I’d been checking the weather reports since the beginning of the week and, like most things, when Friday came around the window of fair weather that I'd planned to use for photography had shifted.
I’m used to the ever-shifting patterns of nature. As a landscape photographer, I'm always trying to capture them. As a person, I’m always trying to experience them as they are, in the now. After a hasty breakfast, I packed my lunch and, most importantly, got my Leica MA, some film — Ilford Delta 100 and Hp5 — and headed out the door.
My destination was Shingle Street, a location I’ve been to before, but that didn’t stop me taking a few wrong turns on the way. I enjoy revisiting locations; season by season, year by year, they change and evolve as we do, as my art does. I have yet to be disappointed by revisiting a location that I’ve loved in the past, particularly when it is as unique as this one.
I loaded my camera with the Delta 100, had a quick cup of green tea with lemon from my flask, then took the minimum of equipment with me, leaving my lunch in the car for later. The sun was beaming down and the clouds were big, with that Suffolk sky feel. A perfect day for photography, a perfect day for exploring.
Travelling as light as possible with my kit is essential, especially when the terrain is hard work. The ever shifting shingle slipped and slid beneath my shoes; for every few steps I pushed forward, the shingle took me back half a step.
Shingle Street feels like it's on the edge of a time past, when Martello towers stood as sentinels along the coast. In 2019 the overhead power lines were removed which improved the views and stopped birds flying into them. It also meant the power supply stopped being damaged by storms. I found this out by chatting to some of the residents, as I always end up doing on a photo shoot.
They also spoke about how removed they feel and how close to nature they are. I felt it, standing on that shifting beach, where the tide and time move more than just the pebbles. We talked of long summer days, hot and bright, and of winter storms as they roll in from the sea, sometimes passing with little effect, at other times whipping the sea into a frenzy, waves crashing onto the beach, the shingle rumbling deep. I remarked that that would be something to see.
Just over an hour later it was as if the skies had heard me. Over towards Woodbridge the skies had darkened and were marching towards me, lightning sparking, thunder rumbling. Everyone else on the beach quickly disappeared, but I stayed, as the sky morphed from forget-me-not blue and candy floss clouds, to oppressive grey of every hue, shot through with an occasional lighting fork. This was an opportunity to capture this landscape at one of its finest moments.
The encroaching storm created a pocket of time when both realities of Single Street existed simultaneously; the envelope of blue sky over the sea and the looming storm front bearing down from the land. These are the fleeting moments that excite me. Once past, these moments will never be experienced again; moments I endeavour to immortalise on film.
About Shingle Street
Shingle Street is a small settlement on the North Sea, east of Woodbridge. The area was initially settled by fisher families, with the Martello Tower being constructed in the early
1800s. The beach offers some beautiful views and is a popular summer destination. It's a rare habitat, home to many varieties of vegetation, including sea kale, sea pea and yellow horned poppy, and has two coastal lagoons.
Jason Avery is a landscape film photographer based in Suffolk. He is a Leica Akademie tutor, running regular workshops on film photography from its Mayfair London store. Jason also offers group, one to one and bespoke tuition at his darkroom studio. You can find full details of these and about his work at JasonAvery.co.uk
