ASSIGNMENT 5: SELF DIRECTED PROJECT "EXPLORING HOME"

Initial thoughts:
As I have stated previously, I have grown up in the historical beauty of South Wales. After touching on the work of William Gilpin (1724-1804) earlier in the course material, I was intrigued to find that his book "Observations on the River Wye and several parts of South Wales" (London 1800) was all about my local area, he even mentions travelling through my hometown. As I have always loved castles and ruins, to explore and to photograph, I decided to incorporate that and undertake a 'copycat' exploration of the ruins in my close vicinity and then add in a few of my own that are on the same route but not actually mentioned by Gilpin.

The Project:
(I have written a separate evaluation of this project and you can view it via Dropbox here.)

My initial proposal for this assignment was covered in exercise 4.5 and can be found in full  "http://akingstonlynchp2landscape.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/exercise-45-proposal-for-self-directed.html" here . As this has not been altered in any way my brief for this assignment is;

“to photograph the area local to me with inspiration from the work of Gilpin, specifically “Observations of the River Wye, and several parts of South Wales”. I would like to focus on the castle and ruins, not only in my immediate area but travelling along South Wales and visiting and photographing some of the scenes in his work.”

My idea was to create a photo series 'in the footsteps' of Gilpin, all the while including images of the monuments that he sketched and discussed in this work. I wanted to explore these places to gain my own picturesque vision of the locations then attempt to capture the beauty of the monuments themselves. This allowed me to compare and document the physical changes of the locations between the ages. 

I studied the text and had to make a route, which, due to time constraints, etc, didn't stray too far from home. Then on that route, make note of the monuments mentioned by Gilpin as well as add in ones with personal connections that would be at the same locations travelled by Gilpin. These extra locations are places that I either am aware of or frequently visit myself and think that they should be included in such a collection of monuments. To have work such as Gilpin's, which visits these ancient ruins on my doorstep, I only see it fitting to add in further remarkable picturesque locations that wouldn't be out of place amongst his collection. The fact that I visited these locations previously and was aware of these ruins allows me to 'add' to Gilpin's work to create my own collection, with inspiration from his work.  This then creates a connection to both me and to Gilpin's travels.  

I have titled the series 'Exploring Home'. I felt that this was an appropriate title as technically, I am doing just that. The area is local to me and yet, many of the places I have not visited before or even known that they existed so even though it's my home area, I am able to explore it. Even though there are places that I do frequent, there are ones that I know about but have never visited. These locations and obviously the unknown ones make me just as much a tourist as Gilpin was. I don't consider myself a tourist at the others as I have visited so many times, I know what is there but it still does not stop me photographing the places at every visit. However, looking back to the original perceptions of landscape photography, I still photograph these places on my visits through the eye of a tourist, trying to capture the beauty of the scene and the location with the intention of others wanting to visit themselves. Much like the 'postcard effect'. But I like that I know of these places to include them along Gilpin's travel route to create my own connections to the project. 

Gilpin's books showed he was a keen traveller and was happy to search the country making his own 'picturesque trails'. Wikipedia says “During the late 1760's and 1770's Gilpin travelled extensively in the summer holidays and applied these principles to the landscapes he saw, committing his thoughts and spontaneous sketches to his notebooks.” Gilpin had a vision and principle of what 'picturesque' was and his works were the reality of that vision. He travelled the country making detailed observations of the locations he visited and then documented his findings in a 'diary' style notebook. He has a light tone during his notes which was very conversational, as though he was chatting to you alongside him on his journey. Gilpin also sketched some of the places he visited which were then illustrated in his books “with plates based on Gilpin's sketches, etched by his nephew William Sawrey Gilpin using the aquatint process.” (wikipedia, 2014). This process allowed Gilpin to illustrate his travels but I can imagine the illustrations being a lot different taken with a camera. And that Is another comparison I am able to make through this project. 

Undertaking the project was an interesting but sometimes frustrating experience. I would imagine that Gilpin would've had less obstacles getting to the monuments and documenting them than I did. A lot of the areas have obviously been built up over the ages and most are built around such monuments. As well as this, these monuments are now maintained, and some, if not most, will have entrance fees to be able to access them. This was the first hurdle as they can be quite pricey, especially for family days out during summer holidays which was when I undertook this project, so I had company at all times. My main priority was to attempt to research gain the information beforehand and decide on which ones I needed to actually gain entry to to photograph and other which could be done externally. I wanted to capture the building itself so Was not intending to use any internal shots for the final selection, however a lot of these places will now have access restrictions and perimeter fencing so it was difficult to judge sometimes until I got to the sites. 

The shooting itself was relatively straight forward. I had initially wanted to take both my Canon 1000D plus my Canon 20D to the locations but unfortunately I had an issue with the 20D's battery so it was deemed unusable for this project. I also only have 3 lenses and so decided that my widest lens, and 18-55mm, would be better for such images. Camera angle and focal length was obviously going to be a big factor and could not be judged until arriving at the sites. I kept the same settings throughout  to keep all the images with the same set up, but then I had a big problem for two of the sites. I had planned a day to visit two of the monuments and had gotten my equipment ready but in the morning rush I wrongly put my other lens, a 28-135mm lens, onto the 1000D and didn't realise until we got there. But I had to make it work as we were over an hour away from home so I couldn't go back to change it. 

Most of the sites were easily workable. I needed to pay access for a total of four monuments as there was no way to get a decent photograph without paying to get in. Some had perimeter walls and fences which obstructed the building itself and some you couldn't even see from the gate and you had to walk a way to get to it. Others had free entry but still had fencing which proved difficult only in one instance. However, I am happy with my final collection and think that they give a good insight into these monuments as they are today. 

I think Gilpin's idea of the picturesque lay the foundations for how we see landscapes today. This assignment allowed me to view these scenes and ruins first hand but also allowed me to add my own perspective on my picturesque views. My views were to focus slightly more on the castles themselves as opposed to just on the general view of the locations, as well as adding my own ruins and locations to the route. I pondered presenting my photographs in black and white or even using a sepia tone by way of connecting the collection to Gilpin's images but then I decided against it. I presented them in colour as I have created my own series of images and have outlined the differences between the time frames as well as the differences between the locations and how they are today. It is important to maintain those differences of the modern digital world and keeping the photographs in colour really creates that contrast, while the locations and ruins themselves maintain the comparison. 

Sepia tone comparison to Gilpins image - Tintern Abbey

Sepia tone comparison to Gilpins image - Neath Abbey

The only issues with my images was the restrictions on how to photograph the monuments. It would've been better to have a bit more freedom at the locations to get around a bit better and get better angles and focal lengths but I definitely did the best I could under those restrictions. I am happy that the images do give a good representation of how these monuments are today. 

References:

WIKIPEDIA. (2014) William Gilpin (priest) [online] available at: HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gilpin_(priest"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gilpin_(priest) [accessed 9th October 2014]

The Final Collection:


Artist Statement:

"My interest in photography started at a young age, using the camera to document my youth and the people and experiences that moulded me. Born and still currently based in the beautiful coastline of South Wales, my interest quickly evolved into Landscape photography, using only my camera phone to assist me. My early photography consisted of seascapes, sunsets and castle ruins, through the abundance of monuments in my local area.
'Exploring Home' is a collection inspired by William Gilpin's 'Observations of the River Wye, and several parts of South Wales, relative chiefly to Picturesque Beauty' (London,1800). Using part of Gilpin's route through South Wales, I visited some of the monuments that he discovered and also added in a few more on the route that Gilpin did not mention in his work. My intention was to create a series "in Gilpins footsteps' but also by adding in further monuments, I have added my own personal connection to the series. Through this series of images, I wanted to show the picturesque beauty of not only the monuments but also of the scene set around them, a concept originally created by Gilpin. (My younger self was fascinated by the historical and strangeness of these places but now I wanted to capture not only the sublime factor of these ruins but also the beauty of them.)"

Amanda Kingston-Lynch

The Final Collection:

Neath Abbey

'The river Neath, covered with shipping, was spread before us. It's banks were enriched with wood, amidst which arose the ruins of Neath-abbey, with it's double tower' (Gilpin, 1800)

This was a little gem, gated in the middle of an industrial estate. It was poorly signposted so its no wonder this stood unknown on my doorstep for so long. It is a sizeable ruin with no entry fees so we had a good wander around on a fairly overcast morning. As Gilpin had sketched this ruin, I wanted to try to recreate his image. i walked around to try to find the place where he would've sketched the image but I wasn't able to get the same angle as he used. The iron gates around the site, large trees plus a stone bridge behind me permitted me from going back any further. Gilpin's image included the double towers, a lot less ruined than they are today, plus a lot of unspoilt scenery in front of the ruin. However, this is now a car park with houses and buildings in close proximity so the luscious greenery down to the river have long gone.

Margam House

'The extensive object we had seen, was the bank of Margam.....' (Gilpin, 1800)

This is the first of the sites not mentioned by Gilpin yet is one of the sites I frequently visit. Margam House is a beautiful gothic building set in the grounds of Margam Country Park. As it was built in the early 1800's, it would not have been there at the time of Gilpin's travels but I feel it is worth including in this collection. The park only charges for car parking and so it makes a lovely day out, however the weather turned slightly on this trip. The house itself is beautiful but unfortunately has fallen victim to fires in the past. You can only enter the entrance hallway inside the building with a fabulous octagonal room and just as remarkable main staircase. Outside, gargoyles watch over you from the roof and there is plenty of intricate detailing on the walls and towers. The building itself oozes with gothic beauty however the weather on this day makes it a very sublime scene. Each side of the building is a joy to photograph so it was difficult to pick which angle to choose from. I chose this as my final image as it shows the size and detailing of the building as well as some of the maintained gardens.

Ogmore Castle

'At Bridgend, where we met the river Ogmore, a beautiful landscape bursts again upon us.' (Gilpin, 1800)

The second of the ruins that Gilpin doesn't mention and yet another that I visit regularly. The cast;e sits right next to the river Ogmore, only a few hundred yards from the river mouth into the sea. It is a largely ruined castle, complete with its own tourist attraction, the stepping stones. The stones cross from the castle side over to the opposite side of the river Ogmore but these are completely submerged at high tide. Only a few minutes down the road from my house and with free entry, I can say this is the monument that I frequent the most. It also retains its moat, which will only flood during a very high spring tide but there is a wooden walkway that allows you access the castle from the other side. Ogmore castle completes a triangle of castle ruins in my town, the others being Newcastle and Coity Castle, but as Gilpin mentions Ogmore, and I visit this one a lot more than I do the others, I decided to enter Ogmore castle in this collection. Also, this is a much more picturesque scene than the other two, which have housing estates built in very close proximity around them.

Castell Coch

'Cardiff lies low, though it is not unpleasantly seated on the land side among woody hills' (Gilpin, 1800)

This is another site not mentioned by Gilpin, yet it was a small ruin up until its reconstruction in the 1800's and more than likely would've gone unnoticed amongst woodland on the steep hillside where it resides at the time Gilpin travelled through. I have known of this castle since my youth and have always known of it as 'the princess castle' (due to its turrets, as they are the only bits seen through the trees from the M4). Up until now, I have never actually visited the castle and it's definitely one of the prettiest that I have seen, inside and out, as well as one of the smallest. The hillside that it sits on it heavily wooded but this adds to making it a beautiful and very picturesque location. The winding driveway alongside the walkway from the car park make the walk up to the entrance one of awe as you take in the beauty of the scene, especially on such a beautiful day like when I went. I chose to take this image from the middle of the drive as I liked how the trees made a natural frame for the castle.

Caerphilly Castle

'The castle, meant for defence, stands boldly on the hill;...' (Gilpin, 1800)

Caerphilly castle is the final ruin that I have included that was not mentioned by Gilpin and I think this is because Caerphilly is further north than the route Gilpin travelled. I wanted to include this castle as it is such an impressive ruin and as well as being the second biggest castle in Britain, also boasts a sizeable moat and a leaning tower. The weather was awful the day that we visited but I think that it adds great atmosphere to the image. With the ruined gothic looking building, a murky moat and grey skies, this monument is oozing with sublime yet is still beautiful in its grandeur. 

Caldicot Castle

'We left the magnificent ruins of Caldicot Castle...' (Gilpin, 1800)

I was unaware that this castle was there and I drive past Caldicot quite regularly when crossing the second severn crossing. It was really difficult to find as it's back off the road and in the middle of a housing estate which has been built up around it. The site is a heavily wooded area with only a small path to the castle entrance, which makes this monument very mysterious but very difficult to photograph. It appears as just a ruin in the woods, but a substantial ruin at that. The castle itself is beautiful. It has a bold and elegant entranceway. As we walked around the outside of the building it was still a lovely site with the tops of the towers sticking out above the trees. The trees, however, are in very close proximity to the castle itself, there's not a big clearing like I have had at all the other sites. There was no way to get the image with the whole castle in as if I walked backwards to gain some focal length, the trees would just hide the castle. So I had to decide whether to focus on just the castle entrance or to attempt to get a shot off to one of the sides. I chose the latter as it was the clearest spot, with fewer trees. The actual site is not traditionally picturesque at all but the castle itself is a thing of beauty.

Chepstow Castle

'.....and of the town of Chepstow, and it's castle and abbey' (Gilpin, 1800)

During my trip to Chepstow, I was surprised at how the town is built up and how close and compact everything is considering it has such a large castle sitting on the bank of the equally large River Wye. The car park is directly out the front of the castle, which also has a lot of shops and houses crammed in close to the castle, and this was the best view I could get, looking at the front of the castle head on. Any other view would've included these other buildings which I really didn't want to show in the image. The castle charges an entrance fee so I chose to take an external photograph and tried to use the overhanging trees to add to the nature and picturesque aspect. I would've liked to get a better image of more of the castle considering the castle extends right along the side of the river bank but without exploring the area and maybe crossing the river, there was no way I could've gotten that image.

Tintern Abbey

'From Monmouth we reached....the noble ruins of Tintern Abbey,.....and is esteemed, with it's appendages, the most beautiful and picturesque view on the river.' (Gilpin, 1800)

Gilpin said 'it exhibits, on a nearer view, (when the whole together cannot be seen), a very enchanting piece of ruin' (London, 1800) and it really is. This is a very well known monument yet one that I had never before visited. All the images of this ruin cannot do it justice. As soon as I arrived at the site, I was instantly blown away by the beauty of the building as well as the beauty of the setting. Out of all the places I explored during this project, this is easily the most picturesque scene of them all. The ruin itself is breathtaking. The architecture, the size and the scale of the abbey really gives you something to look at. We spent hours wandering the site, but trying to take photos of the outside again proved difficult with the fences and perimeter walls. I eventually managed to get some shots but I had to take them from the other side of the site, within the fences but I had to include the ruins of the outer buildings in the foreground. I tried taking images to recreate Gilpin's shot but it would now include a wall and didn't look as 'picturesque' so I chose to include the image of the whole site.

Goodrich Castle 

'After sailing four miles to Ross, we came to Goodrich Castle; where a grand view presented itself; and we rested our oars to examine it.' (Gilpin, 1800)

This is yet another monument that I was aware of but had not visited before and I was pleasantly surprised by its grandeur. I had obviously seen Gilpin's sketch of the castle up on the hill above the river and was interested to see this location. When arriving on site we could not even see the castle from the car park or entrance so we had to pay to visit. There was a good 200 yard or so walk from the entrance to actually get to the ruin, up a beautiful natural walkway with a wooded hill on one side and a fence on the other, against what looked like a farmers crop field. The walkway took us up to the castle and around the outside up to the front entrance. This was one of the site I visited where I had brought the wrong lens and so photographing the outside of the castle proved difficult. But I think it would've been difficult with the correct lens anyway as there just wasn't any space to get any kind of distance between me and the castle to fit it all in. The walkway was only a few feet wide and is really close to the building itself so there was nowhere to move to to get a better shot. I chose, like at Caldicot Castle, to get a shot of the castle at the side corner and try to get an overview of the beauty of the castle as a whole as opposed to just focussing on the entrance. While I was on site, I really wanted to try to to see the angle of the castle that Gilpin had seen from the bottom of the hill. We were able to walk into the moat of the castle and at the far corner I looked down the hill to notice a small section of the River Wye and assumed that this is where Gilpin would've seen the castle on the hill. There was no way at all to recreate the shot or even get an image of the same section and angle of the castle as Gilpin saw it as the lens just wasn't wide enough. I was literally at the foot of the castle wall so it couldn't be done. The castle itself looks slightly more ruined now than it does in Gilpin's image as well so it would've been great to do a comparison shot but it just wasn't possible. I had to clone out the safety handrail from this image in Photoshop elements 9.

Raglan Castle

'Ragland Castle....it is a large and very noble ruin: more perfect than ruins of this kind commonly are.' (Gilpin, 1800)

Raglan Castle is a fabulous ruin. I could see it as we came off the M50 but you mainly see the keep tower. When I got to the site, the actual castle as whole is beautiful. The keep stands alone in front of the castle with it s own moat which is still full today. The front of the castle is so pretty with it s hexagonal towers, especially under the bright blue sky of the beautiful day that we went. This also charges an entrance fee and we had to enter as it has quite a high surrounding wall which prevented my photographing it from outside. This was the same day as our visit to Goodrich Castle and the day that I had the wrong lens but again, even with the wider lens, I don't think I would've fitted the whole front of the castle in the shot.The perimeter wall and the new gift shop prevented me getting much needed distance between me and the building to get all of the keep in as well as the entrance. Off to one side is a house which also prevented me going further in that direction to be able to get it all in at an angle. I could get one from the keep side of the building but as the keep sits further forward than the main entrance it was partially covering it from that angle and I really wanted to focus on the entrance as it is so remarkable.

Evaluation:

Each location was beautiful in its own right. There were many factors in photographing these sites which made it difficult to capture their beauty, factors that Gilpin maybe would not have had to to deal with. As a considerable amount of time has passed, the country has obviously changed. Towns have been built up around these ancient monuments meaning access to them is a lot more difficult than it may have been before. Most of these ruins are amongst more modern buildings and communities and so most sites require close ups to emphasise the beauty of the ruin itself, whereas Gilpin focussed more on the surroundings and the scene with the ruin included. As we are comparing this digital age and imagery to that of Gilpin's travels, we could also count the weather as an aspect of similarity. Gilpin said 'Different light makes so great a change even in the composition of landscape.....that they create a scene perfectly new' (London, 1800). As shown in my images, I think the weather can play a huge part in the beauty or the sublime of the scene. The image of Caerphilly castle is a prime example. I'm sure the final image would've come out a lot different had the sun been shining in bright blue skies. Gilpin's sketches don't really have any influence from the weather, and we aren't to know what the weather was like though any of his images. Also, Gilpin's sketches allow freedom to create more of a picturesque scene, maybe be leaving out things that you don't particularly like at the scene or emphasising things that you do. The camera shows you what is actually there (although you can do a lot during the processing and editing stages).The camera also allows a lot more detail, from the site itself to the weather, as well as including a vast amount of colours and tones and also takes a fraction of a second as opposed to Gilpin taking the time to actually sketch the scenes. Despite these obvious differences between Gilpin's work and my own, I feel that I have done well to capture Gilpin's picturesque in my collection. The images define my own personal view of the picturesque but also do well to still conform to that of Gilpin's work. The differences in access to the sites allowed me to move about to find a more conventional picturesque view as opposed to just creating a 'copycat' image. Also, the inclusions of forms of nature, from the sunshine, to trees and rivers also made the scenes more pleasing to the eye and therefore more familiar to the views that created Gilpin's picturesque concept. 

all images can be viewed via my Dropbox folder here

References:

GILPIN, W. (1800) Observations on the River Wye, and several parts of South Wales, relative chiefly to picturesque beauty: made in the summer of the year 1770 [online] London: Cadell Junior and W.Davies. Available from - http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/travellers/Gilpin_Wye/1 [accessed October 9th 2014]

WIKIPEDIA. (2014) William Gilpin (priest) [online] available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gilpin_(priest"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gilpin_(priest) [accessed 9th October 2014]

CADW. (2014) Raglan Castle [online] available at: http://cadw.wales.gov.uk/daysout/raglancastle/?lang=en [accessed 9th October 2014]

CADW. (2014) Chepstow Castle [online] available at: http://cadw.wales.gov.uk/daysout/chepstow-castle/?lang=en [accessed 9th October 2014]

CADW. (2014) Caerphilly Castle [online] available at: http://cadw.wales.gov.uk/daysout/caerphilly-castle/?lang=en [accessed 9th October 2014]

CADW. (2014) Ogmore Castle [online] available at: http://cadw.wales.gov.uk/daysout/ogmorecastle/?lang=en [accessed 9th October 2014]

CADW. (2014) Castell Coch [online] available at: http://cadw.wales.gov.uk/daysout/castell-coch/?lang=en [accessed 9th October 2014]

ENGLISH HERITAGE. (2014) [online] available at: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/goodrich-castle/ [accessed 9th October 2014]

CADW. (2014) Tintern Abbey [online] available at: http://cadw.wales.gov.uk/daysout/tinternabbey/?lang=en [accessed 9th October 2014]

CADW. (2014) Neath Abbey [online] available at: http://cadw.wales.gov.uk/daysout/neathabbeyandgatehouse/?lang=en [accessed 9th October 2014]

CALDICOT CASTLE. (2014) Caldicot Castle [online] available at: http://www.caldicotcastle.co.uk/ [accessed 9th October 2014]

MARGAM COUNTRY PARK. (2014) The Castle and Outbuildings [online] available at: http://www.margamcountrypark.co.uk/default.aspx?page=1333 [accessed 9th October 2014]