Interview: Aaron Stone

Name: Aaron Stone
Titles of work:
See Gulls
House through the Bush
Lido A Wash

Where do you live?
Ramsgate, Kent

When was the work that's in the show taken?
All in 2008.

What were you doing in Margate that day?
See Gulls:
I had been out with two other people taking stock photos and points of interest from around Minnis Bay to Margate. It was just a day out and with everyone off work, it was a good chance of a get together and take some shots along the sea front.

House through the Bush:
I had been asked by someone writing an article about Northdown House and its closure and the council wishing to sell the property, to go and get some images so that they could use in their article.


Lido A Wash:
I went to Margate where the waves were rough and get some fast paced action
shots.


What made you take the pictures?

See Gulls:
The tide was coming in and just before, the seagulls were sitting on the rocks leading out to sea. But as they were starting to get covered in water, they came up and the next high spot, was the wall around by the boating pool. I was with my friend and I got him ready for this shot. I lined up the camera and said go. On that marker, he ran down the side of the boating pool and spooked the seagulls creating them to suddenly fly up and away.

House through the Bush:
I have a particular style with my images, something in the foreground, something in the background. After taking the image for the magazine, I wanted to capture more interest with the image. By doing so, I also caught more of the surrounding land too. I lined up the image so that the main features of the building (like doors) were not covered by the foreground leaves. I kept the focus in the background as I wanted the image to stand out. The weather was not fantastic as there is no blue sky but was bright enough to photograph.

Lido A Wash:
I wanted to capture the waves lifting up as high as possible by the process of the sea forcing against land based objects. Where I was, I nearly got soaked by other waves coming over to my left and the spray started to effect the camera. I focused on the sign with Lido and waited. Some smaller waves came over so I got to line up and then the big one. At that point, I had to move again otherwise I too would have been not enjoying an early sandy shower.

Why did you put them/it in the Margate UK flickr group?
When I signed up to Flickr, I started joining groups that were relevant to my images. As I took some of Margate, I joined the Margate Group. When I took an image in that area, I wanted to share it and see what other people have made of that area too. Margate is not a small town as many people are aware, but it is great to put images in and get feedback from local people and get their perspective about the town. I would for example, add images like the See Gulls image to Margate, Thanet, Kent groups and also groups such as Seagulls - as that is the main subject of the image, and Beaches Group.

Have you exhibited before?
The closest I have got to displaying my works, is a recent Council run competition called "Thanet Is Beautiful" where I made the top 10 finalists but unfortunately did not win. But out of competition, I have only done private viewings of images for people such as connected a TV to a laptop and done 'viewings' of images that I have taken. To actually have a physical piece and display it in a gallery for a length of time is a first for me and a great achievement.

How have you found being part of Glimpse 2009?
To be part of the Glimpse 2009 photographers has been fantastic, it has given me the chance to get a project completed (the creation of selected images through printing and framing) and display my work for the public to see. The opening night, I made sure I was available to attend and stayed the entire night as it meant a lot to me to actually meet the people who created the event and for those that took the photographs along side mine in the Margate Flickr group. It was a social event where we all had something in common.

What do you think of Margate?
My thoughts of Margate are that of mixed. It has great potential though not enough people at the right level to push it forward. There are groups of people that really want aspects of Margate to thrive, such as Dreamland Amusement Park and Turner Contempory, but it just seems to me that not enough people in the council really wants it to work. Thanet is not just made up of Margate, it does include Ramsgate and Broadstairs, but with the growth of Westwood, the town now seems to struggle. Margate has the added advantage of being a seaside resort and also boasts some great holiday atmosphere, though is this enough to get Margate back on the map again? I would like to see such a thing happen.