See an aerial view of the Stourport Basins by clicking here

To see photos of the current restoration work in the Stourport Basins, visit the Stourport Basins Photo Gallery.

 

 

Alison Palmer is an advertising and commercial photographer specialising in producing vibrant and dynamic images for her clients. Alison’s work tends to flirt with the slightly more quirky side of life for both commercial and private clients. During her photographic career she has assisted some of the UK’s leading advertising photographers before going on to gain some of her own commissions with Discovery Channel Network, The French House, Maverick TV, Mao Tai, Souk Comms and CH 4.Visit her website

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Artists Impression

Alison Palmer, a photographer from Brighton has been commissioned to establish a set of images to capture the essence of Stourport Canal Basins through her own interpretation and reaction to the site. She will be given the opportunity to use the Canal Basin as a blank canvas to establish a set of images from her own viewpoint of the site.

British Waterways have given Alison an open brief to allow her to investigate, explore and identify with the site and develop her own ideas. This commission provides an opportunity to create a source of imagery which can be drawn upon to document the present. It is anticipated that these images will add to the contemporary archive and build on previous artists’ interpretation of the site.

Commission Aims:

• Create the opportunity for an artists to develop their own work using the Canal Basins as a blank canvas
• Create a source of imagery to promote the project and animate the site
• Create images which will document and record the present in the future

Alison’s Response: “I will produce a series of five beautifully crafted conceptual images evoking the spirit and people of the past. Members of the local communities would be invited and encouraged to become the historical roles of certain figures that were instrumental to the building of Stourport as one of the busiest and most successful trading ports of its time.  The hey day of its trading prowess and the spirit that created a town that was ‘built to be built upon’ would be re captured in a contemporary photographic style resulting in dynamic and visually stunning images. The Photographs would represent both the influential and everyday people who through their working and daily lives helped to play a vital role in Stourport’s success. I would not be looking to recreate historical accuracy in regards to exact costumes or props used in the images, as this can be found in museums and archives. Instead, I would be interested in creating images that allude to the past in their subject matter but are executed in a contemporary fashion that would breathe new life into the past.  I would be intending to produce photographs that would connect with the current population of Stourport but that would also engage and excite a national and international audience. To decide on the theme of each shot, I would actively engage in further research of the subject matter and make further contact with local historians and experts and tap into the wealth of local knowledge available. I always research my ideas before shooting, I find that it gives me a much stronger connection to the finished image and my creativity is fed through this process.
The people and narratives to be further researched would be steered by the knowledge I gain from both locals and experts in this field, from this research I would decide upon the five images to be created.”

Impressions Commission Update:
April 2007:
Alison will be starting research on local characters to capture from mid July.

May/June 2007:
Alison visited the Canal Basins to take initial photographs of the site and help recognise potential ideas for her photographic images. She has also carried out research into the history of the site including specific characters, events, traditions and associations, and since identified five innovative images which will capture the essence of the place.

Alison has been working throughout June to secure actors, models and props for the shoot to commence in mid August. She has identified a number of local community groups as well as professionals to appear in her shots. The shots which have been identified are:

1. Wedgwood Plate Spinner
2. Red Cap Rower
3. James Brindley in Bed
4. Swimmer climbing ladder
5. Big Slide

July 2007:
Alison has been preparing for the production phase to take place smoothly in August. She has had meetings with her assistant to plan the logistics of each individual shot and liaised closely with the necessary actors, models and relevant businesses to inform them of the shoot and the concepts behind her ideas.

August 2007:
Alison spent a week on site shooting each of the five individual images.

James Brindley in Bed was shot on the island area of the basins and was the first image to be captured. Alison worked with a local actor to show Brindley thinking up the idea of Stourport Canal Basins while sat in bed as Alison found it to be said that ‘he would retire to bed for days at a time to think an idea through.’

The Red Cap Rower was shot on the Severnside edge of the site and was shot on land not water. One of the local young rowers from Stourport Rowing Club was asked to appear in this shot. This shot was inspired by research into the regattas and the history of ‘The Red Cap Crews’.

The Slide Shot was taken from the top of the big slide during the morning before the amusement park opened to the public. The slide was one of the first things which Alison was drawn to when visiting Stourport initially and she wanted to find a way to include it. Alison decided to use chrysanthemum wreaths to spell out the word BASINS which were placed on green grass sacks to referencing the welcome signs many towns have on grass banks.

The Swimmer image was taken in the large barge lock chamber in the lower basin area. Alison was fascinated by the shape of the ladders coming out of the chamber and wanted to reference a story of a local women who can remember swimming in the river many years ago.

For the Wedgwood shot Alison was interested in the trading link between Wedgwood and the canal basin and wanted to capture Josiah Wedgwood’s sense of spirit. Alison decided to shoot Wedgwood juggling plates on site with plates stacked around him.

Alison will be editing and completing her photographic images throughout September.