One Evening in Burnham
Burnham on Crouch is renowned for its sailing communities, its river views and it’s pretty, historic centre. Sounds like a perfect place to take photos; so why is it so many years since I last visited. Truth be told, I have found Burnham difficult to photograph, all those views along the river were just a bit too similar and I struggled to find much variation. That was many years ago and my photography has changed out of all recognition since then, so would this trip be any different?
We’ve had a day of heavy rain storms and as we left Tollesbury on a promise of dry weather with rain being hurled at us, I did question the merit of this trip! However the forecast was right, Burnham sat just south of the storm front, although it was still marred by heavy cloud and it was clear that light was going to be an issue for the photos. This is particularly true for film.
I love shooting film. I love old film cameras, I love having to take light meter readings, setting the exposure manually, composing an image on a big ground glass screen and I love the character that film lends. When the light is good, film just seems to make it truly shine. Tonight I’m shooting on my Rolleiflex and one roll of Kodak film with the aim of really concentrating on the images, dedicating some time to building a relationship with this camera that I’ve known only for a few months.
So I’m in a place that I’ve struggled to photograph in the past, shooting an old fashioned camera with film stock that shines when the light is good on a night where we may not see the sun at all.
My guiding rule of photography is to get up close and personal and that was my plan, to get off the sea wall and closer to the river, to shoot river views from the river, to look back at some of the iconic buildings high up on the river bank and to use the character of the old Rollei to find some more abstract shots.
I shot a single roll of 120 film, 12 frames in total and 8 of those frames are keepers for me, including the first shot for which I accidentally created a double exposure! That’s a pretty good hit rate and what I would expect from my journey with such a new camera to me. I’m pleased with the photos, particularly the compositions and the use of light on such a difficult day; backlighting to make the riverscapes shiny and the use of backlit clouds to add a bit of scale and drama.
So how do I feel at the end of the trip; Burnham is a great place for photographers … as long as you get off the sea wall!
