I have been photographing the coast around Hartlepool for as long as I have lived here, both using a traditional landscape photographer’s approach with a camera on a tripod during the ‘golden hour’, and more loosely, with a small hand held camera at no particular time of day.
Looking back at all the images I have taken of my adopted town, I have realised there are massive gaps in my knowledge of the town’s geography. It then occurred to me that I could start to redress that by exploring the outskirts of the town; the margins where human occupation meets the countryside, or the sea. I began to wonder how exploring and making images of the edge of town might say something not just about Hartlepool, but also about the times we are living in.
I began this project in February 2018, using 35mm SLR and compact cameras. I have experimented with different film stock and developer. After trial an error I am happy with a combination of Rollei RPX 100, Rollei RPX 400, Ilford FP4 and Ilford HP5, all developed in Kodak Xtol. I should perhaps reduce my film choice to either Rollei or Ilford.
Technical considerations aside, I have much physical ground to cover, and as the days grow longer I am relishing the prospect of early morning and late evening walks. I am considering setting up a Google Map page, adding markers for the images already made as a visual aide-memoire and as something visitors to my site might like to use.
Please check out the first of my images in the Edge of Town photograph gallery page.
Great, am looking forward to following your photographic adventures.
Thanks for following mate. I look forward to your ongoing adventures too.
Thank you very much for your thoughts on my photos.