Insight: Wells-Next-The-Sea
The Art of Not Taking Pictures
Spending quality time with your family and friends and following your photographic ambitions at the same time is not always easy to do. I'll explain.
The pictures here were taken on a day trip to Wells Next The Sea. Wells is on the North Norfolk Coast in an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is surrounded by farmland and salt marsh, has a spectacular beach, and at its heart is the harbour. I have been there often and, if it was the only place on Earth that I could take pictures I wouldn’t be upset. Whenever I go there I am constantly inspired, and that presents me with a challenge.
You see I love photography a bit too much. A bit like I love cheese. But whereas eating too much cheese only affects me and my arteries, my photography habit is not good for those around me.
Are you the sort of person that goes for a walk with your camera and either doesn't get very far or doesn't take many pictures. I’m the first one, the former, the one who doesn’t get very far.
I am constantly preoccupied with taking pictures so It will always be me that’s holding up the walk. If I am left on my own for more than a few minutes I will just vanish. I have no self control. I wont have gone far but that doesn’t matter. I can't be found. Later, sometimes much later, I will try to explain about what I saw and how good the light was, but there will be a distinct lack of interest.
We’ll have a break in the day and I will go off on my own promising faithfully to be back in 15 minutes so we can have lunch. An hour and 15 minutes later I reappear. A long period of silence follows. Here’s an exercise for you. Check the text messages from your partner . Are they dominated by three little words “Where are you” ? If you are lucky it will only be three.
If that's not bad enough, conversation will be limited to “look this way” and “wait wait wait you're walking through my shot” and actual interaction will take the form of “hold this for a sec. Now if you can relate to any of this and are in the same photographic bubble as me, take my advice. Get yourself a stab vest, because the bubble is not going to protect you.
Wells is very understated. It doesn't blow its own trumpet, and goes quietly about its business. It has a Dads Army like charm. That might be in danger of making it sound backward, but nothing could be further from the truth. The ambiance of the place is wonderful. It is earnest and gentle, hardworking and welcoming. It's progressive. It's on the front line of renewable energy. (Fitting, as it's future must depend on halting the rise in sea levels ) and it is a Fairtrade Town.
Wells is a working fishing port . Around the quay there's a feeling of Bon Vivre amongst everyone whatever they are doing. Crabbing is a favorite pastime and seems to occupy adults as much as children. And so is just sitting and watching. People eat fish and chips in the open air and watch the sunset. One of the things I really admire is that, given the scale of all the take away food I never see any litter. Not sure if this tells me about Wells itself or the people that visit. I think its a measure of the respect and affection that people seem to have for the place.
I want to make it clear that on days like this I am the villain. It's not as if I don't dedicate other time to photography. I’ve highlighted my worst excesses of the past here and nowadays I am something of a reformed character. When photography becomes your passion there are almost no boundaries to regulate you or tell you when to start and when to finish. It's not a game of Football.
When I started I knew that I just wanted to take pictures. It took sometime for me to understand that photography is the means not the end. Photographers have to be interested in their subjects not their cameras whether it's a place or a person. I admit that I used to take plenty of snaps for the sake of it. You get seduced by the technology and you want to use it. Like baking a cake because you have a new mixer, not because someone is coming to tea.
My pictures here aren't landscapes, not in the true sense.I used to spend far too much time going the wrong way about trying to capture an ideal image. They are somewhere between location, travel, reportage and street photography. Whatever they are doesn't really matter. Knowing that I want to illustrate the place as a whole stops me from taking pictures that are more generic or unrelated You must know the sort of thing. a fallen leaf or a shell on the beach. A random door. A shadow on a wall, or a wet dog coming out of the water.
I am not saying that these are not worthy subjects. They definitely are. But they can be like fast food. Seems like a good idea at the time but is ultimately not what you really wanted. When I’m with others I only have a little time. I want to be part of what's going on. So I work on what really interests me and what I can realistically achieve. And it stops me trying to take pictures that are beyond my timescale and logistical ability. Stretching myself is for another time.
Now that only narrows things down a bit. It still leaves a lot of scope, and for that I’ve learned to trust my antenna. On days like this I don't look around thinking there must be a picture here somewhere. I go about my business and let the pictures come to me. Might seem obvious but when you have a camera, sometimes you feel that you should be taking pictures. That's why iPhone pics are often so good. People just react to where they are and what's going on without thinking too hard about it.
When there's only a few seconds to spare I take one shot. I make myself do it,be decisive and be happy with it. Don't over critique it. I’ve lost count of the number of times I have shot 10 frames of a scene only to find the first one was the best. Overthinking you see. You have to trust your instincts. We Take more frames because we can. But whereas as a digital file that you end up deleting is cheap. Your time is not. Better to take 10 pictures of 10 different subjects and find you have 5 that work, than 10 slightly different variations of the same subject.
One thing that I wanted to see on this visit to Wells was the Lifeboat Horse. A life size Sculpture by the Artist Rachel Long. It formed part of the Wells Heritage Art Trail and is/was installed on the sand opposite the Quay. Made from recycled metal and barrels from the town's former Maltings, it represents the horses that used to pull the Lifeboat carriage across the sand in order to launch. At high tide the horse is partially covered by sea water giving a sense of the drama that must have unfolded in the past and the bravery of the men and horses involved.
Then there’s the Beach Huts. They have always been a focal point and source of inspiration for artists of all kind. Each hut is individual in character, colours, shapes and size. They are chameleons, changing with the light. The huts face roughly north and so the sun goes behind and above them. Here the fronts are lit by the light reflecting off the sand. It's considered rude to go to Wells and not photograph them.
If the beach huts are the star then the supporting cast is the boats. More than equal to the huts in their diversity They adorn the harbour like baubles on a Christmas tree and I sometimes think they are only there to be admired. I’m sure every boat has a story. Something that's Interesting, romantic or adventurous.
People seem to spend quality time with each other at Wells. You see it, hear it and feel it everywhere you go and that is its most endearing quality. It’s important for me to be part of that story as well as to observe it. To share moments and memories with the people I am with and for them to have a nice time with me . Every so often though I have to quickly detach and capture something that is happening and then, just as quickly, return to my own part of the story. I sometimes wonder if I am part of the story someone else is telling. If I am, I hope I’m not being told off.
Foot Note. No Photographer was harmed in the taking of these pictures.