Colourful progress at the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange

Posted on March 23, 2018June 20, 2018 by photograph

Colourful progress at the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange

I am currently documenting the 200-year-old Brighton Dome Corn Exchange where a major refurbishment is under way. I make regular visits with my camera, photographing both the building process and the people working there. It is always a pleasure to find interesting colours on site.

In fact, construction areas are often filled with unexpected colour. It made my day to spot this geometric pattern of yellow, pink, red, blue, brown and grey. More photos from this project can be found here.

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Snow swirls around the Stephen Lawrence Trust Centre

Posted on March 2, 2018June 1, 2018 by photograph

Snow swirls around the Stephen Lawrence Trust Centre

Last week I spoke too soon about snow-less Old England versus snow-bound New England because we have had the icy white stuff around all week. I am pleased that this included my site visit to the Stephen Lawrence Trust. There can be magic in photographing snow and its transformation of the familiar into something almost etherial. My colleague at the Trust pointed out that I have now

been documenting the renovation of the Centre over a full year (and in all weather). That is a satisfying thought and at the heart of my aim to capture the essence of a place through how it both changes and remains constant over time.

More photographs from this snowy shoot can be found here. Use this link for information about the new co-working hub for start-ups in the built environment that will be based inside the Stephen Lawrence Centre.

Chris Ofili’s design looks like snow

Posted on February 9, 2018June 1, 2018 by photograph

Chris Ofili’s design looks like snow

The Stephen Lawrence Trust is transforming into a co-working hub for architects, designers and creatives and I have been documenting this building process.

As you have no doubt seen from my previous photos of the week, the introduction of orange is very significant to the new design for the Centre. On my most recent

visit, the strip of lights under the balcony edge were on, turning this little corner so warm and vibrant it made Chris Ofili’s beautiful window screen look like snow in the background.

You can find out more about all the great things that the Stephen Lawrence Trust does here, a link to the new co-working hub website here and more of my photographs from this site here.

A working portrait

Posted on February 2, 2018June 1, 2018 by photograph

A working portrait

I think I should set up a page on my website just for photographs of workers and builders because I find them continually interesting to shoot. This would not be about the specific locations they are working in, glamorous or not. It would be about the skill, the craft and the graft required to work in the building trades. I will let you know when I have set it up. In the meantime, this photo is a candidate for it. Set in

an old cellar in Lewes, the single light casts soft shadows across a room filled with the warm browns of old wood and the cool blue of new plasterboard. Often I am rushing to catch photographs of extreme action on building sites, but here is a different energy of concentration and focus. Until I set up this new gallery page, you can find many photographs of builders working on site in my architectural documentary photographs and more working portraits here.

Depot at dusk

Posted on July 7, 2017June 1, 2018 by photograph

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.

Southover Grange is open

Posted on April 21, 2017June 1, 2018 by photograph

Southover Grange is open

The renovation of Southover Grange is complete and awaiting its first event. It looks beautiful and glamorous and I envy the couples who will be using it to celebrate their weddings. I began documenting the restoration of this Tudor manor in the centre of Lewes as the builders were moving in and returned to the site several times over the following 12 months. It is a rambling house with an interesting history and an important role in the fabric of the town. This was the registry office for many years (and is now again) so it was a place of weddings and the recording of births and deaths.

One of the most significant aspects of this project for me was how my photographs triggered memories that people felt compelled to share. I heard from numerous residents about their personal connections to the house, including several whose parents were caretakers and for whom the upstairs flat was home. A couple of registrars also came forward with anecdotes about years of working at the Grange and the countless weddings they performed. I like that a building can hold so many positive associations for a community and that my photographs have the potential to bring them to life. My exhibit of this project is still showing at Pelham House in Lewes until the 23 May. All my Southover Grange photographs can be found here.

Tag: architectural renovation