside!”

“I’m always interested in the lighting as well as the subject itself when taking photos, and so although these images are of the various bridges, several also capture the changing light and conditions you can experience as you walk or cycle along our river. No two rides out on my bike were ever the same.”