Picture if you will a tall pale and strangely handsome man climbing over garden fences with a red and black cloak at three am just before the day breaks. No, its not Nosferatu The Photographic Vampire, its Doyle The Photographic Genius, although the genius part is debatable..
Over the past year I took it upon myself to venture on to the Allotments that back onto my garden here in London. A truly fascinating place all compressed into a square mile of what is probably some of the most expensive land in the whole country with mansions and the like surrounding the area (sadly I do not live in one). Every year land developers try to muscle in, but the owners of these vegetable forrests put up a fierce fight wielding pitch forks and burning effigies. They guard their carrots and peas with such vigor that the greedy bastard developers never win..
Anyways, I thought it might make a nice little project and I began to scale the 12 foot high fence last winter armed with my 5/4.
You may at this point be thinking that maybe I should of asked for permission to enter the land of the cabbage, but I have my reasons;
1. I have never complained about the smoke drifting into my house from the burning of damp foliage.
2. Asking for permission is an arse, and usually people think your some kind of nut.
3. I liked the idea of making the project a bit like a mission and going unnoticed is something I do very well.
4. No one is going to approach a bald six foot cage fighter and tell them to step away from their plums.
5. I am very respectful and leave no trace of my being there, apart from the time I made myself a cuppa on someones stove and never washed the cup..
6. I have a key to the gate, but cant find it...
All in all I had a nice time photographing what is almost my back yard. Not really any real purpose behind it, although I did chose to photograph the allotments in all four seasons so there is some thought process there.
Watch this space for the results although this may be a while as I am poor and those vegetable patches are making my mouth water...
4 comments:
Love that picture. Surely got to be a project? Did you use the big fella for them shots?
Thank you for your kindness...
I think there is the makings of a project, but I need get it all contact printed, edited etc and then decided.
The most interesting thing I found, but did not mention, is that within the allotment boundaries theres a real class system. Crumbling wooden shacks at the bottom and big double door house type creations at the top end. People drinking tea, people drinking wine, that sort of thing.
Big John Darwell is also doing a allotment series so we may do something together...Watch this space.
Glad to hear your having a brush with the old 120....
All shot on 5/4 as I shot a lot of film. 10/8 would of left me bankrupt!
I have recently discovered that there are probably more projects on allotments than anything else. And, there all really crap.
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