Your New Local Shop. 4th January.

Across the UK in towns and suburbs the meaning of "The Local Shop" is changing.. a few years ago it would have been the butchers, corner shop or post office.. but now it's turning into your nearest Tescos, Asda or Morrisons. I'm not going to lie, I like the fact that Tescos is so low priced and open all hours.. but do I like the fact that Mr.Smith's Butchers is suffering because it can't be as convenient? 

I'm not sure.. what do you think?

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A2Z - The multicultural shop. 5th January.

My nearest city is Peterborough, some people may not like it, it's not that big and the shopping's not that great... but I quite like it! It's a hub of multiculturalism, on my way out of the city today I saw this shop and I thought it perfectly captured the diversity of the city. People of different nationalities may tend to stay in separate groups and communities, but as a city we are starting to tear down all the barriers but we are embracing the diverse range nationalities. This shop is a perfect example of that.

The Chippy. 10th December.

I was just walking to the local supermarket this evening to buy some chocolates for christmas presents... and I walked past the local chippy. Chip shops are so English, but I don't think I would miss them unless I went abroad. Everyone takes chip shops for granted, you get people just grabbing a snack on the way home, people who have decided to treat themselves for tea, people who going out for the evening..... all kinds of people who use these shops. This chip shop (friar tucks) has been open for as long as I can remember, I might go back and visit them again to use in my portrait documentary on local shops (the forgotten shops).

In other news, I have started shooting a little bit more for my "Electric Landscapes" project, I am really happy with where I am taking it by using a digital camera. I do love film and it's qualities, but I think that digital will work really well with the topic of this project. 

A C Ostler Garden Centre. 29th November.

So today I started working on a new documentary project, where I take portraits of people who work in small independent shops. These shops are the ones that our towns and villages rely on, they are the ones that some people take for granted as they have "always been there", people may not even notice them. Recently I have watched a number of these independent shops close due to either retirement or not being able to live up to competition, this made me want to capture the small British independent shops as there is always a possibility that they will be taken over by clinical commercial large scale retailers. 

One shop which I can remember from my childhood is a Garden Centre called A C Ostler, it sells everything! Toys, Kitchen Utensils, Garden Tools, Plugs, Christmas Decorations (when it's christmas!), Clothes Dyes... the list is endless!  I know that this Garden Centre may not be around forever, I hope that it is, but it is one of the many shops which would be missed if it did have to leave our high street.

I shall update this album during the production of this series: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150983027765046.767614.407058550045&type=1

Moo. 27th November.

I went out for a walk today in Kirkby Underwood, a little Lincolnshire village! There's lots of fields, and trees, and animals. There was also a field full of cows which were identical, one of the cows decided it would be kind enough to pose for me, so here is it's portrait!

In other news, I am really trying to get the ball rolling on my two new portrait-documentary-projects, exciting times. Going to have an admin day tomorrow full of contacting people in relation to the project. Crazy but fun times!