Sometimes, an opportunity presents itself that just can’t be ignored; when you have to just ditch whatever else you’re doing and just go do it.
That happened to me one January morning, when I woke up to find the day shrouded in an unusually heavy cloak of fog.
I live close to Crosby beach in north Liverpool, which has, in recent years, become famous for the Anthony Gormley art installation called Another Place. Also known as ‘the iron men’, the installation consists of one hundred iron statues made from a cast Gormley made of his own (naked) body.
Initially intended to be a temporary exhibition, the statues were purchased by Sefton Council and have now been on the beach for over a decade.
To say the iron men are popular with photographers, both amateur and professional, is an understatement. A quick Google image search for ‘iron men Crosby’ brings up lots of photos of the statues, most of them being caught on fine, sunny days, sometimes sporting some clothes or a Santa hat, or silhouetted against one of the stunning sunsets we’re often treated to here.
It’s really hard to come up with something that hasn’t been done before. So, when I woke up to that thick blanket of fog, I jumped at the chance to grab my camera and try something a little different.
Stepping into another world
Walking past the marina on the way to the beach was hauntingly beautiful in the fog; the lakeside leisure centre had completely disappeared into the mist, and for a while, the only clue that I wasn’t totally alone were the disembodied voices of other weekend walkers floating across the ether.
The fog was so dense, you couldn’t even see where the water stopped and the sky started.
When I got to the beach, I was pleased to see the tide was out. Crosby beach has a very large tidal range; when it’s in, it comes almost up to these rocks, and submerges most of the iron men.
However, when it’s out, there are vast expanses of flat sand covered in empty seashells, debris and swirling patterns left by the movement of the water.
The fog made the beach feel isolated and slightly eerie, the only evidence of other people being the footprints they’d left in the sand. Instead of gazing at a beautiful sunset, the iron men were staring out into nothingness, alone and abandoned in their state of partial decay.
The years spent on the coastline makes these statues look almost like ancient Egyptian mummies; the rust and wear looking like linen bandages partially obscuring their features.
And just as we can look directly into the face of the past when paying respects to those from ancient times now in our museums, these statues also allow us to look back in time in a very personal way (albeit a much more modern past – that of Anthony Gormley in 1997) .
(It’s also a stark reminder of how lucky we are to have so many objects surviving from ancient Egypt. We have papyrus and pieces made from organic materials that have survived in Egypt’s hot, dry environment for thousands of years, yet less than two decades on the English coast sees these cast-iron statues looking just as old.)
But despite the heavy fog weighing down on the beach, and the sense of isolation it brought, when I stood back, the footsteps in the sand and the other statues appearing in the distance perhaps changed the atmosphere a little to one of peaceful solitude and quiet companionship.
Photographing the statues
Public works of art can be excellent photography subjects. They’re there, whatever the time of day or the weather, and are usually accessible, regardless of issues such as pandemic-related lockdowns.
And they’re everywhere. You don’t have to be hiking in the hills or travelling to another country to see them.
If you have a look back through these photos, you’ll see they aren’t just a random collection of pictures; rather, I’m telling a story about one particular statue.
So often, the photos you see of the iron men are about the sunsets they’re in front of, or the people they’re posing with. The statues can feel like little more than a prop.
Here, however, the photos are about the statues themselves, their context, and the decay that has happened as a result of their years on the beach.
The fog isolates the statue from everything else except its immediate environment.
When I was up close, I used a shallow depth-of-field to blur the background and separate the statue from it, to bring your attention straight to him. But, in the other photos, I have a deeper depth-of-field to keep the whole photo in focus, so you see the context of his place in the world.
And, I chose to edit in black and white to add to the atmosphere of the photos. Colours can be muted in fog anyway, so photos of foggy scenes often convert well into moody monochrome.
An exercise in mindfulness
Photography like this can be a great way to exercise some mindfulness. I was by myself, so I could take my time and not rush or worry that I was boring other people.
I took opportunities along the way to photograph my surroundings, which looked so different in the fog.
When I got to the beach, I picked one statue and spent a while trying different angles and finding interesting details.
And this is the nuts-and-bolts of mindful photography: slowing down, taking your time, being curious and experimenting.
And to add to it, the fog made me feel, at times, like I could’ve been the only person in the world. It was really very peaceful and relaxing.
Some tips for your own photography
If you find yourself wanting to photograph a public work-of-art like this, here’s a few tips to get you started:
- Don’t just stand straight in front of your subject and shoot. The 3D nature of sculpture means you have so many angles to work from
- Make several photos from several perspectives. Include the surroundings in some, then get up close and pick out details in others. Tell its story!
- Are there interesting textures or colours you can focus in on?
- Use shallow depth-of-field when getting closer shots to blur the background (set your camera to aperture-priority mode and choose lower numbers)
- Don’t be afraid of trying different weather conditions or times of day. Sunshine can create shadows and textures, fog or cloud flattens out the light, and raindrops can create lovely details (being careful of electronic equipment, of course!)
- Is it popular? If there’s a lot of people, make them part of your story, like in the first photo of this post
- Do a bit of shortlisting and editing when you get home. Choose just your best photos that tell the story, and do a bit of editing. If on your phone, an app like Snapseed will give you everything you need.
And lastly, share it with me! If the muses inspire you to explore, I’d love to see what you come up with. Tweet me, email me (julia@tetisheri.co.uk), or comment below.
Another Place: Factfile
100 iron statues made from a cast of Anthony Gormley’s body, spread along a stretch of beach.
Crosby beach, Liverpool, England (check tide times here).
///cope.after.forks (as the statues stretch along a considerable length of beach, this is for the statue I photographed)
There are several car parks nearby:
- around the Lakeside Centre (What3Words ///just.planet.landed) (5–10 minute walk to the beach)
- at Blucher Street (What3Words ///fuzzy.obey.edge) (5–10 minute walk to the beach)
- Mariner’s Road, by Crosby Leisure Centre (What3Words ///grass.clots.sorters) (a minute’s walk to the beach)
- off Burbo Bank Road North (What3Words ///miss.term.soil) which is a seafront car park.
All the car parks are Pay and Display, but costs are low, around £1 for up to 2 hours and free after 5pm.
Coming from town on public transport, you can get a train or bus.
There are three train stations on the local Merseyrail network nearby: Waterloo, Blundellsands and Crosby, and Hall Road, which are on the northern line and come straight from Liverpool city centre.
The number 53 bus takes you to South Road, and starts from Queen Square bus station.
Beaches can have accessibility issues for those with mobility problems and wheelchair users. The car park at Burbo Bank Road North is the most accessible, being on the seafront, and has a large ramp going down to the sand.
There is also less soft sand at this part of the beach as the tide comes right up to the wall.
From a sensory perspective, or for those with children, the statues are freely accessible to touch and explore and play with.
The beach can get busy, so if you prefer it quieter, try to avoid weekends, particularly in the summer and on public holidays. But, if the tide’s out, it’s easier to find your own bit of space.
There are public toilets in the car park at Burbo Bank, though they do cost 40p to use.
There are also toilets in the Crosby Lakeside Centre, but, at the time of writing, it’s closed for renovations.
The beauty of these statues is that there’s no real restrictions, so you can come with anything from just a mobile phone to a full backpack of cameras, tripods and lenses, and have lots of fun and come home with some great photos.
Wonderful