saturday night in margate

I’ve not done as much nighttime shooting this past winter, I’m not really sure why. Perhaps a combination of workload and personal stuff has meant I’ve not really been feeling it in the evenings quite so much. In past years, I would go out a couple of times a week in the evenings. This year, judging by my Lightroom catalogue, it seems it’s been more like a few times a month. With late spring and summer rapidly approaching, night-time shoots are going to be a rare thing, so I probably don’t have much time left to get some night shots before it’s just daytime walkabouts in the sun (wishful thinking that we’ll get much sun I guess).

Anyway, Saturday just gone the opportunity came along to head to Margate late afternoon into the evening with Stewart McKeown and Aga McPherson. Sadly, golden hour wasn’t so much golden as…well…very grey. Nonetheless, you make do with what you have to work with, and so we set about trying to make the best of it. I found it a bit of a struggle to be honest. I don’t mind overcast days, but overcast as the light is fading can be quite tricky. Particularly on the beach. A few shots presented themselves, but not the kind of shots I usual go for in truth.

The evening was a little more promising. Although the temperature wasn’t low enough for the classic condensation shots that Margate often as to offer, there were still some possibilities. One place I spent a lot of time at was the Follow the Swirl Ice Cream Shop, which has a striking neon sign in the window. I’ve spotted it before, but struggled to find ways to make use of it in a composition. So I hung around, looking for potential, until I noticed a shop down the road was casting a light and creating silhouettes with passers-by. So I decided to try and use that as a way of making a shot work. Of course, as is always the way, people either passed in groups, or passed the shop in a way that wasn’t interesting (eg their legs weren’t far enough apart as they walked past the window), or just no-one walked past at all for a long time. I was on the verge of giving up and figuring I’ll try again another time, when a couple of passers-by gave me an option that might just work. It wasn’t perfect, but at least it’s a composition to explore further in the future.

There was also The Centre, which I hadn’t really explored before (certainly not at night) and hadn’t recognised as having potential (despite vaguely knowing the area from my time working at Boots in Cliftonville). There were definitely some good options there and I will definitely look to explore it more in future, both in the day and the evening. Even if I didn’t come away with many “bangers”, I at least discovered some new areas to explore on future visits.

At this point we just so happened to randomly bump into Peter Sladen, out celebrating his birthday. We had a good chat and talked a little about where we were on our photography journey…it was Peter that inspired me to visit some parts of the county I’d never visited before when I was shooting landscape scenes, and will always be grateful for that. I do miss getting out and shooting landscapes, particularly woodland scenes, but I really am enjoying street a lot at the moment. Largely because, as I often say to people, you know when you capture a street shot, no-one will capture the same shot. You may get similar types of composition, but a scene will be a scene for an instant and then gone forever. Landscapes you may get different colours in your sunrise/sunset, but it’s difficult to get a composition that no-one else will ever be able to replicate. But then, street has its drawbacks in terms of cliches…but anyway, that’s a big discussion for another blog post one day, perhaps.

Anyway, a few drinks, a disappointing pizza experience later and then we were off home. If you want to really get a feel for the day, do check out Aga’s Reel on Instagram. It really is phenomenal work, even if some of the models don’t quite cut the mustard…

shooting street photography with the fuji 18mm in margate

So my walkabout in Canterbury didn’t go that well. I got a few shots, but there certainly weren’t any that I would consider portfolio worthy. It’s fair to say I came away from the experience feeling like I hadn’t progressed at all with the 18mm. I was beginning to doubt whether this focal length was really for me. Perhaps I’m a 33mm and 50mm (or 50mm and 75mm in full frame) kind of guy. And then I went to Margate.

Initially I thought I’d struggle in Margate. The promenade and the beach really lend themselves to long focal lengths given the wide open space. Of course there are wide compositions, but I just find the amount of space lends itself to the 33mm or the 50mm. So I didn’t exactly go with high hopes, and certainly my experience the previous day didn’t give me a huge amount of encouragement. However, it turned out much better than expected.

As with Canterbury, I went with the intention of getting a wide range of shots, abstract, candid portrait, architecture, abstract…and I think I was largely successful in doing so (in the sense that I got a range of shots, rather than successful in the quality!). There were a few shots in particularly I was pleased with, but just being able to properly explore the potential of the focal length in a way that I really hadn’t successfully done in Canterbury was a real plus. Whereas I came back doubting I would ever get to grips with this focal length, after Margate I felt much more enthusiastic about making greater use of it than I had done before. To the extent that as I went through the images, I had some difficulty in condensing them down to the ones I was happiest with whilst also demonstrating the range I felt I was able to achieve.

I was actually surprised how I was able to work more abstract compositions with the wide angle. Those types of compositions are something I’m constantly drawn to, and I found that the longer the focal length, the “easier” I’m able to make the compositions work. With a wide angle I felt that I would be drawing in too much additional detail, bringing in clutter that doesn’t need to be there. However, I found I was able to work the compositions, either by making use of shadows to create negative space, or finding ways to make the composition more interesting by bringing in some surrounding elements that add to the frame (eg the shot through the broken window panes below…I felt it would work with just a single pane of glass, but can also work with a couple just as well, indeed, probably helps elevate the composition a bit).

I suppose the other thing I should add is that I was really impressed with the quality of the images the lens managed to produce. I’m not one for obsessing over image quality (so long as an image is sharp I’m fairly unbothered about digging too much into the detail), but I felt the majority of the images came out looking great. Don’t expect me to do a full lens review though, I’ll let the images speak for themselves.

So, will I use the 18mm more when I’m out and about with my camera on the streets? Yeah, I think I will. In that sense at least, it was a worthwhile challenge. I’ll let you be the ultimate judge with the photos below.

Shooting Street Photography With The Fuji 18mm f1.4

As promised, I did two trips out over the last weekend taking only my 18mm Fuji lens (well, and the camera body obviously…), with a determination to get a decent amount of usage from it and try to get my head around street photography with a wide-angle lens. I’m going to split this into two posts, one about my walkabout in Canterbury, the latter one on Margate.

I wanted to try to get a range of different shots, not just pointing the lens upwards for architecture shots, nor just catching wide-angle street scenes. I went out thinking I would push myself to try different styles. It would be very easy to come back with a load of identikit shots with the only difference being the people in the shot. So I looked for abstracts, details, candids, plus yes, the odd street view or architectural shot.

Before I get into it more, let’s get the boring stuff out of the way…

camera settings

I shot the vast majority at f8 (with some exceptions), with a shutter speed of 1/1000th (unless it was a static subject, in which case I might drop it down a bit), ISO set to auto and exposure compensation was anything from -1 to -2. I used zonal focusing, leaving the focus at around 2m for most of the day. This ensured a wide depth of field, and meant I didn’t have to fiddle around with the focus too much as I was walking around (unless I shifted the f-stop and wanted a very shallow depth of field).

Ok, boring stuff done, moving on…

Canterbury

So how did I find it? Difficult. I’ll be honest (no spoilers!), I found day one more difficult than day two. I wasn’t really happy with what I came away with in Canterbury. On reflection, I decided that the problem was for the kind of photography I like, wide-angle would only work in a handful of spots. Canterbury is obviously only a small city, and it felt fairly limited in terms of compositions that would work at a wide-angle. There’s the classics of course (Butchery Lane and the view of the cathedral, or the Buttermarket for example), but little else immediately sprung to mind.

Now, this might say more about me than anything else, it just seemed quite difficult to spot shots that would work at 18mm (27mm on full frame). I came to thinking that if I was in a large city walking around, I’d find many more compositions, but in Canterbury it was a bit more difficult. I think some photographers would get a lot from a wide angle lens in the city, with the opportunities for candid photos and layering, but they’re not something that come easy to me, so finding those kinds of shots is a bit of a struggle. All that said though, I think all of this was more about the limitations I placed upon myself, the blockage I had already decided that I wanted to overcome. I don’t think I did overcome it, but I think the experience helped me to explore some potential I’d probably not seen before in the 18mm. And quite possibly the walk in Canterbury made the next day in Margate much easier…

Anyway, let me know what you think. I do think the Margate ones are better, but no shame in sharing photos from a disappointing trip. It’s all part of the process after all…

the photos

Beyond the Familiar: Discovering New Compositions in Margate & Cliftonville

This last weekend was one of those classic ones where you hope for fog, head out to a location you had in mind for some foggy shots, only to find that you arrive and the fog actually ended up further west along the north Kent coast. Ah well. Once you’ve arrived, you might as well make the most of it. No point burning petrol for nothing.

So, Margate it was. I don’t tend to head here very often during the winter months, it’s more of a summer shooting destination for me during the day (I do like it in the evenings, but quite often I’m too tired for the hour plus round trip in the evening). As it turned out, whilst there was no fog, there were some pretty good conditions, with some nice light to work with. Of course it was cold, but my investment in fingerless gloves has really paid off, so no problem on that front.

This time I decided to talk a decent walk through to Cliftonville (I used to work there back in 2001-2) and whilst it has undoubtedly become somewhat more gentrified than when I worked there, there remains the old Cliftonville (it was one of the poorest parts of not just Kent, but the UK when I worked there). I did get into one dicey situation where someone somewhat aggressively shouted at me for taking photos (“you can’t take photos along this road before midday!!!”), but I just responded with an “oh, alright” and carried on. I don’t tend to get too many problems when I’m out taking photos, not in this country at least (I have had issues in Spain a couple of times). Generally I’ve found not being confrontational does the trick, and largely people leave me alone. Although, I should add the caveat that I’m a 6’2” man, so that probably gives me some licence to go about things without any trouble.

I tried to get some different compositions to the usual ones I get in Margate (it’s very easy to fallback on the old reliables), and found a couple of shots that were different to what I’d taken prior in the town. I feel at the moment, each time I go out I’m trying to push myself to try something new. If nothing else, you kinda have to one when you are wandering around the same small towns. I guess it’s one of the benefits of sticking to the same areas, you have to keep working at it. Finding new things. Otherwise you’d get bored and give up. Sometimes it is hard. Sometimes it takes a lot of effort not to either sack it off or just do the same shots, but it can be rewarding when you don’t.

Anyway, you be the judge of whether it was worth the effort…

pottering around Ramsgate in the sun...

Ramsgate is a place I seldom explore. I’m always drawn to Margate when I choose to go out with my camera…partly because I used to work there so at least know the town, partly because, well, it’s Margate and it has that whole Margate vibe thing going on.

I’ve been a couple of times in the past few years, but always on overcast days and never on a day where the light was the kind of light you hope for. On this occasion, however, the forecast was a crisp, cold day with blue skies and sunshine. For once, the forecast didn’t disappoint.

Ramsgate doesn’t quite have the artsy appeal of Margate, but it also doesn’t have the feeling of over-extended gentrification. There are signs here and there, of course, but it quite to the extent of other places alone the east Kent coast, and certainly doesn’t appear to be signs of the sheer excess and over-reach that other parts of East Kent aspire to (hello Folkestone). In fact, it more closely resembles the kind of east Kent coastal town that I knew all too well from my youth.

Anyway, this particular visit had exceptional light flooding the side streets, casting bold shadows and bringing interesting reflections. On exploring it did beg the question why I don’t visit more often. Like Deal there are plenty of streets that run perpendicular to the promenade, resulting in glorious golden light illuminating shop fronts and passers-by. I should really make more of this, especially this time of year when the golden hour coincides with people milling around the streets. Maybe I should explore it more, it certainly makes a change from the Margate>Deal>Folkestone options I normally choose when conditions look promising.

Anyway, I took a few shots during my trip. Could do with a few more sunny days given how dull this winter has been…

When the fog descends...

…head to Deal. Or Margate. Or Folkestone. Or…well, anywhere.

Fog is that magical element that we all (I think?) hope for at this time of year. You scour the weather apps, desperate for a sign, anything, that suggests maybe there will be some fog on the way. You build your hopes up when Clear Outside suggests 10 for fog, only to remember all those times before when it was just cloudy. Or you check the Met Office, excited to see a VP for visibility. Could this be the moment? Or will it be another VP that turns out to be E?

Most of the time, you’re hesitant because that forecast for fog hits the morning and, let’s face it, even in the winter, that morning rise can be a bit of a chore when all you have is a hint of hope that maybe you’ll wake to find that you can barely see beyond your doorstep. But every now and then, the forecast is in the evening and when that happens…bingo! No early rising, no dragging yourself out of bed on a cold morning, it’s just a late afternoon drive somewhere, and a leisurely stroll around before getting home in time for tea. Fog in the afternoon/evening is the dream, so often much more elusive than in the morning.

It just so happens that this last weekend, fog was forecast in the evening. So I decided to grab my stuff and head to Deal and hope for the best. Imagine my disappointment as I got ever closer, only to find there was not even the slightest hint of fog. Was I in for disappointment? Perhaps. Oh well, I got out of the house at least…

Found a suitable parking space, parked up, grabbed my coat, my camera bag, my beanie…wait, what’s that? That street lamp seems to be picking up some mist rolling in. Don’t tell me it’s actually going to happen? The very moment I park up, now the fog is going to roll in? This never happens. I’m nearly always in for disappointment. Well, we’re in. Let’s go!

And so into town, down the sidestreets, onto the promenade…the pier is…well, it’s there because I can see the lights. But that’s all I can see. Other than two figures sitting on the wall looking out to sea. Maybe a walk on the pier would be good with the lights…I feel an urge to channel my inner blade runner fandom. Just need the right subject, a person or couple that I can make the subject, with enough distance to other people to make it appear like they are on their own. A couple going for an eery walk down the pier in the evening, with the pier lights shining bright. That will do the job.

Back into town. Fog, cold, condensation…there have got to be some shots to be had here. The ice cream parlour. That usually works. Almost empty, but for a couple sitting at a table, reading a paper. Great. Sometimes you just get lucky. Sometimes the opportunities just scream out at you. Sure, sometimes the shot can be obvious, perhaps there’s more unique shots to be had if you just spend a bit of time thinking about it, but what if the moment goes? What if you lose any shot at all? All the thoughts that buzz around your head before you press down on the shutter. There will be plenty of times to mess around and experiment. Sometimes it’s just about getting the shot, no matter how obvious it feels in hindsight.

A potter back through town, hands in pockets, longing for the warmth of the car. And then it’s done. Got lucky. Got shots. Got cold. Got home. Until next time, evening fog. Whenever that may be…

Fringe and Ginge, Canterbury

Fringe+Ginge is one of my favourite cafes in the city. Well, in truth, it’s pretty much the only cafe I go to in the city…because I don’t really drink coffee so I’m really not down with the whole coffee culture thing. A good cup of tea is all the caffeine hit I need. But it’s not just the tea and chilled vibe (famously, no laptops and stressed people trying to work!) that draws me in, the windows also do it for me…especially at this time of year when it’s cold outside and nice and cosy inside.

In truth, I started taking pictures of the cafe long before I started going in and spending my money. After a while, I felt a bit guilty just using it as a photo location and figured I should actually go in and spend some money there too. And I’m glad I did, Alfie and Olivia (the owners) have made this an essential place to stop off and grab a tea, a pastry or a toasted sandwich. And both have been really cool about me taking photos in and around the cafe, which is also a big plus.

And for a small spot, there’s plenty of photo opportunities, again, especially at this time of year with the condensation on the large windows at the front and side of the building. I was even thinking recently that you could even make a really niche zine out of the interior and exterior of the cafe, but that’s probably a challenge too far for me at the moment. Something to consider in the future though maybe.

Anyway, I thought I’d pull together a number of recent photos taken inside and outside the cafe. It’s amazing what you can get in one, small location if the conditions are right and you are patient (which isn’t always the case with me).

Winter came...

After a hot summer and a pretty mild autumn, it came as quite a shock when winter hit last week. Of course, we didn’t get snow in this part of the country, but we did have freezing conditions, fog and some good hard frost across the county. Fortunately for me, this cold snap hit on a week where I had a weekday off work - huzzah! A rarity for the conditions to suit my diary, so of course I grasped the opportunity with both hands.

Between Thursday and Sunday I managed to squeeze in four locations and a couple of evening street photography walks too. All in all, a pretty great week. And it all started, where else, but in Fairfield.

Fairfield

Now, I’ve not been to Fairfield since that epic day earlier in the year that had me giddy as a school child. It’s one of those locations that is easily overdone, and so I like to space out my visits (helped somewhat by the long drive to get there from our neck of the woods). Taking the opportunity of a weekday off, I checked the weather forecast, got excited about the potential for thick frost, packed my camera bag and prepared myself for an epic trip.

After a swift detour to pick up Aga McPherson (the famous girl in a yellow jacket), we headed down to Fairfield, wrapped up warm and eager to capture the wintery scene we had pictured in our minds the night before. And we weren’t disappointed. Sheep roamed the fields, the water was frozen, the grass thick with frost…you couldn’t ask for better conditions (well, I guess you could ask for fog…but then, you know, there’s always something isn’t there?). I tried to get a few different compositions, some worked, some didn’t. But then there’s no point driving all that way only to get the exact same composition as before, right?

Of course, the photo above isn’t really a new composition, but there are a few in the gallery below. Just in case you doubted me!

Fairfield was great, it was freezing cold (as you’d expect in a relatively remote location this time of year), but it was fantastic. Sheep roamed around the church (which resulted in some very careful tripod placement!), and we were the only two photographers to enjoy the scene as the moon went down, the sun came up and the light caught the frozen grass. All in all, well worth the trip. And a brief nap awaited me on my return home before setting out into Canterbury and onwards to Folkestone for some street photography. Then it was all about planning for the weekend and considering where would be best to make the most of the freezing conditions.

Hothfield Common

On Saturday I had planned to go to Wye. But the roads were all closed, it looked like a horrorshow to get to the top of the Downs, and so I changed my plans and instead headed towards Hothfield Common. It’s only relatively recently I’ve “discovered” Hothfield. I had never been before last year, but there’s something about the place that’s quite captivating. Whether it’s the Highland Cows, the Konik ponies, the heather or just the unusual nature of the landscape, there’s something about it that makes you feel you are not in Kent at all, that you’ve been transported to another place altogether (at least until the dog walkers arrive and you hear the familiar East Kent accent).

Anyway, I’d not yet been in the winter time, and I’d had a few shots in mind if there was ever the opportunity to go in ice cold condtions. And…well, I wasn’t disappointed.

This was pretty much the compostion I had in mind. I’ve been returning to this tree a few times ever since my first trip to Hothfield, and been fascinated by the potential given it was surrounded by ferns and heather. As always, I had hoped for something slightly different. I felt like a bit of fog in the background would have helped simplify the scene, and it would have been nice for none of the branches to overlap with the background (I could get no lower than this) but nonetheless, I was pleased with this shot. I felt like it really captured the conditions that morning. And, fortunately for me, it was a scene that I had pretty much to myself.

Seasalter and Whitstable

Finally, Sunday saw a trip to Seasalter and Whitstable. The conditions once more were epic, with the added bonus of some fog (finally!) thrown into the mix. Although this time the problem was too much the other way…perhaps a little too much fog! Yes, I’m never satisfied. Seasalter was particularly pleasing though. The long grasses were frozen solid, the water in front of the beach huts was a sheet of ice, robins danced in amongst the grasses around me…you couldn’t really ask for more.

Not quite satisfied with my lot, I decided to head down the road to Whitstable and see what was on offer there. I’ve been wanting to capture a foggy view of the harbour for some time, and this seemed a good opportunity. And so it turned out. Thick fog enveloped the harbour. To the extent that, once more, you wished it was just a little less thick. But, again, one could hardly complain. These conditions don’t come along very often and expecting perfection is asking a bit too much. You just have to seize the opportunity and get what you can get.

And so that was a pretty hectic week. Freezing cold, but wonderful epic conditions the likes of which we rarely get the opportunity to shoot. And even now, a week later, it’s not quite done yet. Milder conditions are not forecast to hit for another 24-48hrs, so there might still be some time left to grab some epic wintery conditions before we head into Christmas. Fingers crossed there’s more to come, and maybe some snow at some point…just not around Christmas itself (we’re flying to Spain). If it can just time itself as well as the conditions did this time, I’ll be happy.