5 frames from freezing Margate with a Leica M5

As is the case with many photographers, working a “9-5” office job often leads to the feeling of wanting to get out and explore if the opportunity arises. Sometimes, you have to create your own opportunities, rather than waiting for opportunity to find you. Disregarding the never ending “iron skies” that dominate England’s winter period, I like to start the year off by venturing down to the coastal seaside town of Margate in early January, which has now become a tradition of mine.

Margate is a faded Victorian seaside town that has been undergoing a resurgence over the past decade or so (and long may it continue). Investment in the area and the relocation of London based creatives flock to the area makes the town and interesting place to be. The decay of the (formerly) grand architecture, mixed in with the characters that you may encounter and the subdued hues of the winter sun present an interesting challenge for the photographer willing to embrace the cold wind.

Desperate to capture some meaningful scenes whilst the fog and sun were present, I came across a group of swimmers that left me feeling even more freezing that I already was, were a group of swimmers in lining up by the tidal pool. It’s safe to say that I didn’t join them! My choice of choosing colour over black and white was also rewarded that day, the combination of the sea fog and sun created a colour palette which tells the story of how resilient these swimmers were!

For this particular photo walk, with one of my favourite set ups, my Leica M5 with the CZ 35mm f2.8, loaded with Kodak Gold 200 rather than my usual choice of Ilford HP5. It was below freezing and I did wonder if it would have been better to give up and find the nearest pub with an open fire with a pint of Guinness. Surprisingly, I didn’t succumb and I wasn’t the only individual to brace the cold, and then something unexpected happened. Thick sea fog and the sun both appeared!

My photo walk was unfortunately cut short due to the light fading and the thick sea fog rolling in. Day turned into night very quickly, I did however manage to (somewhat unexpectedly) to take a photo of Antony Gormley’s Another Time Statue, one of the many art installations that can found in the area. The last photograph of the iconic Dreamland tower looks like a still from the recent Empire of Light Film. By that point I had finished the roll, called it a day and went off to find the nearest pint of Guinness.

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