Documentary Conclusion and Project Timeline

CONCLUSION

Well this concludes my documentary project and I hope it has been informative and interesting to read and that the images offer interesting views of the piers' structures and of how they look today.  I also hope this project offers an insight into how these piers provided a service during their heyday.     

And to finish my project you can find below a detailed timeline of how it has developed over the last few months.   

PROJECT TIMELINE

Week 1 - 05/12/16 - Report "What is documentary photography?"

Week 2 - 12/12/16 - Researched 16 images by four documentary photographers

Week 3 - 09/01/17 - Research ideas for documentary project

Week 4 - 16/01/17 - Decided to do documentary project on disused piers in the west of Scotland.  Started research on piers, and the first researched pier was Craigendoran pier, which I visited on 21/01/17 and took images and later added images to my project document.

Week 5 - 23/01/17 - Researched Bowling pier and took some images of the derelict remains of the pier itself on 26/01/17 and later added images and research to document.  Also researched Arrochar pier and travelled to pier on 27/01/17 and taken images and added images into research.

Week 6 – 30/01/17 - Did research for Portencross pier and added to my project document. 

Week 7 - 06/02/17 - Travelled to Portencross to take images of the pier and then added them into the project document.  Also took images of the disused pier at Port Glasgow, Newark Pier.   

Week 8 - 13/02/17 - Research Newark pier and add in images taken of the pier. 

Week 9 - 20/02/17 - Showed Eugene the images taken so far but some will require to be more re-shot as they have a snapshoot feel to them so will plan out re-shoots soon.  Also researched Cardwell bay pier down at Gourock. 

Week 10 - 27/02/17 - Went on location to Cardwell bay and took images of pier, also re-shot images for Portencross and Newark piers. 

Week 11 - 06/03/17 - Reshot images for Bowling pier on 09/03/17 and added in new images to project document. 

Week 12 - 13/03/17 - Research the disused pier at Lochgilphead, unable to travel due to poor weather conditions.

Week 13 - 20/03/17 - Took images of piers out at Lochgilphead, Inveraray and Arrochar (reshot images from those taken in January). 

Week 14 - 27/03/17 - Added research for Inveraray and added images for Lochgilphead, Inverarary and Arrochar into the project document.

Week 15 - 03/04/17 - Added research for John Brown's slipways in Clydebank and took images of the slipways and berthing "dolphin" structure and added them to the project document.

Week 16 - 10/04/17 - Practical shoot completed with images of all 10 piers edited, added and research updated in the project workbook.

Week 17 - 17/04/17 - Created a blog using a template on the website Blogger.com and added the text and images from the workbook to provide a final presentation of the documentary project.  The blog is entitled "Kenny Feeney Documentary Project - Disused Piers in the West of Scotland. 

Week 18 - 24/04/17 - Submitted blog link to lecturer for checking project.  

10th Pier - John Brown's Slipway launches

BACKGROUND

Although this is not typically speaking a pier, the shipping yard at John Brown's utilised its slipways to launch many internationally important ships, such as the QE2 (as pictured above) which was launched back in 1967.  The yard consisted of two sets of slipways on the east and west and east slipways were used to accommodate the construction of larger vessels, whereas the west slipways were for constructing smaller ships.  The shipyard also used berthing "dolphins" which were structures that were used to guide in floating ships and they could be tied to a bollard on the dolphin, which served as a mooring point for ships at the yard.     

The history of the shipping yard itself began back in 1871 when John Thomson moved his shipyard from Govan to Clydebank.  For almost 70 years, John Brown's was world leading in shipbuilding as it built the biggest passenger liners as well as battleships, battle cruisers and aircraft carriers. 

However by the 1960s the shipyard was no longer considered as being economical and was threatened with closure.  Later a merger took place for the shipyard but this fell through in 1971, although it was subsequently taken over by other businesses.  Ultimately the shipyard was finally closed in 1998 and the site demolished in 2002, however today the east yard slipways still exist as does one of the berthing dolphins.  

IMAGES OF THE PIER TODAY

Above are some images I had taken of the slipways as they are today and they were taken on the 5th (the day shot) and 7th of April 2017 (two night shots) using an Olympus E-M1 camera with an Olympus 12mm wide angle lens and Lumix 14-42mm lens.  The first shot shows the remaining slipways taken during the daytime and it is a long exposure image.  The 2nd and 3rd images were also long exposures taken at night and show one of the slipways with the others submerged due to the tide being in and also the one remaining "dolphin" structure.

As already mentioned, all three shots are long exposures that were taken with the camera set up on a tripod and I used a Lee 10 stop neutral density filter to again smooth out the water in the 1st shot but given the 2nd and 3rd shots were at night time, no filter was required .  

Overall I think these shots work very well as the 1st shot shows the structure of the slipways and they act as a leading line toward the grass fields in the distance.  The 2nd and 3rd shots also work well with the green tinted light adding something a little different to the image colour and again there is a nice use of shadow in both images.  

9th Pier - Erskine Ferry

BACKGROUND

The Erskine ferry was the oldest crossing of the river Clyde and during the 18th century, the river was dredged to allow larger ships to sail up the river into Glasgow.  The ferry itself was initially created to allow for a ferry service between Old Kilpatrick and Erskine and the Clyde navigation service acquired the service in 1907 and later added a vehicle ferry boat also.  The service ran at different times during year but during the summer it ran typically from 6am to 11pm. 

However due to the construction and completion of the Erskine bridge in 1971, the ferry service was no longer required.  Today the slipways remain and the ferry lodge formerly used by the operators still exists, however the harbour on the Old Kilpatrick side now just consists of broken stumps in the river. 

Above are pictures that I had taken on 2 April 2017 from the Old Kilpatrick side of the ferry point that show the slipway and the harbour stump remains as they are today.  These shots were taken using an Olympus E-M1 digital mirrorless camera set on a tripod and an Olympus 12mm f/2 wide angle lens.  The first shot shows a side view of the slipway and the Erskine side slipway is just visible in the distance.  The second shot shows the remaining stumps of the old harbour office and I used a Lee 10 stop neutral density filter to smooth out the water and provide movement in the clouds. 

Overal I think these shots work well with the first shot incorporating a side view of the slipway instead of centre view and also includes the distant slipway on the other side at Erskine and the second shot providing a long exposure to add a little more visual impact to the image.  

8th Pier - Inverarary Pier

BACKGROUND

Inveraray pier is located within the town of Inveraray, which is based in Argyll and Bute 60 miles from Glasgow and the original pier was built back in 1782 although I was unable to source when the replacement pier was built.  The pier itself was popular in its day for herring fishing, which provided a major boost to the town's economy.  The pier was also used by large paddle steamers, which linked Inveraray to Glasgow.  The pier however in recent years has fallen into disrepair and has since been closed for safety reasons and is no longer available for access to the public.   

IMAGES OF THE PIER TODAY

The above images were taken of the pier on 26 March 2017 using an Olympus E-M1 camera with a 14-42mm lens.  These shots show a side-view perspective of the pier as they were taken on the beach next to the pier and I utilised a closer shot to show the pier's structure as well as the seaweed that has grown on the pier's stumps and I felt this shot lended well to being black and white.  The wide angle side shot provides a larger coverage of the pier structure itself and both shots were taken on a tripod using a Lee 10 stop neutral density filter to smooth out the water.  Overall I think these shots serve to show the texture and structure of the pier very well. 

7th Pier - Lochgilphead Pier

BACKGROUND

Lochgilphead pier is within the town of Lochgilphead itself, which is situated in Argyll and Bute and it lies at the end of Loch Gilp, which is a branch of Loch Fyne and the town is located over 80 miles outside Glasgow.  The town became an important link across the Kintyre peninsula once the Crinan canal had been completed in 1801.  The pier itself was built in 1831 and helped to link the town with Glasgow and other towns as it provided a connection for steamers to pass through.  The pier today however is no longer in use.  

IMAGES OF THE PIER TODAY

Below are some images of the pier today, which remains disused and these images were taken on 26 March 2017 using an Olympus E-M1 camera and Olympus 12mm wide angle lens and Lumix 14-42mm lens. With these images I aimed to show the unusual L shape of the pier and try to incorporate the town buildings in the background to add an extra dimension.

Overall I think these images work well at showing the unusual L shaped structure of the pier while also incorporating elements of the town in the background with the buildings seen in the 1st image. 

6th Pier - Cardwell Bay Pier

BACKGROUND 

Cardwell bay pier lies within Gourock bay in Inverclyde and was built approximately around the time of World War II by the Admiralty and was used to service warships that were anchored in the Firth of Clyde. 

After the war it was used to moor admiralty boats and as a terminal for liberty boats that were part of the US submarine base that was situated at Holy Loch near Dunoon. 

The pier however was abandoned by the Admiralty the in the late 1980s and due to a lack of maintenance it has since fallen into serious disrepair.

IMAGES OF THE PIER TODAY

The above images are of the pier as it stands today and it remains largely intact but in a state of disrepair.  These images were taken by myself on 1 March 2017 using an Olympus E-M1 camera along with 14-42mm kit lens and a 12mm wide angle prime lens.    

These images also convey a sense of the pier's size and in the first shot I zoomed in a little more to get a closer look at the main section.  And for the other two images I utilised wide angle shots to show that the pier appears to be split into two sections with one end of the pier broken.

Overall I think these shots help convey the scale, size and width of the pier well and the sunny conditions also help enhance the images.    

  

5th Pier - Newark Pier

Stock image - Newark Pier

BACKGROUND

Newark pier is based in Port Glasgow, which was originally a town named Newark before it was renamed as Port Glasgow when the city council purchased the land for the construction of a harbour and breakwater. 

Port Glasgow became the primary port for handling timber for shipbuilding reasons during the 18th and 19th centuries but this soon went into decline when vessels with iron and steel hulls were developed. 

The pier itself was part of the shipyard and was originally in two sections and as it was owned under the Lamont's shipyard, it also became known as Lamont's pier.  However the shipyard closed down in the 1980s and after this the pier fell into disuse and now only one of the sections remain. 

The remaining pier has since however been popularly used by anglers but today the pier has been closed off for safety reasons.  

IMAGES OF THE PIER TODAY

 

These shots were taken using an Olympus E-M1 camera on 1 March 2017 using both a 12mm wide angle lens and a 14-42mm kit lens.  I used a Lee 10 stop filter in the 2nd shot to smooth out the water and with these shots I wanted to show a close up of the pier as well as a wide angle view to convey a sense of the pier's scale and size.

Overall I think these shots show the size and scale of the pier very well and offer different perspectives of the pier from close-up to a more wide-angle view.