Photographing the Bellfoundry

Focus on the Foundry

Over the next couple of weeks, four of the projects that I’ve been involved with are coming to their conclusion, so I thought you might be interested to hear a little about these projects.

The first of these was the Focus on the Foundry photography sessions, which started three years ago, the aim of which was to capture the changes that were happening down at the Bellfoundry, and at the same time help the twelve people who took part to take better photographs. The professional photographers leading the project were from a collective called Mass. Here’s their main website presence  https://www.mass-collective.com/info   , but they have also documented the works happening at the Bellfoundry, which includes not only photographs, but also audio clips – of some of the bellfoundry workers, and the on-site carillon. https://www.mass-collective.com/chime-ding-cast-tin

Over the three-year period, the group of enthusiastic amateur photographers met 12 times, and at each day-long session were tutored in a specific aspect of architectural photography, before being let loose around the factory, the grounds, and the museum, to practice the skills learned. After each session, each participant selected 20 photographs from the ones they had taken, to share with the photographers from Mass. You can imagine, I’m sure, that after 12 sessions, each participant ended up with literally thousands of shots of various aspects of the Bellfoundry, and choosing only 20 from each session was sometimes quite challenging.

We were encouraged to take shots that showed the changes and developments to the works, but also to concentrate on things that appealed to us. Hence, the eventual collective output was hugely varied! Some people preferred to take photographs of the workers; others preferred photographing the work tools. Some of the photographers focussed on the fabric of the building, others on the stream of visiting bells, different at every visit we made. Detailed, close-up shots, were contrasted with long distance shots which brought the workspaces to life!

As the culmination of three years’ work, we made a selection of 6 or 7 of what we and the photographers from Mass considered to be our best photographs. These were to appear in an exhibition at the Bellfoundry, which showcased the changes at the Bellfoundry over time, and showcased our new photography skills.

A launch event was held, and it was lovely to see so many people there, and to re-connect with others who had been part of the project. As well as becoming better photographers, I’m sure we all found some friends for life! Not quite as intense as Pottery Throw-Down, or Bake-Off, but some strong bonds were formed.

The exhibition is staged in the newly re-imagined Bellfoundry Museum, a space which brilliantly tells the story of the Taylors Bellfoundry. I’m not sure how long the exhibition is being hosted for, but there are displays on the ground floor, on the stairs, and in the Interpretation Room. I believe there are plans to site some of the photographs permanently in the main reception area.

The Museum is open 10am – 4pm (last entry at 3.30pm) November to March, on Wednesday to Friday and the 1st Saturday of the month, which increases to Tuesday to Friday and the 1st Saturday of the month during April to October. You can find more detail on the website https://belltrust.co.uk/           

Thank you to everyone involved for the wonderful experience!

Here's a few of my photos that didn't make the exhibition!

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Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

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