The Aesthetic of Patina

I’m drawn to old things and their looks

Photograph by the author, Stephen Ellis Bell / Fujifilm X-T20 with 18–55mm Fuji lens.

The patterns in rusting objects. The breakdown of shapes, forms, decoration. The surface effects of age. I’m in love with the photographic opportunities these things offer.

Old things resonate with their histories. It's like touching time. Decades ago, I visited the Ann Frank house in Amsterdam. Back then, one could touch the yellowing newspaper cutouts that she had pasted to the wall. These fragile images of film stars and their ilk conduit one back to her and the terrible time she and her family lived — and were murdered in. These cuttings have long since been protected by plastic and glass.

Today — doubtless to the collective sigh of many curators — I commune with historical artefacts through capturing them photographically.

Photograph by the author, Stephen Ellis Bell / Fujifilm X-T20 with 18–55mm Fuji lens.

I am very pleased that my 14-year-old daughter has an interest in photography and the occasional trip out with our cameras is one of my pleasures. On this occasion, we visited the Canal and Boat Museum in Ellesmere. Across a series of locks, pools and warehouses, there are many old objects relating to the history of our UK waterways and their intertwined history with the industrial revolution.

Photograph by the author, Stephen Ellis Bell / Fujifilm X-T20 with 18–55mm Fuji lens.

There was a storm heading in during our morning trip. The incoming clouds provided the backdrop to the backwater of the museum, where boats in need of restoration are either being stored or worked on by volunteers. Whilst the warehouses contain many artefacts worthy of interrogation, it is these sad aging survivors that call to me. Before the storm arrived, we scouted around these collecting our images.

Photograph by the author, Stephen Ellis Bell / Fujifilm X-T20 with 18–55mm Fuji lens.

Technically, we were hoping to experiment with some longer exposures utilising ND filters. However, the brisk and swirling winds that heralded the storm front meant that the boats were making small movements all the time. As they strained and relaxed against their mooring or dipped as the waters swelled, the boats blurred. Therefore, we turned our attention to capturing the signs of age and neglect.

Photograph by the author, Stephen Ellis Bell / Fujifilm X-T20 with 18–55mm Fuji lens.

On this occasion, I had dug out my old Fujifilm X-T20 with its excellent Fuji 18–55mm lens. It's a great small camera and I find the RAW files the Fuji X-Trans sensor creates to be the most forgiving of all the cameras I have enjoyed over the years. At some point, I hope to upgrade this valuable second camera to the 40MP sensor version that Fuji now offers. Sadly, my pensioner status means that I cannot wave a magic credit card like I used to!

One boat that was not moving in the conditions described was perhaps beyond salvage now, as only the bow rail and the top of the cabin poked up from a watery grave. But still a great subject for a photograph.

Photograph by the author, Stephen Ellis Bell / Fujifilm X-T20 with 18–55mm Fuji lens.

The storm duly arrived. Sharp rain and even lower light forced us to retreat indoors. The museum’s collection of objects is extensive and in some places an attempt to muster them into some kind of storytelling order has been embarked upon. But there is a wealth of objects that appear simply stored.

For ourselves, it was time to take our cameras home and settle in to interpret our collection of images. I’ve used Lightroom to develop my images and there has been further dodging and burning in Photoshop. I hope that you enjoy my photographs.

Photograph by the author, Stephen Ellis Bell / Fujifilm X-T20 with 18–55mm Fuji lens.

Thanks for viewing my work ~ Stephen

Stephen Ellis Bell MA(ed) BA(hons) Fine Art / Sculpture PGCE / April 2026