Project 29 : re-photographing a well known image

I photographed the power station at Sutton Bridge in Lincolnshire soon after it was constructed for a stock image that is on Alamy and as there are no other license free images I will use my own as the base image. It is similar to many others and is the default view used by many newpapers and websites to illustrate the site. It is a gas fired plant and sits on the East bank of the river Nene in a wide expanse of Lincolnshire Fen.

Original Stock Image

The Stock image shows the power station as a clean bright piece of engineering, shot on a sunny day with blue sky and virtually no cloud. There is obvious architect involvment to make the buildings have a clean line and the use of red steelwork offers some relief in an otherwise bland facade. An impression is created whereby the need to have such a building is made as palatable as possible and in isolation this image has a good feeling with plenty of good PR opportunities.

The images below offer a different impression. They are in monochrome and maybe a little flat and illustrate how such a building sits in a flat landscape and close to the village of Sutton Bridge. I have perhaps gone out of my way a little to exagerate the less flattering aspects of the complex and its juxtaposition in the landscape. This is I suspect how the residents of Sutton Bridge see it every day. It could be labelled as a "Blot on the Landscape" or to some it is a source of employment and gives them financial security in an otherwise less than prosperous area of Lincolnshire.

Within agriculture

Close to residential housing

While looking at the shapes I was reminded of the work of Bernd and Hiller Becher, particularly their work photographing blast furnaces and water towers.