Going Underground.

Photography & Narrative.

So, new year, new assignment and it sounds like something I'm really going to be able to get my Teeth into.
My brief is to use Photography in any medium to create a narrative.

I always remember a quote by Indiana Jones from Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull: "If you want to be a good Archaeologist, you gotta get out of the Library.

This one simple quote has been stuck in my head since seeing the film in 2008. Although not directly talking about photography, I feel it can be used in any form of learning.
With this in mind yesterday. I packed myself a picnic and put on a pair of wellies.

I grew up in New Marske which is in the Teesside area. New Marske was once a booming Mining area and the village was built around the works for employees of the Mine. I sadly didn't ever get to see area as a place of employment. It was from an early age a huge playground. To cover up the trace of working, Trees were planted an the majority of Mines were bricked up, filled in or collapsed.

Why is this worth looking at?

There's 2 things that amaze me about places like this:

1. The Woodland is a place I always built Tarzies, rode my BMX, Built camp fires and slept in Dens.
Less than 100 years before this the people that were there seen it as a place of employment. They may have hated going up there to tunnel miles into the ground to put food on the table for their families. where I've always seen it as a setting for adventure.

2. Now this reason is something I wouldn't have ever really been interested in as a child but now i'm older and some may say more mature, It's pretty fascinating.
The leftover buildings and equipment is now being reclaimed by the earth. Weeds are growing over the brickwork and Trees are growing through the roofs of the buildings.

Both points I find would be worth using for my Photography & Narrative assignment but the second option is something I would like to investigate further. (Plus my BMX has a flat Tyre)

As my brief is based in the whole of the north east. I'll be visiting other abandoned sites to see how nature is starting to reclaim them.