Anyone familiar with Belfast will be well aware of the continental Christmas market. Springing up in November like a mini city, this maze of stalls attracts punters from all over the country and they get into the Christmas spirit by spending their hard-earned cash on everything from strawberry-flavoured beer to venison burgers! Baristas of coffee share space with purveyors of jewellery and vendors of cosy scarves and in the east corner of the market lives the amusement section which includes a hobby horse ride and the helter-skelter!

Now, as much as I love a wee trip around the cool yuletide market and a flavoured beer or six in the beer tent, (a much-missed annual event with colleagues when I worked in Belfast) I'm not writing this article just to wax lyrical about this wee festive treat. Oh no! Because on what must have been a cold night in November or December a few years back, a talented photographer (with good knowledge of framing and leading lines) decided to use the opposing, narrow Patterson's Place alleyway as an excellent compositional tool to include as foreground interest and when capturing the beautiful amusement at night with its dazzling rows of bright lights, excitedly posted a shot on social media that every local photographer admired (after kicking ourselves for not being the first to take advantage of these surroundings). Now, I don't honestly recall who this snapper was but, boy did they initiate a flurry of copycat snappers who showed up at the aforementioned alleyway in their droves to capture their own beautifully composed nocturnal helter-skelter image.

In their attempt to invent a differing view, some used the old cobblestones on the entry floor when wet from rain to provide lovely reflections, some included bus trails in long exposures, some converted to black and white, some used puddle reflections, added a sprinting Santa in Photoshop and even turned the helter-skelter into a rocket about to descend into the night sky. The amount of variety was admirable and some were just happy to capture it as they saw it and why not. Now as a nocturnal photographer myself, I tried dreaming up an alternative to the many shots I'd seen attempted before and spent so much time mulling over it every year that I didn't actually bloody well do anything to get down that alleyway and take a shot or two!

In 2020, Covid struck and the Christmas market didn't appear for obvious reasons. No new helter-skelter variations that year then. Thankfully, 2021 saw the return of the market and I found myself on a shoot in Belfast near city hall. Another photography friend, Clive Harbison and I make our way to the now iconic location, and........we're too late! The market is closed and the lights are out! We try a few practice shots anyway and move on. I'm on night shifts in a factory and my time out is limited. I don't return in 2021. It was not until this year, December 21st, 2022, that I finally get a chance to return and get a shot from the alleyway made famous by Instagram. Will Young is a talented photographer friend of mine and we partake in night shoots sometimes. He texts me to go to shoot the market as he hasn't had a shot at it either. The night arrives and we go to the alleyway. It's busy and not only photographers, amateur and professional, are shooting the scene but shoppers taking a moment out of their Christmas present shopping trips around town are using mobile phones to record it too. We're a bit frustrated by a parked car at the end of the alleyway and it's spoiling the shot. I realise I have a prop in my camera bag that will suit a type of reflection shot. On a recent shopping trip, I see a pair of mirrored aviator sunglasses and purchase them when an idea comes into my head. The helter-skelter shot! After Will had finished shooting in the alleyway, I hurried to the footpath, and about to ask Will to wear the cool aviators for effect, he sees a cool reflection in a shop window. So, I set up the tripod, had Will try on the shades, and focus on the reflections. I take the shot and am happy with the results. I've captured the helter-skelter in the window too and it looks cool and unique. Next, I set up the camera to focus on the window reflection and shoot shoppers walking by. The ISO is at 2500 and shutter speeds are around a 1/25th of a second. This keeps the image noise level low and captures people with an acceptable amount of blur. I have a few of the shots of people where I want them in the frame and edit them In Lightroom. Thanks to Will spotting the reflection and the passing pedestrians, I have a few shots I really like. That ubiquitous Patterson's Place entry shot has eluded me again though and the market closed up on the 22nd of December, the day after my shots are taken. Maybe next year...

The Christmas helter-skelter. An iconic location for photos

Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

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