October 16th saw us on Day 2 of our Woodland Walks series at Waters’ Edge Country Park in Barton Upon Humber. Waters’ Edge is a diverse nature reserve nestled along the Humber Estuary. Its proximity to the Humber Bridge adds a dramatic backdrop, espcially when there was a mist around it when we arrived.
Known for its wetlands, meadows, and small woodland areas, the park offers an ever-changing landscape rich with wildlife. Once an industrial site, it has transformed into a peaceful haven for nature lovers and photographers alike, providing a mix of habitats from tranquil ponds to marshlands. While the park’s natural beauty invites contemplation and creativity, for photographers, it’s a space that challenges us to see beyond the obvious and abstract meaning from nature’s quiet subtleties, especially of we are creating projects about woodlands!
We kicked things off with coffee at 10 a.m. at the Viking Way Cafe, sitting comfortably in a cosy log cabin, where a real fire crackled in the hearth. We knew it was real when one of the staff, wielding an axe like a Viking, marched in to chop the wood for it! His dramatic entrance caught us off guard, and we all forgot to capture his portrait—a missed opportunity, but a memorable start to the day.
Left to Right in the image above we have: Howard Fisher, John Rutherford, Jackie Fisher, The Humber Bridge, Stewart Wall, Chris Field, Rob Hill, and Richard Brooks.
After coffee, we set off on our walk, moving away from the Waters’ Edge centre towards the Far Ings Nature Reserve. We stopped for a group shot with the Humber Bridge as our backdrop. For once, I decided to be part of the picture, borrowing John’s compact but sturdy tripod to hold my Fuji X100VI. It worked like a charm and had me thinking I might need to invest in one of my own. My 40-year-old Benbo tripod, designed to support a hefty 5×4 Sinar P2 camera, is way too big for a photowalk—definitely not something you’d want to lug around for a day!
At the Far Ings centre, volunteer Brenda handed us maps and mentioned a burnt-out hotel nearby, sparking excitement among the group.
Brend told us about the burnt out hotel and curious, we ventured further than planned to check it out. Though the steps down to the hotel was tricky, one brave member gave it ago.
Imagining being in the hotel I felt the hedge that was blocking our view of the hotel probably blocked the resident’s view of the river and Humber Bridge, and so I found two abandoned hotel chairs in the hedge amusing. I wondered if they were there to give the view I imagine the hotel suggested was there.
Going into the day, I suspected this might be the trickiest of the walks for capturing “woodland photographs.” Waters’ Edge, while full of scenic variety, doesn’t have the dense woods you might expect, unlike our previous day at Willingham Woods.
With distractions like the Humber Bridge, the river, and boats, finding pure woodland scenes felt like a challenge. But as creative photographers, our job is to abstract from the overall view and within our frame, craft a photo story from what we see, to tell the story we want to tell.
So, whilst Waters’ Edge offers a diverse landscape—wetlands, meadows, and pockets of woodland—this requires more creative interpretations of a woodland. As John Szarkowski once said, photography is about what we leave out of the frame as much as what we include.
For my story of the day, I reflected on how this land has evolved, from commercial use to a recreational space for walks like ours. As automation continues to reshape the workforce, I wondered, will we humans one day spend our lives in recreation, rather than work? What would happen to this landscape if we disappeared? Would nature reclaim it, with trees spreading to the Water’s Edge, overtaking the land? I saw a little tree starting to grow on a building and wondered what that would look like in 50 years time!
This question about the evolving landscape became the foundation of my photo story. In photography, there’s often a debate about whether images need accompanying words. I believe words are crucial in grounding a project, providing context for the viewer to understand the photographer’s intent. For me, that intent revolves around documenting this landscape’s transition and imagining its future without human intervention. My job on this photowalk was about creating a sense of place at this time, for future viewers to compare with what they see.
Next week, we continue our journey at Clumber Park in Worksop on Monday. The final walk in this series, which is on Wednesday will take us to the Furnace Walk near Conkers, where we’ll explore the industrial and natural heritage of Moira, wandering through woodlands and along the canal. I’m looking forward to how these new locations will inspire fresh stories and deeper insights into our changing landscapes.