Finding the Will to Go: A Morning at Dungeness

The first weekend of the year finally got me out of the door and down to Dungeness — often called the UK’s only desert. I had planned to go on New Year’s Day itself, something that’s almost become a tradition for me, but a bad night’s sleep and a complete lack of enthusiasm meant it never happened. So instead, I made a point of going on Saturday morning, determined not to let another excuse get in the way.

Dungeness is about an hour and fifteen minutes from home, so I set off around 7am and arrived shortly after sunrise. What I hadn’t prepared for was just how brutally cold it would be. I had remembered my thick hat but forgotten my gloves, and within minutes my hands were freezing solid — not ideal when you’re trying to operate cameras and think clearly about composition.

Camera-wise, I kept things fairly simple. I had my Fujifilm X-T1 with me, a lovely older digital camera that still feels great to use, along with my RealitySoSubtle 6×17 pinhole camera loaded with a single roll of Kodak Gold 200. With the RealitySoSubtle, I only get four frames per roll, which really forces me to slow down and think about each image. That said, most of my shooting was done digitally using the TTArtisan 25mm f/2 lens, which has quickly become a firm favourite.

Dungeness is a strange and fascinating place. Officially a shingle peninsula, it feels vast and empty, almost otherworldly. Scattered across the beach are all sorts of relics — old fishing boats, bits of rusting metal, and structures slowly being reclaimed by the elements. The beached boats are what really draw me in. I’ve photographed them in various places over the years and have a long-running series centred around them. I last visited Dungeness on New Year’s Day 2022 with my Ondu 4×5 pinhole camera, so it was good to be back, this time exploring with both digital and 6×17 film.

The light was bright and clear, with not a cloud in the sky. While that made for crisp conditions, I couldn’t help thinking how incredible this place would look on a stormy, overcast day — dramatic skies, rougher light, and a bit more atmosphere. It’s definitely somewhere I’ll return to, ideally when the weather is a little moodier… and hopefully a little warmer.

All that’s left now is to develop the film and see what I’ve got. The C-41 chemicals haven’t been used for a few months, and colour chemistry doesn’t have the longest shelf life once mixed, so the results could be interesting. Fingers crossed they’re still good — either way, it’s all part of the process.

It wasn’t a perfect shoot, and it wasn’t a perfect start to the year either. But turning up, feeling the cold, and making a few photographs was enough. Sometimes that’s all a new year really needs.