Broadwater Warren - A place I return to.

Broadwater Warren is a place that I keep coming back to. Out of habit and also out of comfort.

The beauty about having long standing relationships with single locations such as this are that landscapes like Broadwater Warren will never creatively stagnate. Seasons change, storms come and go, trees get cut down and new plants get introduced. All these things and more adjust the characteristics of the location.

A number of years ago my good friend Ben and I went through a period where we would get up hideously early in the winter in a bid to capture hard frosts and thick fog coupled with Sussex landscapes. Ben suggested Broadwater Warren so we drove down there layered up with thermals and a couple of hot coffees in us.

To say it was cold was an understatement, so we quickly got to work. I walked over the heathland and set up my camera. At that time I was shooting on a Nikon D750 coupled with a Zeiss Milvus 35mm and also a 50mm of that same line. I attached my camera to the tripod and put it on my shoulder and trudged over the icy grass. I have a really vivid memory of looking up and seeing the sun pushing a beautiful diffused light through the fog. The ice was thick under foot and the colours of winter were muted and beautiful. It felt for a moment like I was in a dream world and I felt almost overwhelmed with the beauty that was in front of me.

Cut to now and we have visited this location countless times. Sometimes the results are incredible, sometimes they really have not hit the mark at all but I have always found myself drawn back. Sometimes the weather is beautiful with gorgeous sunrises and often it’s grey and rainy but I can’t help myself but to visit again and again.

Broadwater Warren feels like a warm blanket that dials you down after a stressful week at work. Or your favourite show that you can’t help but watch again because it’s all that you can think of to relax you.

The above shots are my first set that I shot on film at this location.

Previously I’ve always shot on digital here but recently, since just before Christmas, I’ve got back into shooting film again. I’ve yo-yoed between shooting film and digital a lot in the past but something feels different this time round. With the introduction of medium format in my work I honestly can’t see me turning back again. I’m in love with those big beautiful negatives along with the details and colour they give me.

This set is shot on my Fuji GW690iii. This medium camera takes huge negatives. In fact you only get eight shots per roll.

In my mind the 6X9 medium format demands slow photography ensuring that each shot is carefully considered. I nearly always shoot with this camera on a tripod and often with a cable release even when the light does not require it. I do this mainly because when you only have eight shots per roll I kind of need to make sure my trigger finger doesn’t run away with me and empty my wallet!

On this day I chose a roll of Portra 800 and Kodak TriX400. I wanted to see the contrast between monochrome and colour in this location that I was all too familiar with.

I’m very pleased with the results with both rolls. I had a good feeling that the colour film was going to work well on this landscape but in my head I was unsure if the black and white would work at all.

As always the detail in the images has taken my breath away, thanks to the medium format film.

I can’t wait to return in the winter with this same camera and see if I can capture those stunning frosts that made me fall in love with this location.