County of Cornwall

County of Cornwall: Documentary and Landscape Photography

County of Cornwall was a photography project created in 2010 and has, for a number of years, been hidden away on the website. Very much like the Norfolk photography project, it has been on a permanent hiatus since 2010 but is a project I would love to expand and develop.

The images are a mix of digital SLR photography and images, shot and edited, using an iPhone. The project has always represented a very difficult period in my life and as such was hidden away on the website. It is only recently that ideas and plans to expand the project have been considered.

The Unfinished Project

Unlike a lot of the other galleries on this website, this project is really just a taste of something I would like continue in much better detail further at a later date.

Cornwall has such a unique feel as a county. It has a vibe, a culture and even a undertone of independence that is its quite distinct from the rest of UK. It’s isolation and rough terrain generating a similar romantic backdrop not unlike that found in the Highlands. The rugged landscapes etc may be very different but the strong local connection to the landscape, history and culture is very similar. During my week long visit, it felt more like being on a island than in an English county, and that was further reinforced after staying on the Scottish islands of Islay and Arran.

Unfamiliar Territory

The County of Cornwall project has been tucked away on the website for a number of years. Photography is not created in isolation. The photographer reacts to the time and place where the images are made. Looking back at the images there is a sense of darkness and even isolation. The image taken at Porthcurno beach of the couple in the circle especially resonates with me. The circle seems to provide protection reinforced by the protective embrace. Visually it reflected something I was after at the time but didn’t find.

My visit to Cornwall was due to a relationship I’d had a year or so before. Upon arrival I realised that the visit was an error. A mistake. Some things are just best left in the past. The photography remains the only element left from that time, so at least something positive came out of the whole debacle. A number of great images were made during walks around the Cornish coast really brought the beautiful coast, combined with the fabulous light, to life.

For many years the images were a reminder of a painful episode in my life. Any pain is bad, but emotional pain seems much harder to shake off. Time does fade some of the more unpleasant memories..

County of Cornwall

County of Cornwall is a small, but complex project. A mixture of rugged coastlines, candid images and bad memories. I would like to think that I’ll get the opportunity to add to the project at a later date. It is quite a journey away and my natural tendency is to head north rather than in a southerly direction. That said, among the very good reasons to return is the quality of the light. It is not often that I have to do the minimal amount of post production work on an image. All of the DSLR shot images are almost straight out of the camera, the clarity and quality of the light being so good.

My Favourite Image

A favourite image from County of Cornwall was taken at Porthcurno beach and is titled before the shadow. After heading down a coastal path you reached the view seen in the photograph. A small beach that was busy in October and must be hectic during summer months. Most people seemed to be enjoying the warm sun. Others were fishing.

The weather for October was fantastic with heat and sunshine you would expect from earlier in the year. It felt more like a summer’s day in July or August, and the great weather had, naturally, brought out the sun worshipers and tourists to the beach. By the afternoon, the shadow of a cliff, seen in the bottom left corner of the image, had started to creep across the beach gradually blocking out the warmth and light.

Photography is life

The title is rather grand but I do believe that it is true. Photography is not made in isolation. Photographers live their lives through the images they make and the events taking place at that time. One influences the other. Separating them is just a futile gesture. County of Cornwall is an example of the life outside of photography influencing the images. Even to a small extent.

Photography Prints

If you would like to purchase a County of Cornwall print, the Richard Flint Photography RedBubble store has a wide range of images available.

Framed prints, canvas prints, artboards, metal prints, acrylic blocks plus lots more can be found on the Redbubble store HERE.