Places to photograph in Berkshire

<p>Hello,<br /> <br /> I recently moved to Berkshire from Hampshire/Dorset.</p>

<p>I've been trying to find places to photograph and must say I'm a little underwhelmed at present. I've taken some photos around Reading and some of the nicer towns along the Thames such as Sonning and Henley. The rest of Berkshire seems to be comprised of 1960s new towns and hideous 1980s housing estates.<br>

<br /> I usually either do street photography or landscape and architecture.</p>

<p>Can anybody recommend anywhere more inspiring? Ideally avoiding the various parks/nature reserves because frankly compared to the New Forest, South Coast and Dorset they're not up to much.</p>

<p>I know I can venture into London and Oxfordshire/Cotswolds, but would like to find somewhere close to home.</p>

<p>Cheers,<br /> Laurence.</p>

<p>maybe you need to broaden your horizons a bit - it sounds like you're after 'picture-postcard' shots and I well agree, having lived in Reading for many years, it's not really the right county for that. there's plenty of other things to photograph though in town and city.<br>

For scenery, try heading west along the canal towards and through Hungerford etc<br>

Ifyou don't mind straying into Wiltshire, the scenery gets much better - Savernake Forest, plenty of White Horses (the chalky sort) plus the bonus of the crop circles (try Alton Barnes, then you can drop into the Barge Inn for lunch !)</p>

<p>Some ideas from someone that grew up in Berkshire and went to school in Sonning:<br>

The Chilterns between Henley and Marlow for postcard villages and red kites.<br>

Ascot for horse racing<br>

Goring / Streatley for down land<br>

Windsor for Martin Parr esque tourist photos<br>

Slough for more varied street photos<br>

Avoid - Maidenhead town, Bracknell town, Earley and the other suburbs of Reading<br>

Berkshire does have a lot of large secluded prvate houses/land which are not great for photography unless you can get inside, but there is enough variety between Slough and Newbury to satisfy most photographers wishes. The main strengths are the Thames and Chilterns for picturesque scenes, but the county includes a good deal else. To be honest though excepting Windsor for street I'd pop into London as it doesn't take long.</p>

<p>This post made me laugh, I am from London and have lived in N.C for 4 years, the very small town I live in has a serious lack of subject matter, 3 hours in an direction out of here pretty much gives me the same photograph. I would love your options.</p>

<p>Finding pretty scenes mentality can be very restrictive, I live by the beach, but they are not commercialised in any way and all look very similar, I have been going to the same 5 locations for 4 years, my whole portfolio is in these 5 places. The upshot of this is I look extremely hard for pictures, I don't write anything off.</p>

<p>If you find 80's housing estates really depressing as you mentioned that sounds like a really good reason to take your camera there and project that through your pictures? I bet there are some great photos to be taken there.</p>

<p>I've gone into Slough and Bracknell and the depressing housing estates and I've also gone into London and Oxford to do street photography.</p>

<p>I'm posting here, not because I want pretty pretty cliche scenery, but because Berkshire doesn't seem to offer as much diversity as Hampshire and Dorset or London and Oxfordshire for that matter.</p>

<p>I will still travel to photograph, but it would be nice to have options at a shorter travelling distance.</p>

<p>In Hampshire there is the New Forest and wild animals, downs, commercial and military dock yards and pleasure marinas, the Castles and Marine forts, cathedrals and medieval cities as well as the Oil Refinery, Power Station hard 60s and 70s concrete architecture in Portsmouth and Southampton, I'm also able to go out on the boat to photograph as well as visit the Isle of White.</p>

<p>Dorset then offers a whole host of more rural and wild locations.</p>

<p>I grew up photographing at all these locations. None of the kind posters so far have listed anything like the variety found in Hampshire or Dorset.</p>

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<p>as well as visit the Isle of White.</p>

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<p>Isle of <strong>Wight</strong> (where I live).</p>

<p>Dorset is a beautiful county you could have been spoiled there, Slough is a horrible place but my point is there are pictures to be taken absolutely everywhere, some places you have to look harder than others.</p>

<p>I like Street Photography and being a Londoner that would be my natural lean, but there are not enough people here, streets are deserted as it's not a walking town, so I had to adapt to what I do have. I would have this approach to anywhere I lived.</p>

<p>You are perfectly placed to travel to some of the most beautiful places in England, I don't understand your problem, nothing is very far away in England.</p>

<p>Well corrected, Steve; that's what I get for typing whilst on a conference call at work I suppose. The Isle of Wiggit, we used to call it.</p>

<p>In fact the Island is a good case in point. In a small area there are numerous forts, piers, abandoned railway lines, the Black Night/Arrow site, steam railway and all the wonderful tackiness of the seaside resorts and Blackgang Chine.</p>

<p>If you get the chance you should walk the west estuary of Newtown Creek, there are some interesting hidden treasures up there. Also, the caretaker of Carisbrooke Priory used to be very obliging to photographers, there's some great stuff in the roof space and cellar.</p>

<p>Simon, I take your point about taking inspiration and expanding my repertoire by photographing what's available. However, I've been doing nothing but that lately due to limited time and wanted to draw on some local knowledge for something a bit different.</p>

<p>I'm just starting street photography and have found Dalston, Greenwhich and Notting Hill interesting for some candid street photography. I still feel like I'm doing something slightly suspect, but nobody has accosted me yet!</p>

<p>Do you have any suggestions for good locations in West and Central London when I have more time?</p>

<p>I'd love to get access to the old underground tram or mail-rail network, or maybe the Crossness pumping station, but I think the kind of "urban exploration" necessary is too bold for me!</p>

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<p>that's what I get for typing whilst on a conference call at work I suppose</p>

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<p>Anything's more interesting than a work conference call!</p>

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<p>If you get the chance you should walk the west estuary of Newtown Creek</p>

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<p>Newtown Creek is one of my favourite places. I can't let a month go by without going there at least once.</p>

<p>Newtown is wonderful. I grew up in Lymington and we often sailed over to camp in the woods for the night or stay in the bigger boat for the weekend. Of course, once I was older and discovered the delights of real ale, the walk up the gravel track to the pub found added appeal.</p>

<p>In fact one of my earliest photos was a rusted cog chain on some old piece of machinery at the small quay there. Probably taken on 110 or Kodak disc with a pocket money camera :)</p>

<p>I took up photography while living in the States Laurence, I traveled all over America with a really cheap point and shoot (50 quid) with a built in lens protector on the front that would sometimes open if it felt like it, I must have spilt something sticky on it.</p>

<p>For my 40th I bought a Nikon D40 with some birthday money and it went from there. I know where you are coming from, it's easy to talk yourself out of places with preconceived pessimism, but that for me is something to get over and look harder.</p>

<p>As I said a three hour drive from where I live is basically the same kind of setting, I would have to drive 6 hours to get to the mountains for any real change of scene. Now it's winter all the marsh grass is a crappy brown colour so not too good for landscape, the light is very harsh all year round, 300 days a year it's a blue sky and no clouds, I love clouds, but I don't let this stop me.</p>

<p>I have never photographed London, how about some night photography? That's always interesting and makes a change. I would love to get up I some tall buildings and do that right now.</p>

<p>Here is a friend of mine called David Nightingale, he turns beach trash into art, whenever I start thinking I have run out of ideas, he inspires me to look harder at the things I might otherwise ignore.</p>

<p>Hope this helps <a href="http://www.chromasia.com/galleries/0701142316.php">link</a></p>

<p>What about the London Underground? I could spend a year down there photographing all those miserable<br>

faces :-)</p>

<p>Simon, you are right about preconceptions affecting how one views somewhere. I suppose it's hard to find interesting images if I'm viewing a place with my prejudices rather than my eyes.<br>

I do feel more eager to get out and photograph after having people give me a bit of a reality check so to speak!<br>

I did some 120 night shots in London late last year actually, which was a blast. Fuji are very conservative about their recipricocity failure in my opinion. I'd post the photos, but I have no way of digitising my film at present.<br>

I'm going to create a post asking how people go about analysing their and others work with a view to improving their composition, I'll be sure to cross-post for further pragmatism.<br>

Many thanks all.</p>

<p>There's some nice landscape etc. around Lambourn.</p>

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<p>Newtown is wonderful. I grew up in Lymington and we often sailed over</p>

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<p>Did you know that in the 1950s, Newtown was on the government's list of possible sites for a nucleur power station? I'm glad that never happened!</p>

<p>Well, some of these are Bucks or Oxfordshire but there is.....<br /> <br /> Lambourn (horsey country),<br /> <br /> Wantage, Wallingford, Caversham, Mapledurham, Hungerford and othe towns along the river Thames,<br /> <br /> Windsor and Eton (dead posh but some really nice architecture) ,<br /> <br /> the Thames Valley through Goring Gap (go to Cliveden too across the border to Bucks and recreate a Scandal)<br /> <br /> Burnham Beeches (OK its Bucks too but close and the setting of many a foresty film),<br /> <br /> Vale of the White (or should that be Wight?) Horse (more bronze age stuff than you can shake a stick at including the Uffiington White horse),<br /> <br /> the Ridgeway (wonderful walking country with loads of butterflies etc in summer and also including Waylands Smithy megalithic tomb).</p>

<p>etc, etc<br>

<br />oh, and Bracknell (if your taste runs to photographing roundabouts:-).</p>

<p>Beautiful and fascinating counties and loads of stuff to photograph. Have fun.</p><div></div>

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<p>Windsor and Eton (dead posh but some really nice architecture)</p>

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<p>Eton College was founded by Henry VI as a charity school to provide free education to seventy <strong>poor boys</strong></p>

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<p>What happened?</p>

<p>nice one, Steve. They must have been 70 poor but upwardly mobile boys.</p>

<p>love to go berkshire because there are lots of places where photography has to be done........</p>