honorable mention
Adam Simpkins united kingdom
title
Festung Guernsey
Festung Guernsey, or Fortress Guernsey, is a collection of 16x9 long exposure panoramic images documenting abandoned and leftover concrete monoliths found around the coast of the island. These were all captured on a 5 day trip around the small state.
The initial plan was to capture these relics of Guernsey's darkest hour through more conventional channels. However, as I had packed my tripod and ND filters I thought to experiment with the way I would normally capture these types of scenes. After the first panorama had stitched itself in Lightroom I knew that this was the direction the rest of my photos had to go for the trip.
Within this series, we are presented with 4 different types of war buildings found on or very close to the coast. They comprise of a German naval observation tower perched atop a jagged cliff, an old British Victorian fort that is flank by a WW2 era German bunker, a bunker nestled on the side of a sandy beach, and finally another more conventional looking observation tower that is now used by the local wildlife.
As the years roll by it will not be long until these unusual structures are the only physical reminders of a time in history we wish to never be repeated. I have now set a goal to document as many of these locations as possible before they are lost to coastal erosion or developments. Throughout the project, I have met lots of passionate members of historical societies that are helping to preserve these to help educate the next generation.
Festung Guernsey has been one of my most rewarding series to date, and it is now time to get this work out there to a wider audience.
During my final year at University, I traveled up and down the country shooting a collection of abandoned WW2 structures that were once vital to the countries defense during the darkest hours. This series, titled A Nation's Test, continues to the present day with new locations being photographed whenever I can get to them.
back to gallery
entry description
Festung GuernseyFestung Guernsey, or Fortress Guernsey, is a collection of 16x9 long exposure panoramic images documenting abandoned and leftover concrete monoliths found around the coast of the island. These were all captured on a 5 day trip around the small state.
The initial plan was to capture these relics of Guernsey's darkest hour through more conventional channels. However, as I had packed my tripod and ND filters I thought to experiment with the way I would normally capture these types of scenes. After the first panorama had stitched itself in Lightroom I knew that this was the direction the rest of my photos had to go for the trip.
Within this series, we are presented with 4 different types of war buildings found on or very close to the coast. They comprise of a German naval observation tower perched atop a jagged cliff, an old British Victorian fort that is flank by a WW2 era German bunker, a bunker nestled on the side of a sandy beach, and finally another more conventional looking observation tower that is now used by the local wildlife.
As the years roll by it will not be long until these unusual structures are the only physical reminders of a time in history we wish to never be repeated. I have now set a goal to document as many of these locations as possible before they are lost to coastal erosion or developments. Throughout the project, I have met lots of passionate members of historical societies that are helping to preserve these to help educate the next generation.
Festung Guernsey has been one of my most rewarding series to date, and it is now time to get this work out there to a wider audience.
about the photographer
I am lucky enough to call myself a freelance photographer. By day I specialise as an automotive photographer shooting cars for auctions across the UK, in my time off I love to document forgotten landscapes that have a significant historical story to tell.During my final year at University, I traveled up and down the country shooting a collection of abandoned WW2 structures that were once vital to the countries defense during the darkest hours. This series, titled A Nation's Test, continues to the present day with new locations being photographed whenever I can get to them.
back to gallery
