Glyn's OCA Learning Log: January 2013

Assignment 4: A Sense of Place

For this assignment I imagined that I was on an assignment for an intelligent, thoughtful travel publication that demanded a considered, in-depth treatment.

I chose a city near to my home, St Albans in Hertfordshire. My reason for choosing the city of St Albans was my familiarity with it, having worked there for many years. I felt that as I know the city well, I would have a good appreciation of what its spaces and buildings mean for the people who live in and among them. In the photographs that I took during the assignment I aimed to create a selection of a dozen images that would show the character of the place and the people who live there. From these twelve images I chose 6 final images that would be suitable to fill six pages.

In addition, I wanted to show the parts of the city that mean the most to me. Although it is hard to give the viewer an in-depth appreciation of a large city in six images, I tried to include a sense of how I enjoyed having the opportunity to show off my hometown.

St Albans is a fairly large city, situated on a hilltop approximately 30 miles from the centre of London. Although home to many new residents, some from overseas who travel to work in London, St Albans has a long history dating back to the days of the Roman occupation of Britain and possibly before. Its large street market, held on Wednesdays and Saturdays was given its royal charter in medieval times and is a direct link to the city’s history. The types of stalls in the market reflect the demands of the current population. Artisan produce, such as speciality bread and locally produced fine cheese as well as international products are now more popular than the traditional food stalls that would have made up the market in previous times.

The city centre’s layout has been dictated by the original positions of the wooden medieval warehouses. These warehouses had small gaps or alleyways between them linking the main thoroughfares. These “gaps” have been retained as the buildings were built and rebuilt over the original wooden structures. I have tried to show this feature of the city photographically.

Although St Albans is in every respect a modern city, it still has many reminders of its long history. The cathedral was originally the parish church for an important Abbey that once dominated the city. The roman road, Watling Street runs through the city on its journey north from London. Thus it was an important staging post and administrative centre. The city, although largely urban, has many trees and green spaces that give a “country feel” to some parts.

Each period in history has left its mark on St Albans and I have attempted to show this in my choice of photographs.

The choice of six photographs was very difficult for such a varied and interesting city like St Albans. I feel that I have succeeded in giving a flavour of the place through the chosen images. I have chosen the 6 images that work best together as a set and also provide variety in both subject matter and scale.

It was difficult to get clear uninterrupted photographs of the cathedral without cars, vans and buildings in the way. It would have been easier on a quieter day but the life of the cathedral is very busy with many functions being held there during the week.

Had I approached the assignment by simply taking photographs with no end-result in mind I would have concentrated on the central area of the city. However I have tried to give a flavour of the history that is held within the side streets and surrounding areas of the city.

(Image 1 - 3058) A Tudor Inn situated on a main route into the city centre.

(Image 2 - 3060) Many grand houses, built by merchants line the roads into the city.

(Image 3 - 3072) The twice weekly market, although consisting of stalls selling the produce demanded by a modern, more sophisticated population dates back to medieval times and provides a direct link to the city's history.

(Image 4 - 3086) St Albans Cathedral. Once the parish church for the Abbey that dominated the city before the reformation. The slightly obscured couple on the bench in the foreground are of Chinese origin and show the more diverse make up of the city's current population.

(Image 5 - 3093) This low level window lintel has been ground out by generations of school children using coins as they waited for the bus near the old county school.

(Image 6 - 3120) The layout of the city centre has been dictated by the original positions of the wooden medieval warehouses. These warehouses had small gaps or alleyways between them linking the main thoroughfares. These "gaps" have been retained as the buildings were built and rebuilt over the original wooden structures.