Swansea Market
As I mentioned, my main approach for this project is the more photographs I have, the more of a selection I will have for the final choice of images and I will be able to perfect my images. I wanted to start taking photographs as soon as possible. I was only passing through Swansea to get a train back to Cardiff and I decided to stop in the market very quickly, as I had nine frames left in a film I already had in my camera, and I was also in quite a rush to get to the train on time, but I knew Swansea Market was something I really wanted to photograph.
Even though there's only nine photographs to choose from, I was very happy with how they'd come out. The contact sheet itself has an overall good exposure, which is then visible in all of the images. After printing the contact sheet I decided to go ahead and print one or two images as there were some I was very fond of and I could then check if there were any problems with the film itself.
This was one of my favourite images from my contact sheet. The main issue with the photographs from Swansea Market was the reflection that that I was getting from the sky light rook on the glass display cabinets of the cockle stalls. This was a problem which was very obvious to me on the day, so I was quite worried about how they would come in printing. In this particular photograph, I think the reflection worked to my advantage. I wasn't aware that I'd cropped the top of the ladies head off when taking this photograph, but it turned out to be very visible in the reflection of the cabinet, which was a nice touch.
I was extremely happy with this image. Even though the main subject wasn't the fresh cockles themselves, they were still very much present in some way. The plastic forks, condiments, even the weighing scales in the background, these are all a sign of fresh, ready to eat cockles. There's even a sign with the prices in the background. I also like the homely features all cockle stalls seem to have; lace doyleys, matching salt and pepper shakers, tooth-pick pot.
Why Swansea Market?
The Cockle Pickers of Penclawdd, which are the main subject of my project, or at least the area is, use Swansea Market as one of their main hubs of business, especially back in the earlier years of business.
Here is a small layout Map of Swansea Market. At the very centre of the Market you have stall CR 1-6, which are all cockle stalls. The literally sit in the heart of the Market.
As part of my Critical Research Module I completed an essay on the Cockle Picking Industry, and as part, I looked briefly at the history of the industry. It said a lot about the journey that the cockle pickers would take from picking the cockles to selling them in Swansea Market. Below is a document which I found very useful with regards to my Critical Research Essay.
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