Colonnade at Sunset

About Me - A Profile of Brian Hazell

Born in London, educated at Mercers' School in the City of London and like my father a Freeman of the City of London. My Father worked for Mac Fisheries, his office being in Pudding Lane on the site where the Great Fire of London started in 1666 and, as he worked on Saturday mornings, I used to travel with him from Feltham to London by car, and enjoyed exploring the City while he worked.

My father and I became interested in photography and I was privileged to be invited to join the firm's photographer in his darkroom to learn developing and printing, before setting up our own darkroom in a shed at the bottom of our garden. The photography bug then bit and before long we were setting up Leica and Contax outfits and enjoying our hobby together, particularly when I was able to join him on many of his business trips to the various fishing ports around England, Scotland and Wales.

It was during my visits to London that I discovered Southwark Cathedral, met the third Verger George Snell, who gave up his lunch hour to show me around parts of the Cathedral never open to the Public. Subsequently my father and I were asked to take and supply a photograph of the laying on of hands ceremony to every new ordained priest, which we did taking the photographs from the clerestory, hanging on for dear life. We were also privileged to be asked to take photographs of the enthronement of Bishop Stockwood in the presence of Princess Margaret, this time in colour, from the scaffolding, set up by ITV, from which they photographed their television programme. Southwark Cathedral has remained an important part of my life and I still visit on a regular basis to find new angles from which to photograph it.

I have been interested in photography now for over fifty years and, when I set up my estate agency businesses in the Weybridge area about forty years ago, I set up my darkroom at the rear of my first office enabling me to provide individual window displays. My family subsequently moved to Bexhill-on-Sea, where we still live and, having set up another estate agency on the sea front, I was the first to introduce colour mini prints on our sales particulars and in our window display. In my business I was also the first to use digital photography on a computer system, which has today become normal for all estate agents.

As I now live close to the sea front I still enjoy my photography immensely and I regularly compete in competitions arranged by Bexhill Photographic Club. Some of my photographs are shown here in my web site, which are available for purchase at reasonable rates.