C os t a l A b s t r a ct s a t Pa ddy ’s Ho le By Iain Kitt
When I mentioned to my partner that I was going to Paddy’s Hole to take some photographs her response was “that doesn’t sound like a very attractive location”. And at first sight I’m sure many people would agree with her. Paddy’s Hole is a small harbour at the end of a long breakwater on the mouth of the River Tees. It is named after the Irish navvies who built it using slag from the nearby Redcar steelworks. Outside of the harbour, large ships slip in and out of Teesport but inside is a safe haven for a motley collection of small boats which are left high and dry in the mud at low tide. On the banks are a collection of what are best described, with no disrespect to their proud owners, as shacks, the whole area may not be beautiful, but you sense there is a strong community amongst the people who frequent it. The site has numerous possibilities. The contrast between the small harbour with its small boats and the cranes and chemical works on the opposite bank of the Tees has formed a subject for several photographers. However, I was there to take part in “Coastal Abstracts”, an RPS workshop run by Mark Banks. We were going to look through the other end of the lens, so to speak, and focus down on some of the small details, picking out interesting features from amongst the fishing paraphernalia. One of the challenges Mark set us was to dispense with our zoom lenses and instead just use one of fixed focal length, as a way to focus our attention much more on getting the composition right. I use an Olympus EM1, Mk II so I chose a 60mm macro lens, giving an equivalent focal length of 120mm. Our first exercise was simply to photograph a flat feature. The weather to start was rather bright and sunny which made choosing a suitable subject slightly tricky as many of the surfaces were quite reflective. An umbrella to cast some shade turned out to be a useful accessory (and would also come in handy later when it rained). Images one and two were my best attempts.
November 2021 Volume 6 Number 8
8
