Blackpool photographers help resort youngsters capture creativity though camera lenses during library workshops

An image produced by participants of the Whipper Snappers photography workshop run by Claire Griffiths and Jill Reidy. Pic: Whipper Snappers

Jill Reidy and Claire Griffiths have run Whipper Snappers photography workshops for the past seven years, and were overjoyed to have been able to bring photography back into little ones' lives after lockdown.

Working with Blackpool libraries, the women were able to teach youngsters how to bring out their creativity through a camera lens, with sessions at Anchorsholme, Layton and Central libraries.

Whipper Snappers aims to equip children with the knowledge and passion to capture moments in new ways.

Claire said: "For me, and I think Jill would agree, taking photographs is a creative act so to be able to inspire young folks to take images in a new way feels really powerful.

"With a camera you can be brave, tell your own story and have an adventure. It is a visual language so sharing our love of photography with young folks in the town is amazing.

"Blackpool can be photographed in a disparaging way, so seeing the world through a child's eyes is refreshing and somehow tells a different story.

"It was wonderful to see how excited the children were when we handed them DSLR cameras. Photography can be expensive so the chance to use a "real" camera can be really different to phone photography or use of iPads."

Jill added: "We let the children experiment a bit, but we also set them certain activities. We asked them to find things beginning with different letters, taking portraits of people in different ways, and using different perspectives to capture things.

"It was really good fun, the kids enjoyed it. We're arranging for different exhibitions for their photos at each library too."

And both photographers also have their own exhibitions on show in the resort at the moment - capturing life at the seaside.

Jill has her exhibition, When the chairs went up, at Cafe No 5 in Cedar Square, which portrays myriad reflections on lockdown in Blackpool.

Claire's work is also being showcased in the Seaside: Photographed exhibition in the forecourt of the Grundy Art Gallery in Queen Street, a national exhibition looking at the relationship between photography and the British seaside from the 1850s to the present.