FOR some of us, there are views of Brighton and Hove we would love to stare at for hours.

Far from being a simple snapshot of the scenes we see every day, artist Nick Sayers took a longer-term approach to photographing the city. His pictures, shown here, were taken on a six-month exposure.

The unusual method of capturing an image means the half-year cycle of the sun orbiting Earth can be seen streaked across the sky from east to west.

On the ground, movement is rendered invisible because of the exposure length, meaning many of Nick's famed landmarks appear to stand deserted when in reality there were times when people were buzzing busily around them.

The 43-year-old said: "I've always been fascinated by the science of the seasons, the winter and summer solstices, tides, eclipses and equinoxes.

"I start and stop my camera exposures at the solstices because this is when the sun is highest and lowest in the sky. I therefore get a wide, six-month band of sun tracks in my images. Occasional cloud cover gives the lines an intriguingly dashed 'Morse code' effect."

Nick has decided to put his ethereal images of Brighton and Hove to good use by creating an alternative calendar for those who wish to see the seasons while counting the days.

The quirky 2017 wall calendar takes in landmarks including the Bandstand, Palace Pier, Embassy Court, Peace Statue, Marina, Prince Albert pub and the old Brighton Wheel. Calendar pages feature a map and history of each photo location.

Nick, who lives in Hove, said: "With this strong connection to the seasons of the year, it seemed appropriate to make a calendar of the images.

"And with the winter solstice, Christmas and New Year coming up, what better time to buy one?"

Nick will be out around the city from December 21, the night of the famed Burning The Clocks event, installing more cameras (with permission where necessary) to capture a new batch of images. They will not be ready to process until after the summer solstice on June 21 – which might feel a long way off at the moment.

He said: "I form a bit of a mental image in my head over the six months while waiting for the picture to be developed.

"Sometimes I have a fixed idea in my head of what it's going to look like and it doesn't look like that. Then I have to sleep on it and think about it."

How do the cameras actually work?

Far from being overly technical, Nick says they are the simplest form of camera.

Unlike an instantaneous digital photo, these "solargraphs" as they are called have continuous exposure times of three to six months.

The pinhole devices are hand-made from beer cans and photographic paper, which reacts to UV light from the sun but not street lighting or car headlights. The image is "browned" or burnt on to the paper where it is exposed on to it over the months.

Nick describes it as a "sunburn" on the paper.

This sunburn effect, of yellows and browns, is also a negative (much like a film negative) and mirrored back-to-front.

Nick then has to scan in the paper and reverse the negative image using computer software to reveal the true image, which in turn renders the browns and yellows as shades of unearthly blue.

Pinhole cameras hit the headlines in August 2015 when a solargraph camera attached to a seafront road sign was mistaken for a bomb at Brighton Pride. The scare delayed the start of the parade, which was re-routed, while police inspected the camera and destroyed it.

Nick, who runs workshops on making the cameras, said: "It wasn't one of mine but I did work out it was made by someone I had taught.

"I got a call from a steward asking if it was mine and I said no.

"I had heard of this sort of thing happening in the US but I thought Americans are just paranoid and it would never happen here. But it did.

"When I do install them in sensitive locations, I do ask for permission to be sure it won't be mistaken for something like a bomb."

Nick tries to make his pinhole cameras blend in and "look like they're supposed to be there" – a tactic that has even left them being carefully painted around when attached to lampposts. "I guess they thought it was supposed to be there," he added.

As well as making his calendar, Nick makes other artworks inspired by physics, engineering and maths.

The father of one daughter learnt about pinhole cameras in 2011 and became hooked on the idea after that.

He said: "The thing I like about them is they are absolutely the most simple camera.

"Most people make them to take a picture of their home. I chose Brighton because it's our home. It's such a magic process."

For more information, visit twitter.com/nicksayers or facebook.com/nicksayers.

Calendars cost £8.50. Stockists are: Zoingimage, Sydney Street, Brighton; City Books, Western Road, Hove; Etsy online at etsy.com/shop/nicksayers.

Large photographic prints of individual images are also available on request.