6th October 2020
Member -Pat Meakins - Building a Solar Farm
So this week Pat Meakins, one of our members showed us a presentation about a time she spent, for 3 months in 2015 on a solar farm construction site . It was a very personal project for Pat and she feels personally attached to it - not surprising after 3 months on site I would imagine.
She started by giving a fascinating history of Castle Combe racing circuit within which the solar farm was being constructed. She shared some facts about our consumption of coal, oil and gas which made the eyes water! Truly! It was a good start. Also each solar farm does not come without its own issues though- they are only viable for 25 years and then have to be replaced. This doesn’t seem very long does it? I had no idea.
In advance of her project Pat wrote to the construction company for permission to photograph and they "took her in” almost as part of their team. I think she became their mascot! After some basic safety instruction the company allowed her access to all sites and mostly at all times. During the project Pat established some very strong associations and special relationships with the workers, some of whom asked her for copies of photos for them to send home to their families. A lovely touch and little anecdotes like this brought the presentation completely alive and made a construction site very human - something I would have thought impossible. In pursuance of her images Pat waded through mud and muck and lost tripods (well one! and not really lost but rapidly disappeared into the mud) and boots! At one point a motor race was halted in order for Pat to cross the racetrack in safety! At another time she was given a ride in a JCB.
The whole presentation proves how good it is to follow up on our ideas and not to be afraid to ask permission of organisations. Good documentary photography Pat and very well put together - well done and thank you so much for an interesting and educational evening
Member -Pat Meakins - Building a Solar Farm
So this week Pat Meakins, one of our members showed us a presentation about a time she spent, for 3 months in 2015 on a solar farm construction site . It was a very personal project for Pat and she feels personally attached to it - not surprising after 3 months on site I would imagine.
She started by giving a fascinating history of Castle Combe racing circuit within which the solar farm was being constructed. She shared some facts about our consumption of coal, oil and gas which made the eyes water! Truly! It was a good start. Also each solar farm does not come without its own issues though- they are only viable for 25 years and then have to be replaced. This doesn’t seem very long does it? I had no idea.
In advance of her project Pat wrote to the construction company for permission to photograph and they "took her in” almost as part of their team. I think she became their mascot! After some basic safety instruction the company allowed her access to all sites and mostly at all times. During the project Pat established some very strong associations and special relationships with the workers, some of whom asked her for copies of photos for them to send home to their families. A lovely touch and little anecdotes like this brought the presentation completely alive and made a construction site very human - something I would have thought impossible. In pursuance of her images Pat waded through mud and muck and lost tripods (well one! and not really lost but rapidly disappeared into the mud) and boots! At one point a motor race was halted in order for Pat to cross the racetrack in safety! At another time she was given a ride in a JCB.
The whole presentation proves how good it is to follow up on our ideas and not to be afraid to ask permission of organisations. Good documentary photography Pat and very well put together - well done and thank you so much for an interesting and educational evening