by Tim Gander

Coronation Coverage

Away from the hubbub, pomp and ceremony of London this past weekend, I sought out a more local view of the coronation.

Taking the opportunity to work on my Salisbury Plain project, I set out to see the scale of the preparations and celebrations in that area. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but neither did the outcome surprise me – a mixture of nothing much and concentrated activities.

This is just a small selection of my favourites. I wish I could have covered more ground, shot more variety and really fleshed out the story, but my intention wasn’t to shoot an entire coronation photo feature. What I wanted to get was a few images to fit within the wider project. Plus there was a lot of ground to cover in a very short timeslot.

I’ll leave the photos to speak for themselves.

Black and white photo of people draping union jack bunting along a street and round a historical stone blind house (or jail) in Shrewton, Wiltshire. A black dog is standing watching what's going on.
Preparations underway in Shrewton on April 29th.
View of the back of a woman's head. She has curly strawberry blonde hair with a union jack hair clip in it with red, white and blue ribbons. She is seated at a table covered in a union jack oilcloth.
May 6th 2023 - Watching the coronation at Shrewton Sports and Social Club.
A large wall-mounted television is showing the moment King Charles III is crowned. There is just one man sitting watching the event in a side bar where all the other chairs are empty.
May 6th 2023 - Shrewton Sports and Social Club. Watching the moment the crown touches down.
A young girl wearing a large union jack like a cape runs away from the camera across a field towards coronation picnickers.
May 7th 2023 - The Shrewton Big Coronation Lunch at the village recreation ground.
Close-up view of a woman's back showing her union flag dress, her bare upper back, bra straps and love heart tattoo.
May 7th 2023 - A sunny afternoon in Figheldean brings out the flags and the bare English skin.
Union jack flags and a hat are left on a blue paper table covering on a trestle table after a coronation picnic.
May 7th 2023 - With the Big Coronation Lunch drawing to a close in Figheldean, hats and flags are left on the trestle table.
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 by Tim Gander

Proud to be shortlisted

It’s rare for me to enter photographic competitions; for a start there aren’t that many I feel qualified to enter, and when you strip out the ones with dodgy terms and conditions this narrows down the options even further.

But last year I decided to enter the British Life Photography Awards, a competition which celebrates British life in its many, varied forms. The photos don’t even have to have been taken in the year of the competition, which is some help to me, though most of my catalogue wouldn’t fit the criteria of the competition.

I entered a small selection of photos including my portrait of Donald at the local tyre fitter’s shop and a few from my Standerwick series which studied the life and work of the farmers, traders and auctioneers (as well as the animals) at Frome livestock market.

Donald of H&B Tyres in Frome, Somerset, UK, looks to camera with a cup of tea in his hand and car exhaust pipes ranged behind him. He's wearing a blue polo shirt and braces.
Donald at H&B Tyres
A herdsman opens the auction ring door for a heffer and calf to pass through after bidding is complete. The herdsman has the look of a stoic butler on his face.
Standerwick livestock auction

Out of the set I submitted, one did get shortlisted, though sadly it didn’t make the cut for the final rounds. But still, it’s been many years since I entered any competition at all and I was pleased to even get shortlisted.

The BLPA competition itself isn’t free to enter, but the fees are reasonable and the T&Cs don’t grab complete control of the entries, so I very much hope to be entering again this year. I’ll also be on the lookout for other competitions with similar aims of simply recognising good photography because it can be a great way to give myself more motivation to take pictures of the subjects which interest me, push me to be more technical and “pure” in my approach and hopefully will give me something to crow about when I win!

 

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