New Jackson (Deansgate Square), New Jackson

What is New Jackson?

New Jackson (formerly known as Great Jackson Street) is a burgeoning skyscraper district at the southern end of Deansgate. It is dominated by the Deansgate Square towers, which include the South Tower—currently the tallest building in the UK outside of London. The area features sleek glass facades, modern public squares, and a distinct futuristic feel.

Why Shoot Here?

• Scale and Height: The sheer height of the towers is awe-inspiring. Use a wide-angle lens to capture them from the ground looking up.
• Glass Reflections: The glass exteriors of the buildings reflect the clouds and the changing light of the day, creating dynamic patterns.
• Modern Public Realm: The squares and walkways around the base of the towers are beautifully designed with modern street furniture and lighting.
• Sunset Shots: The towers catch the late afternoon light beautifully, glowing orange and gold as the sun sets over the city.

Best Times to Shoot

• Sunset (west-facing facades) — The Deansgate Square towers face west, and the glass curtain walls turn brilliant amber-orange in the final 30 minutes before sunset. The South Tower — currently the UK’s tallest building outside London — is particularly dramatic when fully lit from the west; shoot from the east side of the towers on Owen Street or the public realm to face into this light.
• Blue hour (20–40 minutes after sunset) — The residential towers illuminate from within as occupants return home, and the lobby lighting at ground level adds warm pools to the otherwise glass-and-aluminium palette. This is the window for blue-hour tower compositions against a still-deep sky; a tripod is essential for the 2–8 second exposures needed.
• Clear days with scattered cloud — Fast-moving cloud reflects dynamically across the large glass surfaces of the Deansgate Square towers. The reflections change every few seconds as cloud masses cross the facade. A 70–200 mm telephoto from a distance allows you to isolate specific cloud patterns reflected in individual curtain-wall panels.
• After heavy rain — The Owen Street and Dawson Street public realm uses polished stone and smooth concrete that forms mirror-like puddle surfaces after rain. These puddle reflections double the height of the towers and create abstract, near-symmetrical compositions at ground level.

Composition Ideas

• Straight-up canyon shot from below — Stand between the towers on Owen Street and aim a 14–20 mm ultra-wide directly upward. The four Deansgate Square towers converge at the vanishing point above, creating an extreme converging-vertical composition. The South Tower’s height — 201 metres — is most apparent from this angle.
• Street-level people for scale — The towers are so tall that they are difficult to read without a scale reference. Stand back from the base and include a person walking along the pavement in the foreground with the full tower height above. A 35–50 mm lens from across Owen Street captures both comfortably without compressing the tower disproportionately.
• Canal basin wide shot from Castlefield — Walk south to the Castlefield Canals and turn north to frame the New Jackson towers above the Victorian canal infrastructure. A 35–70 mm lens from the towpath captures the towers rising above the railway viaducts and canal boats, placing Manchester’s current skyline in its industrial heritage context.
• Glass reflection abstract — Use a 100–200 mm telephoto from a distance to isolate one section of a tower facade where neighbouring buildings, sky, or the opposite tower are reflected in the glass. Telephoto compression stacks the reflected elements tightly, producing an abstract image where the original building becomes secondary to its reflective surface.