Using digital photography I have focussed on urban landscapes in two of my most favourite cosmopolitan cities, Nottingham in England and Bilbao in Spain. I feel I have been fortunate to have discovered the city of Bilbao, courtesy of my sister who lives and works as a teacher in the city. I have relished the opportunities of visiting this city throughout the changing season of the year and in doing so have become captivated by its culture and beauty. I have explored many areas of the city as well as the surrounding countryside and mountains. Of course, when visiting Bilbao a trip to the spectacular Guggenhiem Museum is undoubtedly not to be missed .
Since enrolling on my chosen degree course at Nottingham Trent University I have now been living in the city of Nottingham for three years. Coming from the small Somerset town of Glastonbury which is largely known throughout the world for its music festival and the much debated burial ground of King Arthur, I have therefore found the difference between both places to be immense and I have had to adapt accordingly. As much as I have always loved the laid backed and relaxed atmosphere which can be experienced by most people who visit Glastonbury, I have grown to love the hustle and bustle along with the excitement of Nottingham and although it is a modern city it is also very proud of its history and heritage. Compared with Glastonbury there is so much to see and do here which is why I have develop an affection for this city.
When working on my series of images from Bilbao, I particularly liked the image of a derelict house with its shutters closed down. There is something about this picture that demonstrates that although it portrays a dilapidated building it also illustrates a building with charm and character. With this in mind I began to think that the majority of cities across the world equally have area of beauty along with areas of abandonment which filled me with the excitement of exploring areas of Nottingham to discover similar images of shutters over shops and garages. Although all three images show a certain degree of character the steel shutters along with the graffiti illustrate a cold look of neglect, abandonment and being unloved. It never fails to amuse me that no matter where you are a supermarket trolley will always rear its ugly head!
My overall aim of this project is to illustrate the characteristics of shutters and garages. The question is, do they depict charm and character or do they portray neglect and abandonment?
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