Kings of Grey

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Travel

Kings of Grey

Hanging Out at Europe's Biggest Pigeon Fair

These photographs were taken at the British Homing World Show of the Year, which is Europe's largest pigeon fair. It has taken place in Blackpool every year since 1977, attracting up to 30,000 visitors over the weekend. Here, it's not unusual for pigeon fanciers to pay up to £10,000 for a pedigree racing pigeon. I have always been intrigued by subcultures and traditions and my interest in pigeon fanciers and racers grew when I found out that I had family connections with pigeon keeping. This inspired me to explore that world's codes and rituals, and capture the people, and things that I saw. I want these photographs to show how this tradition is still very much alive and an essential part of Britain's heritage.

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Spending time with pigeon fanciers, I witnessed their uncoditional love and open displays of affection towards their pigeons.

Fancy or show pigeons are judged on image, shape, size, colour and behaviour. Many pigeon fanciers bellieve the key to a future champion lies in the eye of the bird. A richly coloured eye and smaller pupil are meant to indicate a future winner.

At the Show of the Year, everyone competes to win Best in Show, which grants the winner supreme champion class. To win this is a great honour and puts you within the elite of pigeon community.

Before I began the project, pigeons to me were signifiers of old northern working-class traditions and masculinity. Spending time in the community, my view altered because I noticed an enormous number of younger kids adopting the sport.

Pigeons trade hands in auctions and sales every week in the UK, sometimes for more than a racehorse.

One of the things I enjoyed capturing was the visual language and codes of this small world. Just as important to me as documenting the people or the birds was the retail paraphernalia and trashy items such as these stickers.