Assignment six: Transitions.
When I set out on this Assignment I had four projects running. One was to photograph the churchyard at St. Georges in Deal, showing it through a year. Three involved the cliffs and foreshore at Kingsdown near Walmer.
The three Kingsdown projects were:
1. To show the foreshore area, known as The Butts, through the year and portray the changing colours of the plants and their growth and subsequent decay.
2. To take pictures of the sea itself north towards Deal along the length of the sea defences showing the effect of tide and wind.
3. To take pictures looking south towards Dover showing how the weather and tide changed the view.
I ran all four for about three months but realised the St. Georges set was going nowhere and abandoned it.
I ran all the Kingsdown projects for about eight months but then made a decision to drop two. I ran into a period of poor health at that eight month mark and it was during that period that that I dropped two of the projects and concentrated on number three, the view south.
The plan was to show how a landscape either changes, or at least appears to change, over the period of a year. Because the under cliff and the cliff are near devoid of vegetation the only changes are the tide, the weather, and the state of the sea. There are occasional algae growths on the rocks but they are soon scoured off by the actions of waves and stones.
I tried to take all the images from the same spot but at times the weather, and especially the wind made this too dangerous. One of the images, the first in the presentation, was the only image I took that day, clearly shows how atrocious the weather could be at this exposed spot. I usually stayed for about an hour and would take in excess of fifty shots. I used the same set up each time, an Olympus E3 with a 7-14 lens mounted on a Manfrotto tripod. The time of the day was pretty random but I did try and catch the tide at either it's highest or lowest. I made one night visit but it was too dangerous to attempt to reach my vantage point.
During my visits I also photographed the wildlife, and especially orchids, found there. The name The Butts derives from the time when this area was a Royal Marine Rifle range. There is a wealth of graffiti dating from that time engraved in the cliff face and I have started to make a record of it. The area is still owned by the military and every so often they visit and turf everyone off. It is also an SSSI.
Early Spider Orchid. Pyramidal Orchid.
Heart cut in chalk with initials.
Initials dated 1920.
I set out to show how the seasons affected the cliffs but in the end I demonstrated that they are immutable.
Did I succeed in my project? I think I did but not in the way I expected. I thought the cliffs would reflect more of the elements than thy did. Only one image, the first, gives any hint as to how rough the weather could be or reflect how bitterly cold it was on early morning visits. In his book Chasing the Light Ibarionex Perello makes the point that it is important to get the image, as the chance to take it in more favourable circumstances may not arrive.
When I set out on this Assignment I had four projects running. One was to photograph the churchyard at St. Georges in Deal, showing it through a year. Three involved the cliffs and foreshore at Kingsdown near Walmer.
The three Kingsdown projects were:
1. To show the foreshore area, known as The Butts, through the year and portray the changing colours of the plants and their growth and subsequent decay.
2. To take pictures of the sea itself north towards Deal along the length of the sea defences showing the effect of tide and wind.
3. To take pictures looking south towards Dover showing how the weather and tide changed the view.
I ran all four for about three months but realised the St. Georges set was going nowhere and abandoned it.
I ran all the Kingsdown projects for about eight months but then made a decision to drop two. I ran into a period of poor health at that eight month mark and it was during that period that that I dropped two of the projects and concentrated on number three, the view south.
The plan was to show how a landscape either changes, or at least appears to change, over the period of a year. Because the under cliff and the cliff are near devoid of vegetation the only changes are the tide, the weather, and the state of the sea. There are occasional algae growths on the rocks but they are soon scoured off by the actions of waves and stones.
I tried to take all the images from the same spot but at times the weather, and especially the wind made this too dangerous. One of the images, the first in the presentation, was the only image I took that day, clearly shows how atrocious the weather could be at this exposed spot. I usually stayed for about an hour and would take in excess of fifty shots. I used the same set up each time, an Olympus E3 with a 7-14 lens mounted on a Manfrotto tripod. The time of the day was pretty random but I did try and catch the tide at either it's highest or lowest. I made one night visit but it was too dangerous to attempt to reach my vantage point.
During my visits I also photographed the wildlife, and especially orchids, found there. The name The Butts derives from the time when this area was a Royal Marine Rifle range. There is a wealth of graffiti dating from that time engraved in the cliff face and I have started to make a record of it. The area is still owned by the military and every so often they visit and turf everyone off. It is also an SSSI.
Early Spider Orchid. Pyramidal Orchid.
Initials dated 1920.
I set out to show how the seasons affected the cliffs but in the end I demonstrated that they are immutable.
Did I succeed in my project? I think I did but not in the way I expected. I thought the cliffs would reflect more of the elements than thy did. Only one image, the first, gives any hint as to how rough the weather could be or reflect how bitterly cold it was on early morning visits. In his book Chasing the Light Ibarionex Perello makes the point that it is important to get the image, as the chance to take it in more favourable circumstances may not arrive.
Perello, Ibarionex. 2011. Chasing the Light: Improving Your Photography with Available Light. New Riders.
On Tuesday 20th. May 2015 I returned to Kingsdown to photograph Early Spider Orchids for The National History Museum and found George Rowlett painting the very scene I had been photographing for this assignment. To watch him work was a delight. I add a photograph of him at work.
On Tuesday 20th. May 2015 I returned to Kingsdown to photograph Early Spider Orchids for The National History Museum and found George Rowlett painting the very scene I had been photographing for this assignment. To watch him work was a delight. I add a photograph of him at work.
The Images.
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