WHAT LOCATIONS DID I WANT TO FIND?

I wanted to explore my options of different locations to shoot landscapes in. Two thoughts that came to mind was a nature reserve/abandoned man-made object taken over by nature, and the other was a seaside town. I wanted to photograph two places that included people and not within a landscape location.

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Thats why I chose Pegwell Bay Nature Reserve and Deal pier. Both are very different, but I wanted to experiment and do a shoot at both locations to find out which one I wanted to go with for my final four images.

WHY DID I CHOOSE THESE LOCATIONS?

Pegwell Bay is full of nature along the coastal cliffside, as you make your way around, you come across a flatten down concreted land of space. This used to be a hoverport, but now closed, and nature has taken over. But the other end of the nature reserve has abandonment as well, but it has features of people, or what use to belong to people. It shows how the landscape has changed with human impact, but how nature has overcome and grown once more through it.

Deal is a seaside town in Kent and holds lots of character. The pier is one of the main features, from its shapes, but the people. The fishermen and families that go fishing bring a sense of community. But not just the pier but the rest of the beach has other objects and families that go there to enjoy a day out. This location would have more of a street style photography, along with the landscape theme. But to photograph the people that surrounds this location can really shape what the environment is like.

One of these locations shows life and the other shows what once use to hold people possession, but now empty in their environment.

OVERALL CHOSEN LOCATION

I have chosen to go with the location of Pegwell Bay Nature Reserve. This is because of the sense of what used to be there in that environment. How the natural environment has taken over what once used to be their (e.g. hoverport). After all, the environment and nature were here before us.

But most of the images have a sense of uniqueness, for example, the image with the fire and house, that event may never happen again. Maybe in another ten years time, this location will be more eroded and will look less like it once did. Capturing this location in this point of time, (in a landscape format and with the rest of the reserve), will be different and exciting.

HISTORY BEHIND CHOSEN LOCATION

Pegwell Bay Hoverport was one of the parts of the nature reserve I heard about that was still there, but overtaken by the natural environment. When I went down to the area, my mum was trying to explain to me what it was used for and looked like. So when looking up images, I found interesting information and stories.

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“This hoverport, the pad of which is still intact at Ramsgate with the approach markings and car park outlines still visible, was the home to four SRN4 Mk II craft owned by Hoverlloyd between 1968 and 1987 prior to its shutdown resulting from the merger of Seaspeed with Hoverlloyd to form HoverSpeed. The ramp had terminal buildings and an access road coming from just north of Cliff’s End. The access road still exists today but is blocked off to traffic by a barrier. The pad is accessible on foot, however, from the road or from the nearby beaches.” (Jameshovercraft.co.uk, 2014)

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Incredibly, this was opened in 1969, 50 years ago and some of the painting marks, are still there. Even the light poles, fences, and the main stairs are still intact. Though its rusted and nature has grown in between, it’s refreshing to see a part of this history.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Jameshovercraft.co.uk. (2014). Pegwell Bay Hoverport, Ramsgate (1969 – 1987):: jameshovercraft.co.uk. [online] Available at: http://www.jameshovercraft.co.uk/hover/hoverports/pegwell_bay_hoverport.php [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].