Wednesday 15 May 2013

Before the rain came

Sunday was going to be wet so I set out early (for me) to see if there was any growth at the sandplant. With spring coming late this year the new plant life emerging was way behind schedule. Opportunities for injecting some colour and juxtapositions of natural and artificial forms into my photographs was limited. Another month should change that.

There were still alterations to the scene, however subtle. Things get moved around all the time by people visiting the place, and the weather has its effects too. Recent rain had smoothed out tyre tracks, for instance.


What I am realising about the pictures I make in the sandplant is that they are forming into distinct groups of subject and structure: there are the pictures which are essentially landscapes; 'head on' shots of stuff lying on the ground, the near vertical sides of the surrounding bunds, fences, or internal piles of rubble and sand; pictures of plants; a few people pictures. Those are the main groups. Some pictures cross over in subject matter - close ups of plants or rubbish showing their context, for example.


These groupings have made me realise that the project itself may have to be divided into sections. Alternatively the groups could be intermingled. A lot would depend on how it's presented (even if that's only in my head). More from Sunday here.

It has also occurred to me that another way of documenting the sandplant wouldbe a more straightforward approach. It would be a catalogue of the individual species of plants, fungi, insects, birds and other wildlife that makes use of the place coupled with pictures (perhaps portraits) of the people who visit it for whatever reason. Throw in some scenic, and detail shots of the signage and detritus for good measure, and there you'd have a different interpretation of the place to that which is emerging from my project.

That's an approach which I'd find restrictive - planning it all out in advance and ticking off each subject one by one. Far too formulaic. The sort of thing which would probably go down well on a photography degree course as it would show how the student was capable of conceiving, planning and carrying through work to a successful conclusion. It might not even matter much if the photographs were any good so long as the boxes were all ticked in the right order!

There could be other ways of dealing with this subject, perhaps from another perspective - given that I don't see the place as an eyesore in the way many people do, but more as a small piece of wilderness developing to it's own beat without deliberate 'improvement'.

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