Continuing my home town blog and a thought or two about childhood. One thing that struck me last summer (odd that it never really struck me on any of my other annual visits) was how much the place has changed over the years. Growing up in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire during the sixties was fab. Particularly out of season when my pals and I seemed to have the place to ourselves. The season had its attractions too, watching the mods and rockers on the promenade, beatniks up for the jazz festival, dads (handkerchiefs on heads) snoozing in deckchairs: days when an ice cream was the treat it doesn’t seem to be nowadays.
Moonbeams on Tour, 2018
Many of the wide open spaces of my youth have succumbed to the sprawl of urbanisation; places we would fish for newts and sticklebacks, country paths winding through fields of barley and potatoes, small woodlands that seemed infinite and slightly dangerous to a small person. Pockets survive and I am always pleasantly surprised when I come across them.
Town Limits, Cleethorpes, 2018Boating Lake, Early Morning, 2018
As I mentioned in part one of this blog, early mornings are a favourite time for my photographic expeditions. Aside from the odd dog walker or jogger, I have the place to myself. Looking for evidence, sometimes finding it….
Construction made by surfers, 2018Holiday Homes, 2017
Attractions look neat and tidy, too. There was a seafood bar in exactly this place when I was a lad; my dad offered me a whelk to try once – never again:
Daisy’s Seafood Bar, 2016
Some, not quite so perfect:
Seafront Pub, 2017
I’ll end it here. This summer will be my final holiday in my home town as the following summer my family and I are expecting to relocate there. Back to my roots after many travels. I’ll sign off with a photograph I made last July – I wanted a different view of the Red Arrows (the RAF display team) – and chose a place not changed much. A boy hurried past and it occurred to me that, 55 years ago, it might have been me – homeward bound and slightly late for tea – in his place.
Homeward, 2018
As usual, hats off to my trusty Olympus OMD camera….
Cleethorpes is a seaside resort in Lincolnshire, UK. It sits on the mouth of the Humber estuary, not far from where river meets sea, and it is the place of my birth. I visit the place every summer for a month or so, my family and I plan to resettle there next year.
Generally, as with anywhere I find myself, I like to be up and about before the sun. Watching the scene unfold, empty yet populated with the evidence of activity. Such was the shot above as I looked over from an empty pier I noted how a sluggish tide had so neatly smoothed away the marks of an earlier activity and how it had jettisoned a single piece of driftwood.
‘The Front’: Cleethorpes early morning, 2018Traditional Postcard Art as Mural, 2017
During the summer days, people come to the seaside for much the same reasons as they have done historically; to take the sea air, to have fun, eat candy floss and whipped ices or to simply relax….
Cleethorpes, 2018Promenade, 2016
It is fair to say I never tire of the place. I’ve watched it change over the 60-odd years and it has seen me grow up too.
I’m Lovin’ It ? 2017
Despite the emergence of fast food outlets (dim view taken by me, for sure), you can still feast on the most excellent fish and chips – best in the country – and, as the son of an ex-trawlerman, I know it.
Syrup and Cream, 2017
At the end of the day – literally – there is nothing better than leaning over the promenade railings and feeling the sting of that fresh breeze on your face!
Thanks for visiting, as usual an Olympus OMD was used with Zuiko short zoom.
The shot above was made by hanging out of a hotel window in Bang Saen, a small community that meanders alongside the eastern seaboard of Thailand, somewhere between Bangkok and Pattaya. I have a real fear of heights and felt really uncomfortable at the time, four floors up; it was early morning and I’d opened the window for a breath of fresh air when I noticed, below me, a guest taking advantage of an empty pool. His progress was leisurely and he seemed to form a harmonious relationship with the environment. I leaned out as far as I dared and made some photographs; in this one I believe I managed to show that relationship.
I love travelling by train and I love railway stations. The photograph above, from one of many visits to Bangkok railway station (Hualamphong is the local name), was a long time coming. I had spotted an arrangement of three monks sat in the large waiting hall. As I considered the scene, I noticed another monk making his way towards the group. The hall was very busy and I felt a little exposed as I waited, camera to my eye, for a picture to take shape – it seemed like an eternity although it was probably less than half a minute – and I was lucky when the arriving monk sat down in a position I couldn’t have got better if I had been orchestrating the shot. By this time the monks were very aware of my presence – I think that enhanced the photograph – and, after a smile and a polite nod, I went on my way.
Above are a couple of photographs from a project that I am resting for a while. After more than 40 years of monochrome photography I felt I’d like to do a series in colour. This turned out to be a mistake; I hadn’t considered how different the approach would be and felt that what I was producing were mono photographs in colour rather than colour photographs. The two examples are the best of a poor bunch. However, the experience of my many visits to Talat Noi – a very old community on the fringe of Bangkok’s Chinatown – was enjoyable and thoroughly interesting. Another area I considered for colour work is Kudi Jeen, – situated on the Chao Praya river – once the Portuguese quarter of Bangkok and now home to a small Chinese community. The photograph below shows the catholic church from the labyrinth of narrow alleyways that make up the area.
Chatuchak Weekend Market, Bangkok is one of the largest outdoor markets in the world and attracts visitors in their thousands. I like to go there very early, before the crowds arrive, for the photographic opportunities the place offers me. Below are a couple of pictures from what is proving to be an extended ‘project in progress’.
I’m currently thinking I may have to brave the crowds and revisit the market during peak hours in order that I may provide a contrast to the shots I already have.
The photograph above was made during a short break in Bang Saray, a busy fishing harbour on the eastern seaboard between Pattaya and Sattahip. This shot was taken on the arrival of the ice truck; great blocks of ice were put through a crushing machine before being loaded onto the fishing boats in a process fascinating for the speed at which it was completed. I like this photograph for the graphic starkness and I felt there was a narrative potential that went beyond the real scenario. I called it ‘the iceman cometh’: though O’Neill’s play of the same title has nothing to do with trawling, it does address the need for self deceptions in order to carry on with life (thanks, Wikipedia).
In 2016, I was fortunate to spend an hour or so in a makeshift school at the Mae La refugee camp on the Thai/Myanmar border. This is one of my favourite images from that visit and shows Burmese students learning English in an open classroom. I liked the light, the air of study and the contrasting relationship with the camera of the girl on the left. Most of all, I really enjoyed being there for that brief moment.
Dogs are everywhere in Thailand but they rarely trouble you if you act normal and pay them no attention. This is my favourite photograph of a soi (street) dog, not so much for him but for the way the frame has split – almost like two halves put together – in a way that I didn’t notice at the time of exposure. I like to think that it confirms the important role that the subconscious plays in determining the actual moment of exposure.
When I’m walking around I sometimes feel an impulse to stop in my tracks. Usually there is a photograph, though sometimes it is not immediately apparent and takes some looking for. Of the many photographs I have made of Buddhist statues, this one – from a car park where I was having a crafty cigarette – remains a favourite. The cultural delights of Thailand offer a wealth of possibilities for any photographer and I’m ending this blog with a photograph I took in a cave and which shows another visitor who I had seen going to great lengths for an interesting record of the moment.
nic salmon's notes in passing 