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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

The old Tyne & Wear metros are being withdrawn from service later this month, replaced by a fleet of new trains, whose windows face inwards. Unreliable, dirty, overheated and overworked, it’s time for them to go. Even so, I’ll miss the view from their windows. #📸 #photography

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 They will finally be withdrawn from service later this month (June, 2026).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 and white photo of the A19 dual carriageway southbound towards the Tyne Tunnel. Taken from the Metro viaduct. Once the old metros are withdrawn from service this kind of photo will be much more difficult to take as the seats on the new trains face inwards.

Black and white photo of the platform at Hadrian Road Metro Station. A passenger wearing a vintage Newcastle United shirt looks up from his phone and catches me taking the photo. 😊

A black and white photo of the road viaduct across the Ouseburn from the metro viaduct.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

Lily Allen - West End Girl Newcastle City Hall. Brilliant performance/presentation of her album. Having read a couple of less than flattering reviews of previous dates on the tour, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I loved this. Whether it’ll work in a cattle shed arena - I’m not so sure.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

‘After the rain’ Brunswick Lane, Newcastle upon Tyne. January, 2026. #📸 #photography

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.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

This is Four Lane Ends. View from the Metro. December, 2025. #📸 #photography

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.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

Dirty window. Jesmond Metro Station, Newcastle upon Tyne. September, 2025. #📸 #photography

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.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

Quick wander around North Shields this morning. Called in to the Old Low Light to Pete Robinson’s exhibition Harvest From The Deep documenting the fishing community. Also includes some Nick Hedges’ photos on loan from Side Gallery. Last day Saturday. Well worth a look. #📸 #photography

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 exhibition room of the Old Low Light. Framed colour photo by Pete Robinson on left of shot, on the right the New Low Light can be seen through the window frame.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 24/08/2025

Rails & sleepers. Monkseaton Metro Station, Whitley Bay. August, 2025. #📸 #photography

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 17/08/2025

Make it, face it, hem it, stitch it. Tailors, Hoi An, Vietnam. July, 2025. #📸 #photography

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…

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 16/08/2025

Mopeds in the market. Hoi An, Vietnam. July, 2025. #📸 #photography

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.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

Current reading. A thin-skinned narcissist, surrounded by flatterers; a cabal of power-hungry oligarchs, impeachments, threats to the constitution and interminable war. Same sh!t, different century. 😕 📚

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.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

‘The system cannot find the path specified.’ Eldon Square Shopping Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne. June, 2025.

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.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

“You must go on. I can’t go on. I’ll go on.” Blackett Street, Newcastle upon Tyne. May, 2025. #📸 #photography

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.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

New zine ‘Carnival’ by @checkmybadself.bsky.social documenting Notting Hill Carnival over the last few years. Great photos, highly recommended. 📚📸📚 #📸 #photography #photozines

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

Persephone. April, 2025. #📸 #photography

$A colour photo I took while leaving the house last week of light refracted through the stained glass in our front door onto the inside wall of the porch. The scribbles of yellow light at the centre looked, to me, like the figure of a woman surrounded by grey washes of other refracted light on the light blue walls of our porch. Maybe it looks something else entirely to you.$

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

Can’t get there from here… Whitley Bay, April, 2025. #📸 #photography

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.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

Fuji-san. From Lake Ashi, Hakone, Kanagawa. April, 2019. #📸 #photography #🇯🇵

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.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

Toon, toon… Newcastle United’s Carabao Cup Trophy Parade. Great North Road, Newcastle upon Tyne. March, 2025. #📸 #photography

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.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 30/03/2025

Local heroes. Newcastle United Carabao Cup Trophy Parade. Great North Road, Newcastle upon Tyne. March, 2025. #📸 #photography

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.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

Sunday morning. Tyne & Wear Metro, March, 2025. #📸 #photography

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.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

Steam, Grainger Street. Newcastle upon Tyne. March, 2025. #📸 #photography

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.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 15/03/2025

Byker Viaduct | Leaving Northumberland Park. Couple of Hipstamatics from the commute. March, 2025. #📸 #photography

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Happy birthday | acer cuttings | dead basil Tales From The Brown Bin. March, 2025. #📸 #photography

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.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

Happy World Book Day! I have a few copies of my zine ‘Round Here’ left for sale. A collection of photos made while wandering around my home town of Whitley Bay. £10 inc. p&p (UK only) www.paypal.me/simonlowephoto The Bound indie bookshop in the Bay have stock too. #WorldBookDay #📸 📚📸📚

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Via B. Colleoni. Cittá Alta, Bergamo. 🇮🇹 February, 2025 #📸 #photography

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.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

On the metro. The old trains may be dirty, and unreliable, but at least you can take photos out the windows without becoming a contortionist. For that reason alone, once they’re all finally phased out, I’ll miss them. (More explanation in the alt-text.) February, 2025. #📸 #photography

A black & white photo of the view between 2 Tyne & Wear Metro carriages.

A black & white photo of the view through the front window of a Tyne & Wear metro carriage. As this was taken in a tunnel, the view is a blend of the reflection of the carriage I’m sitting in and the carriage in front.

(In the new metro fleet that will replace the existing ones, there are no front-facing seats - this view will no longer be possible.)

A black & white photo of the view through the front window of the rear carriage of a Tyne & Wear metro, the driver’s cab is in darkness as it is not being used.

Unlike the existing trains which consist of 2 carriages coupled together, the new fleet of trains are a complete, seamless articulated unit. This view will no longer be possible on a new train.

A black & white photo of the view of the platform of Manors Metro Station. The silhouettes of 2 passengers can be seen on the platform. This photo is possible because most of the seats on the existing fleet face either front or back, allowing you to look out the windows. On the new fleet, all seats face inward. You look at (or avoid eye contact with) your fellow passengers, looking out of a window is not as easy. I’ll miss that.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

The Red Skirt. Shibuya, Tokyo. April, 2019. #📸 #photography

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.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 01/02/2025

Popped along to Newcastle City Library earlier to see the #gallery365 exhibition. An eclectic and inspiring collection of photos by v talented folk. If you’re in town, it’s well worth having a look. Congratulations to all the contributors! @gallery365.bsky.social #📸 #photography

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

Lockdown traces. Blackett Street, Newcastle upon Tyne. January, 2025. #📸 #photography

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.

A colour photo of the remains of a blue directional decal on the pavement. Placed there by the city council during the lockdowns of 2020-21 to encourage social distancing as part of a one-way system for pedestrians.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

Neon on Water. A set of photos taken in Dotonbori, Osaka in 2019. Best viewed large on my website… 😉 #📸 #photography simonlowe.myportfolio.com/neon-on-water

Tiny thumbnails of photos taken in Osaka, Japan.

https://simonlowe.myportfolio.com/neon-on-water

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

Day 4 in bed with a very nasty cold/flu thing. Confined to the spare room until I’m better. Felt well enough today to take some photos, so there’s that…

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

Fog, Fenham. Newcastle upon Tyne, January, 2025. #📸 #photography

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.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

Letterboxes. Monkseaton, January, 2025. #📸 #photography

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.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

Graffiti details, broadband junction box. Monkseaton, January 2025. From this morning’s wander. #📸 #photography

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. 🤷🏻

More pink paint swirls on the junction box.

This one looked like octopus tentacles?

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

Here’s a few of my favourites from this year. Thank you for your support. See you on the other side. Happy New Year. #📸 #photography

Steam, Wet Pavement.

Blackett Street, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Hat, Hadrian Road.

Yellow Line, Tyne & Wear Metro.

Keyboard Not Found.

Northumberland Street, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Spaces Available.

Morissons Long Stay, Morpeth.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

Good morning. Waverley Avenue, Monkseaton. December, 2024. #📸 #photography

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.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

Below 55’, Boxing Day. Newcastle upon Tyne. December, 2024. #📸 #photography

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.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

Round the back. North Shields. December, 2024. #📸 #photography

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 edge of a losing yard in North Shields. Yellow lines, yellow railings a green dumpster in the background, a red wheelie bin in the foreground.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

Good morning. Looking out over the Tyne. North Shields. December, 2024 #📸 #photography

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.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

Turbulence. North Pier, Tynemouth. January, 2015. It’ll be even wilder out there today. Mind yourselves. #📸 #photography

A colour photo of the pier at Tynemouth during a storm. High waves crash over the pier which is at least 30 feet high.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

My zine Round Here, a collection of photos taken while wandering around my home town of Whitley Bay is still available. £10 inc p&p. UK only, sorry. Order via www.paypal.me/simonlowephoto Or if you’re on Tyneside, the lovely folk at The Bound bookshop in Whitley Bay have stock too. #📸

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 Cullercoats Co-Op. The shop windows are covered by printed colour decals of apples, bananas and carrots. On the pavement in front, a 20mph speed limit sign has turned to face the viewer instead of the traffic. A solitary striped traffic cone sits at the foot of the signpost.

A colour photo of a street in Monkseaton. A red brick semi-detached house, in front, a neatly trimmed privet hedge above a brick wall with a wooden gate. Parked on the street outside, a grey Ford Cortina Mark 4 Estate.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

A cold start. Whitley Bay, November, 2024. #📸 #photography

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.

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Simon Lowe @simonlowephoto.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

No left turn. Omni Cafe, Monkseaton. September, 2023. This one can be found in my zine ‘Round Here’ - see pinned post on my profile, or if you’re local, the lovely people at The Bound bookshop in Whitley Bay have stock too. #📸 #photography