After a long hot summer in England, our fab brand ambassador Elliot Masters (@the_light_session) ran an incredible photowalk for the film community in Margate which we were the proud sponsors of – supplying film and processing for all of the walkers.
Photowalks are always such a great way to gather the film community, create confidence in shooting in public, along with meeting like minded individuals.
Starting at Dreamland in Margate, Elliot took the walkers throughout Margate, along the seafront and finishing up in Margate old town.
Here’s a little sneak peek from behind the scenes on the day from Elliot, and the walkers – including lots of stunning shots which will hopefully inspire your next weekend of shooting! (PS. all film processing done by us!)
A Sneak Behind The Scenes of The Margate Photowalk With Elliot Masters!
We caught up with Elliot to get the low down on the day of the photowalk!
“The main reason to run a photo-walk was to bring the film community together down here in Kent. There’s a great film community in America, with lots of community events, and I wanted to bring something like that to Kent”.
“After spending a lot of time in Margate recently, I realised this would be the perfect venue for a photo-walk. I also wanted to check out what cool film cameras other people had (the coolest was probably Aron’s (@doubledice) Contax with the most compact 85mm lens I’ve ever seen in my life).”
The Day of The Photowalk
Here’s a run down of the day of the photowalk from Elliot, and images he snapped along the way.
Photowalk locations:
- Dreamland
- Margate seafront (main sands)
- Margate Habour Arm
- Turner Contemporary
- Margate Lido
- Margate Old Town
We started off at Dreamland car park where everyone picked a mystery roll of film from a supermarket bag for life (I kept it classy using a Waitrose one). To break the ice, the participants could stick with the roll they got or have the chance to ‘twist’ once for a different choice of film.
Once we got everyone together, we went into Dreamland for a walk amongst the rides and amusements. After that we went along the seafront (where I bumped into Masterchef the Professionals finalist Mark O’Brien) to the Margate Harbour Arm.
Next up, we stopped by the Turner Contemporary art gallery for a pit stop and to check out the big Hockney piece.
After that we walked up the hill to the iconic Margate Lido, where we all shot about half a roll each on the Lido sign.
Once we finished up there, we went back down the hill to Margate’s old town before ending up back at Dreamland. A few of us who didn’t have to catch trains stopped by at the wonderful Cinque Ports for a well-earned cold beverage.
The day was so much fun; I got to meet some amazing people. I was quite surprised at how far some people travelled and how many weren’t local or even from Kent.
We got so lucky with the weather, and it was such a great experience to get out there and shoot on a day like that at an iconic location like Margate.
My only regret is I took the group photos at the end, which meant that a few people didn’t make it in there because they had to get the train back home.
I’m so grateful to Filmprocessing.co.uk for sponsoring this photo-walk; it was so awesome bringing all these amazing film photographers together.
Thoughts & Images From The Talented Photographers Who Attended The Walk
Rachel (@fuji.rach):
This was my first film dedicated photowalk and Elliot did a great job of making everyone feel welcome as he quickly set the tone for a relaxed and friendly afternoon.
A particular highlight was the varied locations and sights we covered: the colourful rides of Dreamland, Margate’s seafront and the famous Lido sign, a stop at the Turner Contemporary and even a couple of classic cars thrown in by chance for good measure.
Overall a thoroughly enjoyable walk shooting with a few familiar faces and meeting some lovely new ones.
Mike (@flarefolke):
I had an amazing time on Elliot’s photowalk. Knowing Elliot, I could see a huge amount of planning had gone into the route, which gave plenty of opportunities for composition and the group were friendly and really inclusive. The walk was informative and the included roll of film/developing/scanning/T-shirt was a lovely touch I appreciated. The beautiful weather was the icing!
I normally shoot in black and white, but I pulled a roll of cinestill 50d from the “bag of destiny”, a stock I hadn’t shot with before. I love the saturation and this shot is probably my favourite of the day, one with a surprisingly high ratio of ‘keepers’.
Stephen (@stephenfphotography):
Loved the photo walk! Elliot planned out a great route with Dreamland being a really interesting place to photograph/start!
I captured a few photos I loved from the day, including an “action shot” from one of the games in Dreamland and a great portrait of Elliot! Roll on the next one!
Nick (@astonnick):
‘The photowalk was something new for me – but a great experience exploring and chatting to and learning from new people. Margate has got lots of cool photo spots, but on the day I found the Turner Contemporary particularly interesting.
When the suns in the right place you can get some really dramatic angled shadows, and shooting on film you get a really interesting blend of old meets new’.
A huge thank you to Elliot Masters for putting this walk together for the film community – it was a privilege for us to sponsor the event and help in some small way to bring the community together.
Do let us know in the comments if you’d like to see more community led photo walks like this in the future, and what location you’d love to see one at next!
Enjoy some more incredible photos shot by Elliot on the day (processing everyone’s incredible photos has made us want to visit Margate now!).
