December - The End of the Project
Nothing like being in site of the finish line to provide some extra enthusiasm to complete something, like a marathon runner managing a sprint finish I was keen to complete my project so hit my locations early in December.
1) Bembridge Lifeboat Station
A early December morning at Bembridge, it started out with some lovely broken cloud that held the promise of a spectacular sunrise, unfortunately most of the cloud cleared away before any light appeared leaving just one small band.
I liked the contrasts on the dark and light sand in the small area where a rock pool was draining into the sea which I used as leading line up to the Lifeboat Station.
Sunrise At Bembridge
2) Brook Down
I have really enjoyed visiting Brook Down for the project, it has been different every time I have visited and has been a nice spot to avoid the crowds in the Summer. For my final visit for the project I returned to the composition I initially shot in March. Unfortunately the clouds cleared leaving a rather less impressive Sky then I had in March. I will definitely continue to visit this location as there are lots of other potential compositions still to explore.
A December Sunset at Brook Down
3) St. Helens Duver
What a Surprise this morning turned out to be, leaving home it looked as if the sky was flat and heavy with low cloud so I was not expecting much in the way of light. However as the dawn started to lighten colour filled the sky and cast lovely reflected light onto the scene at The Duver catching the sides of the Beach Huts. Unfortunately the sun disappeared behind the clouds shortly after rising so it was a short lived sight and there was no direct light on the scene. I still really liked what I managed to capture and it became the featured image for December.
A Colourful sky above St. Helens Duver
4) Watershoot Bay
The final image captured for the project was at Watershoot Bay, which seemed fitting as it was the final location to get added to the project after Binnel Bay proved impossible to get to. (I have now had some intel on the only route you can use to access Binnel Bay so will get there finally in 2022!) I must admit I had already decided the night time shot of Watershoot Bay was going to be the October featured image, and was happy with my Duver shot so I went to Watershoot Bay just to complete the project rather than waiting for better conditions. I do like the image though and it is certainly reflective of the moody conditions we had through a lot fo the second half of December.
A Moody afternoon at Watershoot Bay
So that was all 48 images captured. All that remained was to select my Final 12 which I have done and can be seen here.
In addition I have produced a zine for the project, this has a full page image for each of the final 12 images but also shows all the other images captured during the project. I’m really pleased with how the images look in print and with the final Zine overall. I have made it available to purchase, although there are only a limited number available.
I am so pleased that I have completed the project, there have been some challenging months but overall I really enjoyed it and I am really proud of the final 12 images, and many of the other images captured during the 12 months. I think having a project to focus on is really important and I have therefore decided to complete another project during 2022, it will probably be on a smaller scale than the 2021 project and will focus on the Islands Interior, an area I haven’t really photographed much previously. I am quite excited about exploring to find locations for the project.
Thank you so much for following along with the project through these blog posts, I will keep the blog going through 2022 as well, with more general updates as well as the project updates. In the meantime though I wish you a very happy new year and all the best for 2022.