The First and the Last, With A Stirring Roar

Portsmouth’s hovercraft is a familiar and, for me, a much loved sight and sound on the Southsea seafront. I first travelled on it to Ryde back in the 90s and it was a strange and unique experience, as I imagined it would be. The service was the first in the world in the 1960s, the longest running service internationally and now, sadly, the last hovercraft service running in the UK. Anyone in the area around Clarence Pier during the day can’t help but have their attention drawn to the sound of the engines and prop blades as the hovercraft comes in and out of The Solent.

Over on Strong Island I have a running series of posts on Portsmouth public transportation over the years (which I need to continue with), if you are interested in finding out more about the hovercraft you could start there or hit up good old Google, of course.

The Cold Fog Enveloping Our Wet Bones

In Southsea the fog can come rolling in off of The Solent very rapidly, obscuring the sea, the Isle of Wight, the forts and the boats and noticeably dropping the temperature in minutes. I had been off the island a little while back and driving back to the Southsea seafront I could see the fog approaching so stopped off and took some photos of wooden remains of some kind of pier or mooring structure just on the beach. The tide was low which revealed the base of the structure covered in seaweed, the seagulls sat on the piles, watching me creep around trying to take their photos.

Quiet Hilltop Chapel Part 1

I don’t often shoot B&W film at the moment (I tend to go through phases and currently it is colour) but when I take photos at weddings I tend to use both. Back in the autumn I was lucky enough to be asked to shoot a wedding where the service was held at the stunningly beautiful medieval St Huberts Chapel in Idsworth. The village itself is almost non-existent and tucked away in the hills in the middle of the countryside, with the chapel sitting on a hilltop, one half covered with lush grass, the other in corn.

I arrived at the church an hour early because I wanted to take some photos of the church in it’s environment before guests began to arrive. I initially walked up the hill to the left of the church and sat in the grass trying to compose my first few photos. Within a minute or two I jumped out of my skin because I felt a wet, cold touch on the back of my neck, scary considering I was in the middle of a deserted field. I quickly turned around and found two beautiful sheep dogs, who had crept up behind me and wanted to play. It turned out the dogs belonged to the chapel warden and were there all day, getting loads of attention from the wedding party. This first photo is one of my favourite photos I have taken in recent years and out of all of the wedding photos I took that day it was also, interestingly, the couple’s favourite photo from their wedding day…

Cold Blue Light of the Day Part 1

Today’s blue sky got me looking through the photos I took up in Suffolk over the Christmas period, none of which I’ve found the time to post so far! Now is as good a time as any. The weather was the same in so much as a wintery blue sky but back then we were still in the grips of the icy chill, with frozen water and face stinging winds.

The first part of my Boxing Day exploration was a small church tucked away in the countryside in a village called Uggeshall. The medieval church sits just on the one car width road and the long shadows from the low sun dropped over the hedgerows and graveyard. In the rear yard the tumbledown gravestones were thick with ice crystals, continuing the slow environmental wear on the stone, slowly eroding away the engraving and the identification.

One Man Party

A little while ago I was lucky enough to be asked via work to take photos for the second time of One Man Army (Steve from Soulwax) DJ in Southsea (you can see the photos from the first time here). Steve played a set in local pub Little Johnny Russells and as part of the Compulsive Productions brief we were to make a short film and take some film photography, which I took care of.

Steve killed it as always and I got to experiment again with multiple flash bursts to try and catch Steve’s explosive style. You can see a selection of the photos here and view the short edit over at Compulsive Productions’ blog.

Salt Ages Wood, Stone, Steel and Flesh Part 2

In the autumn my girlfriend Jo and myself travelled up to the Suffolk coast to visit my parents and also for me to show some of my favourite coastal locations to Jo who had previously never visited this part of the UK. One of the first places we went to was Covehithe, possibly my favourite place to walk in the UK (so far). I have taken many photos of the church, cliffs and beach over the last two years and the four previous visits (you can see all the photos here) and it still inspires me to take more photos as the landscape and weather change every time.

We first explored the church within a church before walking along the road to the cliffs and then down to the remote beach between the sea and the broad. The wind was very strong and blowing inland resulting in sandblasting when walking in one direction. Walking backwards along a cliff edge is pretty scary. Once down on the beach the wind wasn’t so bad and the sun really came out, highlighting the churning sea, the white bones of the salt trees and the wide sand haze beach. I’m always looking forward to my next visit.

Lost in White Water Part 2

I’ve recently been combining my photos that were spread over three computers all on to one laptop and this has brought some old, forgotten photos back to my attention. Early last year I was working in Hastings and drove over on Sunday afternoon, lucky timing as the tide was out and the beach and pier were covered in a dense fog. I posted up the first photos in Lost in White Water Part 1. Later last year Hastings pier sadly burnt down in the middle of the night which prompted me to find more photos from that foggy day, posted up as Lost to the Fog, Lost to the Flames.

After that the rest of the photos ended up under a big pile of new photos taken last autumn and this winter (literally hundreds and hundreds) until the other day. These are from the empty sandy beach, with the horizon hidden and the tide sliding out to meet it.

I’m going to be adding photos on Forever Circling daily again from next week, including more from Hastings plus many from walks and explorations all over the south and east coasts taken over recent months.

PRINT THIS Exhibition

Over the last month I have been helping out with the PRINT THIS photography exhibition held at Wallspace Gallery in Albert Road in Southsea. The Exhibition is the collection of photos submitted to the PRINT HERE photography competition that was run by Bored in celebration of the release of my Quiet Corners deck series produced with Blueprint Skateboards. The quality of submissions was so high it attracted the attention of the gallery owner Matt Sills who was kind enough to offer us the space for a few weeks, resulting in the PRINT HERE exhibition.

The exhibition was made up of a wall of 6″x4″ photo prints of all of the competition submissions, a wall of large prints of the 1st to 3rd winners and a wall of the Quiet Corners decks themselves. The opening night (sponsored by Carhartt) was an amazing night, really busy, plus the Saturdays we were open drew a respectable amount of visitors popping in for a look around. A big thank you to everyone involved and to all the people who visited the show.

Cold Face and a Warm Smile

A little before Christmas Jo and I travelled over to Climping in Sussex, it is just south of Ford (where the prison riot happened), which is just south of Arundel. The first reason for visiting is the incredible Sunday roasts served at the Oystercatcher pub, the second is the quiet beach, located between busy Bognor and Littlehampton.

By the size of the car parks the beach can get quite busy in the summer but at this time of year the long stretch of stone and sandy beach was deserted, with the sun low and bright and the sea quiet and still. Nothing really gets better than beach walks in these conditions, particularly after a roast lunch.

Masts and Markers Part 1, Solar Calm

Although I’ve been exploring the coastline of Chichester Harbour for some time it was only last summer I first went out on a boat on the harbour itself, for the first time able to connect locations, places, distances, villages and channels. I caught a trip out on the Chichester Harbour solar boat, which silently and smoothly traverses from Emsworth out to Langstone and back again.

It seems obvious but it is really only from the perspective of being on the water looking out that the mental geographical map really took shape in my head visually. The scale of the harbour itself also begins to take on context, even the curvature of the earth adds a new layer, masts in the harbour entrance and channel markers slipping past the hazy summer horizon.

Salt Ages Wood, Stone, Steel and Flesh Part 1

Aldeburgh was the first Suffolk coastal location I first visited when exploring this part of the UK, I was drawn by the talk of active fishing craft on the beach, old houses on the promenade and views over the North Sea that have inspired artists for hundreds of years.

Back in the autumn I went back for my fifth visit and Aldeburgh still is something special. After an amazing lunch in a hotel looking right out on the beach I walked north up the prom, peeking in to old windows, around corners and then around the RNLI lifeboat, which is stationed right on the beach itself.

Waiting For The Raw Bright Greens

Around this time of year I start to look forward to that friction hot weather you get as winter gives up to spring. The days where you don’t know if it is t-shirt weather or not because despite the raw heat and glare it is still late March and still very cool in the shade.

Last spring I taught a photography class and we went on a field trip to Staunton Country Park in Havant and the other day I found these photos I had forgotten about, photos taken in the woodland by the lake and over a stream. I’m running another photography class this spring and I’m looking forward to another visit.

One Hour Amongst The Boats Part 2 Marina

As well as the quayside and the working fishing boats and fish markets The Camber is also permanent and temporary home to pleasure craft in all different states of repair as well as a stack of small ribs and boats. Most of the time I had to look through the fence to get a good look or angle, with the light being bounced around by chrome and water.

In the end I shot one roll of 36 film during the one hour walk, I think it went some way in capturing the feel of The Camber on that sunny, bright but chilly Saturday morning.

One Hour Amongst The Boats Part 1 Quayside

Back in the autumn I had to be down at The Camber early in the morning and luckily it was a beautiful day with the last of the warm sun making the colours of the boats and water vibrant. The Camber is the fishing harbour and small marina located in Old Portsmouth and is a mix of industry and modern craft.

After a drink in the Bridge Tavern I spent an hour exploring the quay edge and the boats and shot one roll of film, these are the first of the photos.

Circles of Salt Water and Sky

Emsworth is the largest village located on Chichester Harbour and is always perfect for a walk and an explore. As you walk down the hill from the shops and pubs you descend to the small basin on the edge of the largest millpond and the busiest spot in the village when it comes to boats and sailing. If you’re lucky you’ll spot the famous Sid who has been working for the harbour since he was a boy.

The story goes that Emsworth has, or had, the most pubs per person ratio in the UK. Talking about the pubs makes me hungry and want to visit the Sussex Brewery for sausages and mash. Can you have sausages and mash for breakfast? Is that legal?

Waltz at Dusk

Walking back to the harbour from the wind turbine, the sun began to set and the starlings began their pre-roost dance in the sky. I’ve seen a little of this before in Brighton but this is the first time I’ve really been able to stop and watch and take it all in. As cliché as it sounds, it really is one of ‘nature’s wonders’.

Most Easterly

Ness Point in Lowestoft is the most easterly point in the UK, pushing out in to the North Sea. On the point lies a single, huge wind turbine windmill that as well as drawing the eye in the local area the low oscillating swoosh of the blades also provides a constant aural backdrop.

I filmed this the other evening and I tried getting different views of the blades as the sun quickly fell but it was so cold my hands (and consequentially the camera) kept on shaking. Brrr. The photos from the docks and pier walk and a second video edit to follow.

Clean Air, Crisp Sound Part 6

These are the last of the snow photos. Despite being cold, tired and with slightly wet feet I really enjoyed the quiet of walking to and around a different part of Portsmouth I hadn’t experienced before under snow.

The last part of the walk was back from the canal lock in Milton, through the park and back to my street. I love the black branches outlined with a layer of snow.

Clean Air, Crisp Sound Part 5

When I first moved to Portsmouth back in 1995 I lived in the student halls just off Locksway Road and I’ve always been really interested in the old canal, which is now all but erased from the map. After walking south past the halls I watched the wader birds feeding between the circles of ice and boats covered in snow. From there it was a short walk to the boat club and the old canal lock. The last remains of the canal are the sea lock walls, that are now home to a small marina of little boats. Within the lock the ice was thick and jostled in the water with the hulls.

Over the little bridge and on to the shore beach I was back at the wreak of an old boat, something I’ve taken photos of many times. The wreak is submerged during high tide and is slowly being eaten away. Due to luck more than timing the hull skeleton was under a layer of snow, the water left from the last tide a layer of ice.

Clean Air, Crisp Sound Part 4

Walking through untouched snow up to the edge of the harbour I could begin to hear a lot of geese, as I got to the waterside I could see a large flock of Brent Geese had taken a corner of the harbour and grouped together to swim facing in to the strong wind.

I walked back along the beach and past the new People’s Memorial, the flags visible from the road. Further south through Milton Common the small lakes were covered with ice and it was only as I started to get to the boats and far side of the marina did I begin to see many more people also walking through the snow and ice.