Beach Life (working title)

[Foxbat Flyer]

The Adobe Spark presentation looks good on my tablet, pictures are fine and the font is very readable.

The only thing I'm not sure of is having to go outside of TP to see your updates.

Where ever you choose to post your latest updates, I will make sure I keep up with the developing series.

Chris

 

[Ed Sutton]

Don't worry, Chris, I'll still be putting updates on here.

It's just that I've been wondering how to present the project when it's finished instead of as a Blurb book and this Spark thing looks an interesting option. It's various features (I've found some more of them now) might also influence the sorts of pictures I take in future.

 

[Ed Sutton]

One of my favourite photographers is Keith Arnatt, and one day I'd like to pay homage to his Walking the Dog series. Having made a few attempts at photographing people with their hounds I have developed a deep respect for how Arnatt managed to get both owner and dog to look at the camera. I have a suspicion he might have used a squeaky toy or a clicker judging by dogs' expressions. I whistle!

This is Dave and his boisterous Vizsla, Niles (named after the Frasier Crane's brother).

 

[ancient_mariner]

I didn't have much time to spare today, and worse still I had to get back for five. A pity because there was a chap pumping lugworm, there were professional shrimpers out and someone else was setting either nets or lines for (hopefully) cod further along the beach. Then again if I'd continued making the same mess of my photos as the ones I did get it would have been a bigger waste of time...

A worm pump is basically a great big syringe that sucks up sand, and worms. It's a lot less tiring and faster than using a spade. Unfortunately I didn't get any decent shots. But this sequence gives an idea of how it works.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/dszZ97AMwk0Mh42bjgU4-1vGsa5FqQuuEIKgdBtyS13CN_DQP7mmUTOOZf7EW7FIi6b5xsNw-pRFoknVLR67_eEWRQxMPJ41k_pHTZ4j3MPbCfzc0tLcPP8gFa03wnSi2kFSKQe5xNvipglM5h_V5RJDu3yytBb3ISaN6Hj_0YUY95y8avoWvFlRNYIme-vuYKo73Od0TsQn8imHzMoikDQZgbpW4dPQoVrfarmvlbcApXEfOEs3PFCNQlRW_AiKDd5go3szdVymyDyEGb1JI6CX7LvdLfG97wVYl9SFsQ4n4tiJrCCIHhQmXWfW8o7wFfOxtYvvHMYi1pPgcSDTKOpBRPJuUobRlp8rgcMaU1Fw78PrLf9W19XSTrV_48Xgc32Cyu2QerZembIQGEXs5O61H80GH6qDJS9QbWihfsFnkN86EnSrWKYdIURQTEc3-NXDIxKdzNDJN1TTOjJ-pFP8DRE7-h3miL0TEnAMUK86Bl6J-BYgfvfke2T5RFACzGHzlGwAn47zfbQ9UmCkTqAZI0EuIuUGIvDldBy0dlcVpDyj_IysYmGWFtvRZZ_LtmO8URpxrP-dYKfZ6jM5OjRoOKvG2t4fe8Deo9H8e-KSPAMiJd6SAIw=w1200-h597-no

Southport is (or was) noted for its shrimps, potted in butter. When I was a kid it was a common sight to see the tractors heading along one of the roads and out across the sand. (I'm not old enough to remember the horse drawn carts! These days it's not so common. Some time in the last forty years a compound was made for them which is usually kept secure. Recently the gates got broken down which allowed for a bit of exploration. After photographing some of the tractors and other modified vehicles I indulged my love for making grids.

As the grid illustrates, there is a variety of machines, but the basic idea is to drag nets behind them.

As I didn't want to disturb the gulls and waders today I didn't get close to the water, but these pictures give a bit of an idea of how the shrimpers operate. It's just a pity that the shots aren't quite as crisp as they could be. The weather forecast is a bit rubbish for tomorrow so I might have a trawl through my archives and sort out my existing beach pictures to see what can get put in the project folder.

Ed, this post seems to have marked a turning point in the project, and since then the images have been excellent and involving in a way that they weren't really before. I don't know if that's a result of changing equipment or something more personal, but I've really enjoyed the words and images in this and the following posts.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Ed, this post seems to have marked a turning point in the project, and since then the images have been excellent and involving in a way that they weren't really before. I don't know if that's a result of changing equipment or something more personal, but I've really enjoyed the words and images in this and the following posts.

Thanks for the comments, Toni.


Some of the earlier posts were of pictures picked out from my archives to show the range of activities rather than to illustrate particular ones. That might account for some of it. I certainly don't think I've been doing anything differently, not consciously, and I've been using the same random choices of gear. Possibly I've spent more time with the people I've been meeting. Or maybe I've been posting slightly different sorts of pictures, trying to tell the stories more?

 

[ancient_mariner]

Perhaps you just settled to the subject, and unconsciously, having finished drawing from the archives, found things just came together better?

 

[Ed Sutton]

Perhaps you just settled to the subject, and unconsciously, having finished drawing from the archives, found things just came together better?

That's probably it. I was pondering this while I was out today and I think that since taking photographs at the beach has become a (loosely defined) project I now have a better focus what I'm trying to achieve.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Although I've managed to get to the beach four times I've not come away with much in the way of new pictures. The biggest problem is not knowing what to expect, which translates into not knowing what to take in the way of lenses. That's why I often end up taking my 'superzoom' but I'm trying to wean myself off that to force myself in closer to subjects to get a more natural perspective. It is useful though.

On a copuple of visits rangers were putting in teh posts which demarcate the parking areas for when cars are allowed back on the beach next month. Unfortunately they weren't up for having their photos taken, so I just got a couple of shots taht partly tell the story.

Bright low sun is a bugger to work in. Great when it's behind you for some subjects, but it makes people squint if you are trying to take their photograph. Shooting into the sun is just plain tricky. In the first 'post' picture you can just make out Carl dragging his kite buggy off the beach. On my next visit he was there again but whizzing around and taking video on his GPS controlled cameras. Amazing kit that tracks vim via a beacon on his arm. I've met Carl in the past and he's always happy to be photographed. The light, however, beat me for what I had in mind. He uses a landboard as well as a buggy.

If I'd been able to get to the beach a couple of hours earlier the angle of the sun would have been more favourable and I would have had better chances of pictures I think.

Yesterday there were two bait diggers out using pumps and a shrimping tractor in action. I've found out that the best tides for shrimps are the really low ones. Which explains why the shrimpers have been out in numbers this week. There's not a lot that can be done from dry land to photograph shrimping other than try to give a sense of time and place. The light was strange yesterday. There was sun breaking through low over the wind farm and Welsh mountains, while out to teh gas rig there was a haze making the sky and the calm sea merge with a bright line for a horizon.

Wide, very wide or closer?

Contd.

 

[Ed Sutton]

The lugworm situation on this stretch of the beach is a bit poor by all accounts, and certainly from what I've seen the pickings have been slim. That is reflected in my lack of pictures of lugworm! I know the sort of pictures I'd like to flesh out this part of the project, but when there are few being pumped up it's not easy. And I manage to mess up when I do get a chance. Details like the one below would be good. If the worm was in focus and not the welly...

In the end I had to settle for yet another small figure on a large beach picture (and a worm cast). The speck in the distance is the other worm digger.

 

[Bobsyeruncle]

Loving this. A great project, and so much going on.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Loving this. A great project, and so much going on.

Thanks Robert. Glad you're enjoying it.

Despite it being really gloomy this afternoon there were plenty of people about on the beach, but they were all doing what you'd expect people to be doing at the seaside. As it gets warmer this will increasingly be the case and I might ease up on this project until Autumn. It could be the time to start looking at the people who work on the beach though. The ice cream vans are coming out of hibernation now and the RNLI Lifeguards set up their huts and start patrolling in April.

I also took a stroll to the end of the pier. There isn't much to see there when the tide is out a mile or more! I'm not sure if the pier should be included in this project or not.

 

[Ed Sutton]

The Lifeguards aren't patrolling yet, but today they were having a refresher/training session when I arrived (after the sun had gone away...). All I had to do was ask and the supervisor was happy for me to take some photos.

People wearing wet suits, like the kite surfers, make very distinct silhouettes. Capturing the shapes people and animals make is something that get very fussy about for some reason, but I love trying to get ones that somehow express something. A group of Lifeguards one an open beach could keep me occupied for days!

Despite Anthony Gormley's Another Place being just a few miles further down the coast I've never been to see it. Probably because it's so famous and I'm a contrary git. However, the stance of these two guys looking out to sea reminded me of the statues.

Sometimes I don't think it matters if the horizon slopes.

As well as my oddball picsI took a fair few photos of the training they were doing taking it in turns to play the roles of victim and rescuers.

As they were getting ready to leave the supervisor asked if I'd take a team photo for them Which I duly did. I got the impression they'd one this before.

Then I took a mile and a half walk to where there were a couple of paragliders flying, Only for me to arrive there just as the rain did and the paragliders gave up. I got soaked on my way back to the car.

 

[Nick Owen]

Excellent idea and execution of this project. Of all the shots, it's the shot of two dogs crossing (with the owner?) in the bg that remains in the mind. I'd edit hard and keep these story telling shots to the fore and be wary of 'beach scenes' or images that don't say much. Good luck!

 

[Ed Sutton]

Excellent idea and execution of this project. Of all the shots, it's the shot of two dogs crossing (with the owner?) in the bg that remains in the mind. I'd edit hard and keep these story telling shots to the fore and be wary of 'beach scenes' or images that don't say much. Good luck!

Thanks Nick. The general scenic shots can come in useful for the layout of the Spark presentation as background images for text to roll over, but telling the story is what I'm trying to concentrate on.

Being there at the right time is crucial, and I'm starting to feel like the ad hoc 'go when I've got a free couple of hours' approach might have run its course and I might have to start arranging to meet people in advance. Today was a case in point.

Apart from shrimps and cockles (when the beds are open) this part of the coast isn't generally associated with fishing. However both professional and amateur net, and set line, fishing goes on. Nets are set at low tide and the catch collected at the following low tide. Naturally enough this is done far out on the sands and far away from the popular spots people walk out to. Although I know when the tides are I can''t be sure when there will be anyone putting nets or lines out. Sod's Law usually dictates that whenever I turn up the fishermen are miles away, and by the time I get anywhere close they are leaving. This was almost the case today but two chaps setting their net were fairly close, even though they had all but done by the time I reached them. Not teh best set of pictures, but at least I have something in the files now.

The last task is to set a marker so the net can be located before the tide was ebbed sufficiently for it to be reached. The scrap of number plate makes this easy to pick out in the dark.

I messed about a bit with some lower angles. The shots might make useful 'fillers'.

 

[Ed Sutton]

other than a brief look in on my way home from Liverpool on Wednesday my first chance to go to the beach was this morning. I had wanted to get there for low tide to see if anyone was emptying nets but it was raining. When it dried up and I got out it looked like there had been vehicle on the beach earlier. Ho hum. There was hardly anyone around, probably because of the rain and biting wind. However I trudged out towards the sea and saw someone dragging a cart back up the beach.

He turned out to be a part-time shrimper who books his days off work to coincide with good tides. The wind churning up the shallows had scuppered his plans, the shrimps don't like the sand strirred up in the water, and he was heading home. I'd missed the chance of some pictures of him at work, but he obliged for a portrait.

I like the way people improvise things to make things easier. One of the people I've photographed in the past had an electric bicycle to get him out across the sand modified with panniers to carry the coal he'd collected back to his motor home, which had a rack on the back for the bike.

Anyway, hardly had I taken a few photos than the bloomin' rain came back. Tomorrow might be drier.

From the archive.

 

[Foxbat Flyer]

Still enjoying your documentary Dave, I can almost feel the wind in the first one!

I would never have expected to see these examples of fishing activities - it's really interesting to see.

Looking forward to see what you come up with on the pier.

Chris

 

[Ed Sutton]

Thanks Chris. I'm still unsure about the pier being part of this project as I really want to concentrate on activities which take place on the shore itself.. The pier fits better into another idea I have, which might get off the ground sometime.

However, I have tried to show the difference in the beach either side of the pier. Another try in brighter light is called for. Today's weather is worse than anticipated. Yet more rain is falling!

 

[Ed Sutton]

There was a break in the gloom around lunchtime but my trip to the beach was pretty fruitless. The wind had brought the kite surfers out, but I've enough pictures of them. Most everyone else was keeping out of the sandstorm blasting across the shore. There were a couple of photographers out. One was shooting the kite surfing action. The other one appeared to be up to something 'arty'. I think I need a break from this project for a while in order to get thinking differently and come back to it refreshed. This is a big reason I like to have more than one project on the go if I can. In the meantime I have to clean the salt spray off my camera and lens.

There was a very feint, and low, rainbow which you might be able to make out in the next picture.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Thanks to the magic of the internet I got a tweet yesterday showing the lifeguard's hut being delivered to the beach. I was obviously too late to get any photos of that myself, but I called in today to get some of it in situ. Over the years I've made lots of photos of the hut, which has now proved to be something of a historical record. A couple of winters ago it got wiped out by a big storm. That's why it's now taken away during the winter when the lifeguards don't patrol.The current current hut and plinth are a different design to the previous one. Which I didn't realise until I looked for a photo of the storm damage.

The new hut.

The hut from 2013.

The remains.

Photographing things repeatedly over time can bring back memories (sometimes prove them wrong too) and also show how the familiar changes.

There are signs up telling of road works starting next week on the best road to the beach. That might be the signal for me to take a break and either get on with another project for a while, or concentrate on a different area of the beach.

 

[Ed Sutton]

It doesn't take much in the way of warm sunshine to get the crowds out. The on-road parking was pretty much packed out and the beach parking doesn't open until next month. I just managed to find a space. The beach was much busier with people doing the sort of things you'd expect at the seaside. The only unusual occurrence was some sort of Old English Sheepdog convention. It was madness and I didn't even try to photograph what was going on. Just a couple of snaps really. When I got surrounded by carrering hounds it was totally surreal!

Back by the pier there was more sandcastle building and ice cream eating, and the pier itself was thronged. One of the difficulties when the crowds are out in force is making the kind of pictures I like with figures with lots of space around them. So more snaps. I think I will have another look tomorrow and then call it quits until September apart from an occasional look in, maybe early or late in the day. It is the beach in winter that has always interested me most.

At the end of the pier I was taking a photo of the wreck when two bikes came into view. I have no idea what the riders were doing out there. Nearly every time I go to the beach I see something to make me think!

It might have felt like early summer on the beach, but there was snow on the Cumbrian fells.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/mQ7qnq5PGEhVd5_KvznoYICDNnuD-KyMCnpTmwcp6A_E1GE1W4CLU-w3c4IvdZuJ4iFFKjA0NbotdYfW2Zk4dUOMbIZ6Swyp5hVvw4G6yAtBxTbGZZdCbBPiPpQvLuE3PHKCDkKzyAA0pDG3YVOMLiVOhdHI3mL0iPm-qGsUvKaTO5Qsx4DzswBg8LdLkj6fsl--flNW8k3JJcRkW_Z0ESwsVTwaOOzqxSnFhDXcNgr6Dj3V31Iv6F-Zqm5m7witG65RemUiZhTy2QY_txp_uCk6xbt_PhcXnK3gvBtmO7OEepDTUzD0uRYjNHauT03W1V8gpUJU1oo2CgAHZu4UjFJ2-uadI9as8f9Wz336GCrUCaKmg2x19RESOmb__dt7dMYY49I7SyyZaR3t8ACEsjHwsoQduqOa8jNob_nknz-nS65Z7_O0Yhny1T-lWI721mXmDPzMTKxFKKaQEUkzvppmuQcdlCGFiq5yGMCTGkeOZVQo9fovkLr3r-xaxJaotqHyWB8OLLvYl3dyoTcpSmM8tP1SO-vVPY7Sw0FG3rnkAg5zm0l3As-Ioh40ELkk-SPAMjRPm_7HBoGTIGdtUyVbB_mKcBgbgxhq-zXGb4pJbhE_97MHbsw=w900-h601-no

 

[Foxbat Flyer]

Another good set in this latest edition of your documentary Dave - I love the "Old English Sheepdog Convention" it looks like a lot of fun.

Chris

 

[Ed Sutton]

Cheers Chris. Just snaps really. The only one I'm halfway happy with is the running dogs. I really wasn't 'in the zone' at all today.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Thanks to everyone who's commented on the project so far. It's been a big help and an encouragement. The project isn't done yet. there may be sporadic additions before the autumn, but it's definitely time to take a break now the hordes are back.

 

[Foxbat Flyer]

Enjoy your break from the beach project Dave, but before you go.........

Please leave us with a more positive last image - the littler doesn't feel right as the last in the series.

Chris

 

[Ed Sutton]

OK A mix of current and archive pics - going back to 2011!

 

[ancient_mariner]

This is a good breakpoint to me - enjoy your change.

 

[Foxbat Flyer]

That's a much better & more optimistic finish Dave.

Thank you for sharing the series and good luck with your next one.

Chris

 

[Ed Sutton]

Thanks again, Chris.

Not sure where I'm headed next. Probably more for my poultry project when/if the avian flu restrictions get lifted round here - next Saturday's poultry auction has been cancelled. Then there's my Little Book of Project Ideas to leaf through.

 

[susiejb]

You've certainly proved that last photo to be true in your project Dave ... I've thoroughly enjoyed my catch up, I love the variety of activities, there are so many photos that I really like, but I think the big wide angle ones with the tiny subject are my favourites, I just like the way they emphasise the vastness of the beach.
Thank you for the link to Adobe Spark ...that looks really interesting....and good luck with the next one

 

[Ed Sutton]

Thanks Susie. I like those 'empty' pictures too.

 

[Cloudforest]

Really enjoyed following this series so far Dave. Love the picture of the walkers, dogs and kites silhouetted on the beach as well as the one after it.
Good luck with whatever project you decide to pursue next.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Thanks Pete. I've still not settled on my next project. I'll probably mess around with some ideas until one clicks into place, like they usually do.

 

[Ed Sutton]

I'm still floundering around trying to get a new project off the ground, and it's far too sunny to visit the beach! So, after looking through my Keith Arnatt book I felt inspired to do some DIY studio photography in my garage of some objects I've picked up from the beach over the years. Not strictly part of the Beach Life project, more a side project.

The set up and lighting was amateurish in the extreme, and I did it all very quickly.

 

[ancient_mariner]

The selection seems dominated by toys. Is that intentional (for the colour?) or representative of what you normally find?

 

[Ed Sutton]

I photographed objects which are all of a similar size. I do find quite a few toys though, or bits of toys. If I picked up every ball I see I'd not be able to move for them! I have quite a few 'flat' objects which would have needed photographing a different way and I also have other bottles, plus shells, pottery and coal.

Maybe I should collect and photograph more bottles?

 

[ancient_mariner]

Th bottles look good to me.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Hmmm. I'll have to start taking a bigger bag with me for the bottles. I've found 'old school' milk bottles in the past. Goodness knows how long they've been rolling around Irish Sea for!

 

[Ed Sutton]

A rare summer evening visit to the beach yesterday. Parking fees aside I avoid the place at this time of year because of the crowds and what they leave behind. Although if I were wildlife oriented the resourceful gulls could become the subject for a project.

It's not all bad, though. The light can be nice.