Documentary FRPS Panel - Nick Hodgson FRPS

The freeminers of the Forest of Dean are a tiny community mining small amounts of coal which is sold to local residents. Freemining dates back to a 13th Century Royal Charter and to qualify, a freeminer must be born in the immediate area. However likely climate change legislation, together with low levels of local births, means this is the last generation of freeminers and probably marks the end of coal mining in Britain. The community is fiercely independent, proud of its heritage, and stoically determined to preserve its culture. The freeminers have a profound attachment to their land and are bound together by trust, camaraderie and teamwork. My intent is to document the freeminers’ work, culture and personalities. Shot over three years, this project has deep personal interest as my greatgrandfather was a freeminer and one of my earliest childhood memories is being taken inside a working freemine.

Nick Hodgson FRPS

Nick Hodgson FRPS

Nick Hodgson FRPS

Nick Hodgson FRPS

Nick Hodgson FRPS

Nick Hodgson FRPS

Nick Hodgson FRPS

Nick Hodgson FRPS

Nick Hodgson FRPS

Nick Hodgson FRPS

Nick Hodgson FRPS

Nick Hodgson FRPS

Nick Hodgson FRPS

Nick Hodgson FRPS

Nick Hodgson FRPS

Nick Hodgson FRPS

Nick Hodgson FRPS

Nick Hodgson FRPS

Nick Hodgson FRPS

Nick Hodgson FRPS

Nick Hodgson FRPS

Simon R Leach FRPS - Chair of the Royal Photographic Society Distinctions, Documentary Genre

For his submission Nick has selected a project with which he had a personal connection and therefore gave him an excellent starting point that he was then able to grow and develop. This personal understanding behind a body of work is so important to creating an engaging documentary narrative.

Another thing which I have found is extremely beneficial in developing a documentary work is access to the subject matter. Regular and unrestricted access can be developed in most situations and allows the photographer that time for both the thoughts and images to evolve. Nick obviously had that initial connection to the free miners and has demonstrated his commitment over time. This is not just detailed in the statement, it can be seen through the images. This period of time enabled Nick to gain a wide variety of images, demonstrating the trust and understanding of the miners that developed. The result is a documentary of the processes involved and, perhaps more importantly, a narrative around the characters and relationships, between fellow miners and to the landscape. This is a story of free mining which Nick presents through just 21 images.

Through the selection of images Nick cleverly allows us to see his understanding of photographic craft. Balancing extremes of condition and differences in subject matter into a body of work that has the cohesion to draw all these different elements together without hindering our view of his intended narrative. A strong and clear individual vision has aided the cohesion, creating an image selection that has given us portraits, working practices and the wider landscape, all of which add to the narrative. There are no distractions; Men bound together by trust in each other, camaraderie and maybe the odd bit of humour, and perhaps aware of the fate of their profession. A slight melancholy through the selection and monochrome can be identified. Whilst these concepts are presented through the statement of intent and set the objectives for the work, they are importantly, equally visualised through the presentation.

The craft of the printing and presentation again demonstrated the commitment to the work as a whole. Nick obviously valued the project, its narrative and the access he had been given to tell that story. Put all of this together and you have the distinctive work of a single photographer.

Nick Hodgson FRPS

How did the project originate?

The story started in 1966 when as a young boy I was taken down a family-owned coal free mine to show me how this branch of my family had earned its living for decades. It created a lasting impression! Fast forward to early 2019, I was a student on the Falmouth MA photography course and decided that the free miners, and the landscape they work in, would make an ideal subject-matter for my Final Major Project (the MA final submission). The project would also allow me to reconnect with my family history.

How did the project evolve over the three years?

My initial interest was in the landscape and the relationship between nature’s reclaiming of mankind’s physical scarring - a strange juxtaposition of beauty and melancholy. But I quickly realised that the freemining personalities were as much of the story as the landscape itself. So whilst the MA work was purely landscape, I broadened my project as it progressed by documenting the free miners’ work, culture, and personalities - above and below ground. I did my research and approached the free mining community, and slowly but surely gained their trust and with it access to the mines. I knew I had ‘earned’ this trust when six months into the project I was invited to join their private Facebook group. This was an incredibly important moment, and integral to the subsequent results.

It meant going underground. What was that like?

Nerve-racking! I knew for completeness that the body of work had to include actual mining activity, but I’m mildly claustrophobic so had to get ‘into the zone’. Thankfully the freeminers are constantly chatting away in the tunnels. That, together with making sure I didn’t whack my helmet on the low roof whilst keeping my camera away from the damp and grime as best I could, meant I probably shot some of my most rewarding work.

Why did you choose black and white?

For a number of reasons. There’s barely any colour underground apart from some of the miners’ overalls. The colour palette in the Forest of Dean is gorgeous throughout the year but I felt that a mix of colour and monochrome would not sit right for an F panel submission. The project is about coal, a black material. And the tonal range I wanted to achieve in both the portraits and landscapes was always, in my mind’s eye, going to be best achieved in monochrome.

What technical issues did you encounter?

Above ground, I’m glad to report that the infamous wild boar of the Forest of Dean didn’t charge my tripod, although I did manage to tear a knee cartilage stumbling through the undergrowth. But underground, there’s obviously the grime, the pitch darkness, and the damp. Thankfully there’s no methane in these mines. However, space is obviously at a premium, so the challenge was thinking about lighting from both the helmet lamps and flash and crouching down to find the best compositional position whilst the mining work was going on all around. And my Nikon kit didn’t let me down, which is testament to its construction and durability.

Which image gives you the greatest satisfaction?

That’s a difficult one. When I look at the panel now, I’m amazed with myself that I ever went underground! But my favourite is 14, which I’ve titled ‘Wardy exiting Folly’. It was just the briefest of moments at the end of a shift when he was walking beside the cart which was being slowly hauled out of the mine entrance in dappled light. I think this image captures a raft of themes. And there’s a nod to the interwar Soviet propaganda poster photography of Mark Markov-Grinberg, Arkadi Shaikhet and Semyon Fridlyand.

And did any personal favourites not make the final panel?

Quite a few! My two one2one review sessions with Simon Leech FRPS were really instructive and made me part company with some favourites. But I think the final edit, with the key ingredients of a strong narrative thread, sequencing, pace, and cropping, really worked well. The panel assessors thankfully thought so as well.

Did you consider a book for this project?

Yes, in fact almost all of these images will be part of a larger book on the project which is being published in September by VIKA Books. I wanted to provide a record of free mining activity in the early 2020’s for future generations to refer to, and a physical book with an ISBN means a copy will be placed in the British Library. As a photographer, there’s no substitute for seeing one’s work in physical form, be it as a print, in a zine or in a book. As students we were encouraged to explore printed publication options on the MA course, so I’m delighted this is happening. It’ll be available at this year’s BOP22 Books on Photography photobook festival at RPS House and MPF in Bristol in early October.

nicholashodgson.photoshelter.com