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Tommy Harris (Photographer)
Text from the introduction to the ‘Steel Works’ exhibition, 1989:
In the 1950s and 60s Tommy Harris worked as the photographer for two local newspapers, as well as for the Consett Iron Company magazine, and at the same time held down a full time job at the steelworks. He took literally thousands of pictures, most of which depict local events such as leek shows and prizegivings. He knew that many of his photographs, when used in the newspapers, would be cropped. Also, the square format that he used often made it difficult to exclude unwanted details when he was actually taking the picture. In many cases it is these chance elements in Tommy’s uncropped photographs that make his work so revealing.
Note: Side acquired these photographs from the Consett Photo Archive.