the orwell bridge
the orwell bridge
29th January 2020
Having worked in Ipswich in the late 1990's I became quite familiar with it on my daily journey. Opened in December 1982 it completed the much needed bypass around Ipswich and the relentless heavy traffic bound for Felixstowe docks no longer rumbled through the town centre.
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I needed a starting point for my project and this geographically being the furthest east seemed the natural place to start. I had never ventured off the well trodden path of the A14 and had no idea you could access the base of this majestic structure.
For some reason unknown to man, I am drawn to the delights of Brutalist Concrete Architecture and these pillars and posts really 'floated my boat' and form the main part of this set of photographs.
It was a bright and chilly winters afternoon when I visited this site just east of Wherstead in Suffolk and with the sun setting in the west a lovely golden glow was cast over the bridge brightening up the cold grey concrete and creating some warm reflections in the River Orwell.
​
The images below capture both the stark industrial concrete structure and the rural location on the banks of the River Orwell.
​
To view the full size images click and scroll through the gallery.
29th January 2020
Having worked in Ipswich in the late 1990's I became quite familiar with it on my daily journey. Opened in December 1982 it completed the much needed bypass around Ipswich and the relentless heavy traffic bound for Felixstowe docks no longer rumbled through the town centre.
​
I needed a starting point for my project and this geographically being the furthest east seemed the natural place to start. I had never ventured off the well trodden path of the A14 and had no idea you could access the base of this majestic structure.
For some reason unknown to man, I am drawn to the delights of Brutalist Concrete Architecture and these pillars and posts really 'floated my boat' and form the main part of this set of photographs.
It was a bright and chilly winters afternoon when I visited this site just east of Wherstead in Suffolk and with the sun setting in the west a lovely golden glow was cast over the bridge brightening up the cold grey concrete and creating some warm reflections in the River Orwell.
​
The images below capture both the stark industrial concrete structure and the rural location on the banks of the River Orwell.
​
To view the full size images click and scroll through the gallery.
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PHOTOGRAPHY
SHOTLEY MARINA
12th January 2022 It was a bright, fresh and sunny morning and I was keen to resume work on this project, so I quickly got some kit together and headed off to Shotley Marina, which geographically was my destination. I decided to give the A12 a miss and cut across the quiet back roads, through Ardleigh, Lawford, Brantham, Stutton, Holbrook, Chelmondiston and finally Shotley. Rather surprisingly it was over 30 miles and took me around 45 minutes. For company I had Radio Caroline playing in the car and remember hearing them play Genesis' Home by the Sea and straight into Second Home by the Sea. I don't think there are many stations that would do that. I really must get the vinyl out and give it a spin. I had never been to Shotley Marina before and it took me a while to get my bearings and decide how to approach the visit on a photographic level. With it being such a bright clear day, I decided that using a Polarising filter hand held would be the way, so I set up my camera and went to find my way around. The Port of Felixstowe was to the east and the imposing cranes cut a menacing figure on the far side of the River Orwell. They reminded my of something out of War of the Worlds. A stark contrast to the open countryside and river bank on my side of the Orwell. The tide was out which created some foreground interest, I don't think high tide would have been as attractive. Shotley Marina itself was inland and entry via two pairs of lock gates, so the yachts were well sheltered from the elements. Most of these images are of the Felixstowe side as the sun was behind me and helped make for some colourful compositions. As I ventured west towards the River Stour with Harwich and Parkeston on the far bank the sun was very strong and although there was a spindly pier as a point of interest, the riverbank was so quaggy I really wasn't prepared to walk through the mud to take a decent photo of it. So there is only a token black and white image of the church in Harwich to record it for posterity. It was a most enjoyable couple of hours and I'm really pleased with the images I took. I think they represent the day quite nicely. For the journey home I decided to take the A14 and A12, what a mistake that was. Heading directly west and with the sun really low in the sky the traffic moved at a snails pace as no one could see where they were going, but with Radio Caroline for company, I wasn't in any particular hurry. ​To view the full size images click and scroll through the gallery.
