In search of the cyanotype zing

In search of the cyanotype zing

In preparation for my Artwave show I have been playing around with my archive of architecture projects, experimenting with which images work as cyanotypes. As always with this medium, it is not a clear translation from one type of photograph to another. It isn’t even as straight forward as making a picture monochromatic. I have spent the past year and a half pondering the secret ingredient that makes some images fall flat as cyanotypes, and makes others zing and I still can’t always put my finger on it.

This photograph is from my project documenting the construction of the Depot Cinema in Lewes – a project that I loved. You might be surprised to know that this was taken a mere two months before the Depot opened to the public. In this shot, I think it is the drama of the light, the sharp angles, and the silhouetted figure right in the middle, that translate well into the high contrast of a cyanotype.

A large print of this photograph is on display at my Artwave show. I will be showing again this year with artist Kelly Hall. You can find us at venue 91, St Anne’s House, 111 High Street, Lewes, BN7 1XY (across the street from Shelley’s). We will be open the 18, 19, 25 and 26 September, 11am-5pm.

My new book sea shore will be available to buy at my exhibit as well. It is a collection of 29 of my landscape cyanotypes and two poems written by Sara London. I am currently in the process of hand binding this limited first edition. If you are interested in buying a copy, you can pre-order directly from my website.

All my hand-printed cyanotypes are available to buy. Information about purchasing my prints and all of my photography books can be found here.

Please contact me if you have a workplace, an event, a celebration, a portrait or a building project you would like to have photographed.

Depot at dusk

Depot at dusk

I finished my final shoot at the Depot Cinema in Lewes after two years of documenting the renovation of this disused brewery depot. I had photographed the inside of the building early one morning before it filled with people but there was one

further visit I was planning, waiting for the right light and the right weather. I wanted to capture that softness of dusk on a summer evening when the light turns blue and the building interior glows warm through walls of glass. More photos from this shoot can be found here.

Martin Freeman visits the Depot

Martin Freeman visits the Depot

Here it is, opening night at the Depot Cinema in Lewes… I have spent two years documenting the journey of this disused brewery depot as it became a state-of-the-art cinema. Starting with an empty shell of remnants of an industrial past and old studio spaces, I photographed its dismantling and building up again into a light-filled, spacious and beautiful building. Five years in the planning, the vision of a community cinema and arts venue has finally come to fruition. If feels like a most generous gift as been bestowed on the people of Lewes, giving them a building and gardens that welcome the public to sit, talk, drink and eat and three cinemas that offer films to entertain, challenge and expand horizons.

As befits a grand opening, we had our brush with celebrity with the arrival of Martin Freeman, world-renown star of the film and tv worlds, along with other stars of the music, film, tv and literature worlds. Martin signed autographs to the waiting crowds (including one boy in a deerstalker hat, a nod to Martin’s role in Sherlock), mingled with guests and then officially opened Screen One with a q & a with Robert Senior, the Depot’s chair of trustees. The warm summer evening, the glamorous guests and the spacious and gracious building put little Lewes on the map for a night.

Old and new converge

Old and new converge

It seems that just about everyone in Lewes is excited about the Depot Cinema opening soon so I thought I would use another photo from my latest visit. This shot shows the view from the new zinc roof across to the old roofs of the Victorian-era railway station. I was interested in how the colours and the repeating lines of the old and new converge in the purple grey of the late afternoon light.

It is a glimpse of how well the new high-spec modern building will sit within its locality.

I have been documenting the refurbishment of this old brewery depot in the centre of Lewes for a year and a half as it becomes a new community cinema. My client uses the photos to build on the excitement of the local residents and film buffs.

‘Designer walls’

‘Designer walls’

This photo of the week is from my most recent shoot at The Depot Cinema in Lewes, where I am documenting the renovation of a former brewery depot as it becomes a community cinema. One of the joys of doing this work is capturing a brief moment in the transitory stages of the development of a building.

This wonderful blue and white abstract pattern is not expensive designer wallpaper. It is merely part of the process of building the walls and will soon be covered with sound-absorbing materials. I particularly like the doorway that hints at further depths of patterned spaces.

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Reflected glory

Reflected glory

I have been photographing this long line of colourful dancers at the Depot cinema building site for over a year now. They twirled their way along two walls of a large warehouse room at Harvey’s Depot, a former industrial building I have been documenting as it becomes a new community cinema. Although they are slowly disappearing through the process of the build, these last few revellers persist, now dancing waist-deep in reflected water.

As the renovation progresses, I like seeking out these remnants of earlier uses that linger on, reminding me of how much has changed. The dancers will be gone soon, remaining only in the photographs. They have been good company and have been part of many of my shoots of this building.

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