The Unthanks

‘Can you see if you’ve got a pound in your bag??’

I uttered these words rather frantically as we drove into the depths of the Tyne Tunnel. There was a sign as we entered saying that the exact amount was needed. I was coming in at £2.70 found in the collection of car change I keep in the water holder (alongside the odd Werthers Original sweet wrapper). We were down a quid. I remember from the last time me and Suze drove through that there’s no card payment option, and nobody sitting cheerily in a kiosk waiting for their palms to be crossed with silver. So it was down to my travelling companion Matt to rifle through the multitude of pockets in his bag. I swear there was a glint from the coin as Matt held it aloft!

With the drama of the tunnel behind us, we pulled into Cullercoats, a small North Eastern coastal town, and we breathed a deep sigh as we took first sight of the bay and the ebbing tide. Matt may have been disappointed that he hadn’t seen The Angel Of The North (I did promise but we turned off just before she majestically looms above the A1), but thankfully he didn’t hold it against me!

After scouting a couple of locations, we grabbed a cup of tea in the sun outside a seafront cafe, and shortly after, we were joined by the smiling faces of Rachel and Becky. We were here to take photos for The Unthanks and their upcoming tour and album. Me behind the camera, and Matt bringing his lighting wizardry. He also took all of the behind the scenes shots that this blog is peppered with.

The North East light and landscape provided the perfect backdrop.

We based ourselves close to the shore for most of the day, and found some local landmarks to shoot in and around too. As we tested the lights, I think Matt was planning his Unthanks audition tape!

A few moments later…

There was singing, and there were seals. We watched the ships as they queued for the tide to rise before making their journey down The Tyne. Away from these metal giants, we spotted a pod of dolphins heading north.

As we walked around taking images, I noticed this colourful underpass, and thought it would make a great backdrop.

I loved creating this underpass collection, and this image above was used to promote the Sorrows Away tour.

As the sun was leaving the sky, painting it with saffron streaks, we took a few down in the bay where Adrian (pianist and producer) came to join us too.

The Unthanks music reaches into your heart and pulls on the stories hidden there, into the dust the light and the shadows. If you haven’t heard their beauty yet, you are in for a treat.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with them a couple of times. You can see and read about creating images for their Mount The Air album here.

A couple of weeks ago, the new album arrived in the post. Straight on the turntable it went, and I’d highly recommend Sorrows Away, what a feast for the senses. Inside the album on the lyrics sheet, one of my photos. And within that image, the memories of a lovely creative day.

And I’ve nearly got to the end without mentioning Matt’s infamous recovery dance down the slippery rocks. A move I called the seaweed shuffle! Let’s just say, he has skills. Thanks for everything Matt, you’re a star.

Valérie Wartelle on Film

I walked into Valérie’s studio space and marvelled at the floorboards beneath my feet. ‘They came from a boat that sailed the seas’ Valérie told me. The morning light was just peering in through the mill window onto a shiny patch on one of those floorboards, and for a moment I thought I could hear those waves. It seems so fitting that Valérie’s studio is situated in one of the old mills in Halifax, on the banks of a river, the water from which would have been used to produce the materials the mill was making. And turning full circle, water is a part of Valérie’s process too.

Valérie commissioned me to make a film about her work, her inspirations, and her processes. Along with my camera for filming, I also took my analogue film camera to take a roll throughout our day together. And I wanted to share some of them here, along with the film, and some of Valérie’s words.

‘I love the mill because it has its own story to tell. In the building, you can see where it’s been pushed and pulled and twisted’.

Valérie’s process is very tactile. There’s movement, rhythm and repetition in the way she works with the materials. It’s very meditative to watch.

‘It is that rhythm, that repetition that seems to nudge me a little bit in this semi-meditative space, and I find that space quite freeing.’

‘I feel my work is effectively an expression of this sensory dialogue between me, the materials, and the process.’

In the film I made, these 3 and a bit minutes are a culmination of all those excited planning conversations after Valérie first wrote to me. This film feels like such a collaboration. That Valérie wanted it to include certain aspects of her studio life and process, but wanted me to tell it as a reaction to what I felt and saw watching her work. And you can see more of Valérie’s beautiful work at her website here.

A Meadow On Film

I don’t know if your family were the same when you were growing up, but mine liked routine and found comfort in familiar places especially when it came to holidays. We’d pack the car up and drive to Loch Awe in Scotland. We’d stay in the same house, we’d meet family in the same service station for lunch (the delights of Tebay). I’ve battled many of the other routines that my parents surrounded themselves with, but I’ve realised there is one that is part of our year. An annual trip to Wild Meadow!

We first took a trip down there in 2016 for Suzi’s birthday. We’ve been back every year since, sometimes a couple of times. There’s such a pull to the place. A beautiful eco house, located in the middle of a meadow, with an orchard, kitchen garden, pond, and the best swing you ever have seen! We’ve celebrated birthdays, and had hazy days in the golden light with the sun prickling our skin. It seems strange to think we started visiting before Olive was here, but now she’s been twice, and meadow life certainly seems to suit her. The tall grass was taller than her as she walked down the paths with my Mum and Dad, learning all about the flora and fauna, taking it all in. She is now obsessed by birds of prey, as the buzzards are a very frequent sight circling high above the meadow.

As the season is turning the page, I want to hold onto these days a little while longer, and to put these photos together in as blog, to share with you, but to show Olive too. Although I took my digital camera with me, it didn’t come out of the bag, and I just took photos on my 35mm Olympus OM1 and my medium format Mamiya 645. These photos are a mixture from the two cameras.

There’s something about film that just suspends these moments more significantly, the warmth and the colours sing.

It’s always SO hard to leave. But I’m happy to say that we’ll be back there again next May. A home from home.