A Sense of Place: Emsworthy Mire in May
One of my photography projects this year is to explore the concept of 'a sense of place'. I have signed up to this challenge with fellow members of the RPS South West Group with the aim of producing a panel of 10 images that convey the character of a place.
Sounds doable, right? I am a keen photographer, I go to lots of places to take photos. And yet, I am already discovering that it is going to be quite a challenge!
A little research suggests that, to portray a 'sense of place' through a set of images, I first need to consider what makes that place distinctive. I decided to start with a familiar place, Emsworthy Mire on Dartmoor, and to have a play with working out how to convey the sense of this iconic place.
Research into photography shows that "the simple act of choosing what to photograph already speaks about our values: what we pay attention to, what we decide to frame, preserve, or share reflects what is important to us." (Andana). As Susan Sontag notes in the Pain of Others: 'The photographic image .... is always the image that someone chose; to photograph is to frame and to frame is to exclude'.
My intention was therefore to start with a list of possible 'frames' that would illustrate the scene, provide enough visual information to someone unfamiliar with Emsworthy Mire to begin to understand it.
Except that once I arrived, I was so keen to take photos that the list went right out of my head!
The consequence was that I had to make those decisions afterwards while post-processing the resulting 200+ images. And that turned out to be a much more complicated process than I had anticipated. Which images should I include and which should I leave out? Of the thirty-odd close-up photos of bluebells most accurately represents the abundance, the colour...... and so on! Which details are essential to understanding the place, and which are simply attractive photographs?
In other words, the process of selecting the images became part of the project itself. I was no longer simply recording what I had seen; I was deciding what I thought mattered.
The resulting selection hopefully illustrates some of the key features that make Emsworthy Mire distinctive. I start with setting the scene, including people looking at the view. There were a surprising number of photographers there that day, although I suspect this particular couple had no idea quite how much irritation they were causing by sitting in the middle of the view! In the end, I decided to include them to add to the 'sense of place'. They are part of the experience of being at Emsworthy Mire - and therefore part of its 'sense of place'.
The farm was abandoned in the 1870s, but the barn remains with its red corrugated roof, amongst moss-covered granite stone walls:
The time of the year and the weather makes a huge difference to the 'sense of place', especially somewhere like Dartmoor. The clear blue skies and beautiful sunshine added to the atmosphere, and I spent a very long time in amongst the bluebells, with the sound of a cuckoo in the air:
Sontag in On Photography writes "The destiny of photography has taken it far beyond the role to which it was originally thought to be limited: to give more accurate reports on reality (including works of art). Photography is the reality; the real object is often experienced as a letdown." And places like the derelict barn at Emsworthy Mire could be put in this category. So many images are taken of this iconic place, especially during May when the bluebells are flowering. It is easy to feel discontented with my own photographs in comparison with the thousands that are posted on to social media sites.
But through careful consideration of composition that includes the elements that protray the sense of a place, I think any photographer can come away with some original perspectives. Here I place the emphasis on the trees in full leaf, with a carpet of bluebells and the dry-stone walls providing leading lines and structure:
The sense of place that I am aiming to reflect in the panel of images will also be a reflection of myself as a photographer: what I feel comfortable about photographing, whether that be technically and/or ethically; how my emotional state at the time facilitates my noticing. Originality can come with experimenation, looking for the little details, and being radical with cropping :
But at the end of the day, just relax, breathe deeply and enjoy the experience.
Oh, and these are for Charlie.......
This is interesting. An exhibition by Stefanie Klavens, Sarah Malakoff and Remi Thornton called A Sense of Place shows how intimate spaces can be photographed.
And listen to Scott Davenport's thoughts on Photography is to savour, not to conquer.
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