New Year's Day in Hastings, by Chris Parker
The Old Town of Hastings is a chocolate-box kind of place to photograph so I was up early to capture the predicted snowfall on New Year's Day 2010. I’ve always admired the unique black net huts situated by the fishing beach at Rock-a-Nore and they provided the perfect background to capture this brief snow flurry.
I guess you could say this was taken as part of my long-term personal project to photograph Hastings throughout the seasons although the Hasting tourism department has regularly commissioned my work when budget allocations allow (increasingly unlikely these days).
When I first began shooting this project, the two wooden fishing boats featured were very much part of the thriving fishing fleet but the ludicrous fishing quotas for small vessels has forced many a fisherman to scrap their boats and become part of the fishing heritage tourist scene. Help may be at hand for the future following the successful MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) certification of its plaice, making them the first British fishermen catching certified sustainable plaice in Britain.
Technically, it was pretty straightforward – The metadata records 1/160 at F8 ISO 200.
My camera was mounted on an old Benbo tripod and a large lens hood took care of any stray snowflakes on the lens.
A fine art degree and teaching qualification in the early 1980s led Chris Parker to believe his destiny lay in education. Luckily for students everywhere, he was attracted to the bright lights of London and worked for a publishing company as their photographer and cartoonist. Since 1989 Chris has pursued an eventful career as a freelance photographer and travel writer and is based in Hastings, East Sussex.
Chris is the recipient of a number of awards including:
British Life Photography Awards 2015: Weather category: Winner
Street Life: Highly Commended: BLPA Winners
Numerous credits in The Travel Photographer of the Year competition including winner of the Essence of Travel category 2004
Princess Cruises Escapes Travel Photography Awards - the biggest professional travel photography competition in the UK. 2004 Winner Professional Category
See more work by Chris Parker