A very rewarding photo of the week

Posted on September 28, 2022September 29, 2022 by carlotta

A very rewarding photo of the week

This is the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange on my very first site visit. I had never been inside the building before and was overwhelmed by the sheer size and beauty of this interior space. It was a very hot June day and afternoon sunlight was streaming in through the huge iconic west-facing windows.

It is that figure, dead centre and running in the shaft of light, that always gets me. He looks so tiny, giving perspective to the enormity of the room.

The special reason for sharing this cyanotype today is that it is being offered as a reward for a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for the Brighton Dome and Corn Exchange.

The Brighton Dome need to raise funds urgently as they are still recovering from the impact of covid, plus facing huge increases in energy costs and inflation.They do so much to support the arts and are an invaluable part of their community: “We employ 130 full-time equivalent permanent staff, 200 casual workers, around 100 freelance artists and creative workers and 131 volunteers, and have a duty, as custodians of these spaces, and a commitment to the artists we support.” I am one of those 100 freelance artists.

I have three different cyanotypes of the Corn Exchange refurbishment being offered at a variety of levels, from greeting cards, to reproduction prints, to signed, hand-printed originals.

Please do check out the link and give generously if you are able.

Loosening the anchor of time and space

Posted on May 7, 2021May 7, 2021 by carlotta

Loosening the anchor of time and space

Last time I wrote about using cyanotype with landscape and seascape photographs. This week I wanted to share with you my experiments using the technique with architectural photographs.

Trying to visualise how a digital photograph will translate as a hand-printed cyanotype is not straight forward. As I mentioned in my last post, it is such long process getting from the beginning to the end result that I need to have a pretty good idea whether a photo will work.

There is always the element of surprise, though. Photos that I feel sure of can fall flat, and ones that seem like a long shot can be bang on the money.

Using the technique with architectural photography is an interesting shift away from the organic forms of landscapes. I have been working on this idea for some time and wanted to try focussing on a unified group of photographs taken from a single project.

My recent shoot of Madeira Terrace in Brighton seemed a good place to start. This photograph was taken from the upper level terraces looking down onto the green copper roof of the Concorde 2 nightclub.

There is something about the cyanotype process that can remove the anchor of time and space from an image, highlighting instead the shape, texture and light of the composition. That is an exciting dynamic to be working with.

The magnificent Madeira Terrace of Brighton

Posted on March 25, 2021March 26, 2021 by carlotta

The magnificent Madeira Terrace of Brighton

I have a treat for you today, taking you from one iconic Brighton building last time to another one this week. This is a view of the upper level and lift tower of Madeira Terrace, the spectacular 865m-long Victorian covered walkway that lines the seafront at Madeira Drive in Brighton.

Built at the end of the 19th century, according to Historic England this Grade II* structure is “very rare being the only known, land-based, monumentally-scaled, iron promenade in England, and possibly worldwide; although converted to electric power, the three-stage lift is an early and rare example of a hydraulic, water-powered lift in a seaside location”. To top it all, this is also the location of the oldest and longest green wall in the UK. The cliff face was planted with Japanese Spindle trees 20 years before the terrace was built. The trees continue to thrive 150 years later.

In 2012 Madeira Terrace was closed to the public because it had become unsafe. Brighton and Hove Council have now secured funding for an ambitious renovation project, working in partnership with the local community, to “restore the arches and create a new sustainable leisure, social and business space sensitive to the terraces original design”. Please have a look at the Council’s plans here. They are very exciting.

I have been drafted in to document the restoration, starting with the site as it stands now. It was with a keen pleasure that I headed behind the fencing to the deserted terraces, with the sweeping sea views all to myself. In these closed-off areas, it was interesting to notice how the balance between human structure and nature was leaning towards greenery and wildlife. You can find a selection of photos from my first shoot here.

Love me some verdigris

Posted on March 12, 2021 by carlotta

Love me some verdigris

This jaunty roof is part of the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange, where I have been documenting an extensive redevelopment project. Apart from the simple joy of this view, I would like to point out the two vertical panels of a slightly different colour. These panels are new and were made specially to match as closely as possible the centuries-old verdigris of the existing roof. A section of the roof had to be removed, necessitating replacements. The thing is, these panels are not visible from the street. In fact, they are only visible from up on the roof itself, and yet still the effort was made to keep it as authentic as possible.

I point this out because they represent an attention to detail that exists throughout the build. This is just one example of the lengths that the Brighton Dome are going to repair and rejuvenate this unique 200-year-old building, inside and out, with the help of a further £1 million in Lottery Heritage funding announced last month. You can read the latest news about the project on the Dome website here and find more of my photographs of the project here.

Please get in touch if you have a workplace, an event, a celebration, a portrait or a building project you would like to have photographed.

The new within the old at the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange

Posted on April 2, 2019April 2, 2019 by carlotta

The new within the old at the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange

I have been photographing the huge beautiful windows of the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange for nearly two years now. I love that they never look quite the same depending on the time of day, the quality of light, the stage of renovation, with panes of glass and without, and sometimes covered by large sheets of semi-opaque plastic.

The amount of work that has gone into their refurbishment is enormous. The size and shape varies for every pane of glass, meaning that each one has to be individually fitted into its specific place. I counted 185 panes in just one of the 11 large windows of the main hall. In all, this has been a monumental task.

It was very exciting, therefore, to see the finished result this week. Several fully renovated windows were freshly painted and pointed and sporting all new glass. Within these shiny panes you can see the reflection of the new modern extension. This white steel and glass box creates a dazzling light-filled space where the exterior becomes the interior and the beautiful old windows are in pride of place.

More photographs of the refurbishment of the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange can be found here.

Please get in touch if you would like to discuss how we can work together. I deliver photographs that delve deeper than showing just the surface of things.

Lost in space

Posted on January 4, 2019 by carlotta

Lost in space

Wishing you all a very happy New Year! A new year and a 200-year-old ceiling at the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange, the redevelopment I have been documenting over the past 18 months. This monumental, unsupported vaulted roof stretches across a room that is 178 by 58 feet. In other words, it is just enormous.

Over the months I have watched while workers manually stripped the paint off of each strut (there are hundreds), and slowly renewed the wood. Now shiny new bolts are reinforcing this 32ft high expanse. More photos of this fascinating project can be found here.

Please get in touch if you would like to discuss how we can work together.

Tag: Brighton