Visions of Suffolk Series – Capture and Create Workshops

This summer I am introducing a new series of workshops which explore the idea around a sense of place. 

A sense of place captures the spirit of a location and although this can be achieved in one shot it is often best explored using a variety of images much like a visual sketchbook. 

Take this image of Sizewell. It tells the story of Sizewell Beach at sunrise but on its own it doesn’t tell us a huge amount about the location. However if we look at the next image which is a montage of 6 images captured on the same morning then this tells us much more about the location. 

To capture the essence of a location we need to capture a variety of images which can fall into 3 main categories:

Icons  – these are well know and familiar landmarks within the location you are photographing

Elements – these are things that are commonly associated with the location 

Details – these complete the picture and are usually composed of macro or close up shots

So for Sizewell our Icons could be the power station or the rigs in the sea. Our elements could be the fishing boats on the beach or the black coastguard cottages and our details could be winches, fishing gear, flowers on the beach or texture within an old wooden boat. All these things combine to build a picture of the place we are photographing. 

This summer I am running a new photography series called ‘Visions of Suffolk’ which will comprise workshops and printed zines. The series is all about creating a visual representation of a place through a series of workshops told by the workshop participants. The first location for the series will be the River Orwell and the workshops for this location will be held at Pin Mill, Landguard Point and Ipswich waterfront. 

At the end of each workshops participants are invited to submit a series of  6 images taken during the workshop they attended which best tell their story of the location. 

At the end of all three workshops I will combine all the submitted images into a printed, limited edition Zine. The first one will be about the River Orwell. All workshop participants who contribute to the zine will receive a free printed copy showcasing their work. 

The idea behind the series is to produce a body of work all about the Suffolk landscape  told by the people who love to photograph it. 

If you would like to take part the first three workshops are available to book now.