A Decade of Creating Collaborative Photobooks

Park Hill 2015 : The First Collaborative Project

Twelve Photographers / 300 Images / The Story of The Collaborative Project

Park Hill’s Streets in the Sky officially opened in 1961. The complex of 1000 flats was designed to house 3000 people with all homes linked by a 12 foot wide covered walkway and was a bold example of post-war social housing in Sheffield. Designed by architects Ivor Smith and Jack Lynn the influence by Le Corbusier’s concepts and the broader principles of Brutalism is strong. It aimed to rehouse communities from slum areas and became famous for its innovative “streets in the sky” concept, where the wide, elevated walkways allowed residents to feel as if they were still living in the traditional terraced streets. Milk floats could deliver to all flats on the thirteen levels, and children could play under cover and in safety together.

When first built, there was 31 shops, doctors, a market, 3 pubs and a school. In 2015 the school was still being used (see image below), although many of the flats were empty waiting for redevelopment.

The school which in 2015 when we went there was still in operation

In 2015, on February 25th, I ran my first collaborative photobook event at Park Hill. I remember it vividly. Sheffield’s iconic Park Hill “Streets in the Sky” was the venue, a place suggested by David Shapiro. A group of twelve of us—each armed with a camera and a sense of curiosity—wandered the labyrinth of this brutalist structure, capturing its essence from every angle. The photographs from that day were not just images of decaying concrete and sweeping cityscapes. They were visual stories of a place in transition, a community reshaping itself amid the chaos of regeneration, and how we reacted to it all creatively and emotionally.

The Twelve Photographers

Alfreda ReynoldsBob RhodesCharles NaylorChristine Carr
David ShapiroDerek TrilloMo GreigNicky Callis
Peter MorleyRalph BennettRobert HerringshawStewart Wall
The Book was edited by Shona WallAnna Harland and David Shapiro
were Project Consultants

Back then, I had no idea how significant this project would become for me. Once everyone had sent me their images, I curated them, and sequenced them out into a 300-page book, all within a week. Every photograph had its place. It was as if the pages themselves became the concrete blocks of Park Hill, each supporting and enhancing the next. The result? A comprehensive visual narrative of one of Sheffield’s most iconic—and divisive—structure.

Why deadlines are important!


To be totally factual, I had produced a photobook by different RPS photographers before Park Hill, a book called NHS65, but that project followed a different approach. It was where the photographers sent me photographs rather than meet up on the same day to take them. They asked me for a relaxed deadline, which led to them taking a long time until everyone had submitted work, and one of the photographers sadly died before the book was finished. The book was success and I delivered a lecture about the project to an event put on by the RPS Yorkshire Region in conjunction with the RPS Contemporary Group. The photographer Paul Hill was the other speaker at the event.

I decided, as a result of the wait for work during the NHS65 project, that all future projects would have deadlines and Park Hill was the first deadline driven project. It felt a more familiar way of working to me, just like I had grown up doing on the newspapers!

How the meaning of a photographs changes

When I saw these two ladies I thought of my Mother

Photographs, like memories, evolve with us. Roland Barthes argued that how we take, view, and value images shifts as we move through life. Park Hill, a once-bold vision of housing, was built to support Sheffield’s workforce. It first opened in 1961—the same year I was born. My mother had lived in Sheffield with her parents until a few years before then, and I sometimes wonder: could we have ended up in a Park Hill flat? I quite like the idea of feeling of community-living, but is a utopia that is destined to fail? During the photography day I was walking along chatting to Robert Herringshaw and saw two women walking along with their babies, and for a brief moment, one of them felt like my mum. I imagined myself in the pushchair, part of their journey. Robert said afterwards that as he had been very impressed with the way my focus switched from our conversation to the scene above, and as I stepped into position I lifted the camera and took a series of images almost without breathing. I guess that is the press photography training working it’s magic.

When the book was complete, I sent a copy to Tom Bloxham, the visionary behind Urban Splash, the developers responsible for breathing new life into Park Hill. To my surprise, the book became popular. It resonated not only with those involved in the regeneration of Park Hill but also with the wider community, including architects and designers. The images we had captured spoke to people. They told a story of change, of resilience, and of the human spirit that endures through it all. People from all over the world ordered copies of the book.

The Project in The Press

The book was featured in both the RPS Journal and F2 Professional Photographer who both praised the project and photographer’s work for its innovative approach to documentary photography. The Photobook received attention for blending storytelling with visual narrative, showcasing the work of emerging and established photographers alike.

Featured by the RPS Documentary Group

The RPS Documentary Group featured the book in The Decisive Moment (click here to read)

But it’s not just Park Hill. Since that first book, photobooks have become an integral part of my life. What began as a personal project has blossomed into a passion that I now share with others. Each year, I run numerous collaborative photobook events, guiding photographers through the process of creating their own visual narratives. It’s a rewarding experience, helping others take their work from a collection of images to a cohesive, meaningful book.

Park Hill second visit and the Covid Pandemic

The success of that first photobook led to a second visit to Park Hill, which I ran on the same date, five years after the first visit. The day proved very popular and lots attended, squeezing onto the ‘streets in the sky’, which were narrower now, because they had built the flats forwards to give more interior space. One of the last images I took on the day was of a resident in a mask, walking through the group. The mask surprised me, but he looked Chinese and know they often do wear masks if they have lived in some of the busy Chinese cities. However, literally a few days after our visit the Covid Pandemic became the news of times and it became clear why he had a mask, and soon we were all wearing them. I still got the photographers work in before it all clamped down, and the book was printed and sent to the photographers, but we never managed to get it out to as many people as the first one. Now, nearly ten years after the original event, I find myself considering a return to Sheffield to create a third book, capturing the next chapter in Park Hill’s story. There’s something compelling about returning to a place over time, seeing how it evolves, and documenting that change. I’m excited about the prospect of continuing this photographic journey.

Creating The RPS Photobook Distinction

The First RPS Photobook Panel of Assessors

My involvement with photobooks has extended beyond my personal projects. A few years ago, the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) approached me with an exciting opportunity. They needed someone to launch a new distinction in photobooks and asked if I would help write the criteria and select the assessors for the first panel, and chair the assessments panel for the first two years. It was an honour to contribute to the development of this distinction and to witness firsthand the incredible talent that exists within the photobook community. I now enjoy teaching and mentoring photographers in the art of creating photobooks and love the idea that in the future people will be looking and talking about our work in the books.

Looking back, it’s amazing to see how much has grown from that one day in Sheffield. Photobooks have given me a way to engage deeply with the stories that surround us, and I’m eager to continue this journey. There’s always another story to tell, another place to capture, another book to create. And that’s what keeps me going.

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