The Exploited Forest - A Little Update

A few people have been asking to see a bit of my work in progress so it’s probably time to give a little update. Originally, Clive (my tutor) and I went through some test shots and we discussed how I wanted to approach the project. To summarise the discussion, Clive felt that he wanted to see the forest shot in a way that he hadn’t seen before and that my test shots were too traditional. This is understandable with a subject that he has worked with so much and knows so well.

Initial Strategy

Over the next few weeks I focused on a new strategy where I captured mostly detail shots, shooting small segments in a kind of forensic way. I then had a brief discussion with Paul (another tutor) who now wants me to go back to the original strategy because he finds it a lot more interesting and reveals a lot more about the landscape!

Second Strategy

So now I’m in a bit of a pickle. Do I revert to the original strategy that Paul enjoyed but Clive didn’t, carry on doing what I am doing until I can get an updated opinion from Clive or develop an entirely new strategy?

Guess it is time to follow my instincts…

All photographs by Scott Martin.

The Exploited Forest

I don’t want to turn this into a blog largely about my own work but it is probably a good place to kick off the blog. I guess what I am doing at the moment would fall more into the ‘beautifully mundane’ category than the downright ‘positive’.

A bit of background for you…

The Forest of Dean has a rich heritage of coal mining dating back hundreds of years and it really boomed during the industrial revolution. However,  after the Second World War, mining in the area was no longer economical and one by one they began to close. In 1965 the last of the major gales was forced to close and now only a few collieries remain.

Obviously this has all had a major effect on the landscape, but gradually the land is beginning to recover and cover over the traces of what was once there.  Today, there is fortunately (for me) still plenty of evidence and this is what I am photographing. I am making quite mundane (but hopefully beautiful) pictures that celebrate the landscape whilst also holding some subtle reference to what was once there. My aim is that I will not have to explicitly reference what the spectator is looking at but that they will gradually build up an idea as they look through the entire work.  It is a work very much in progress.