Even though the name of the project is ‘Shelter – a photographic project in one day’ – that is a lie.

The ‘one day’ of the title is the bit that the public saw. There was rather more going on below the surface that enabled me to be confident that the ‘one day’ would work. The actual project started a couple of weeks before.

I made a visit to Acton Scott as part of putting together my proposal and I confirmed my recollection that the place was dotted with ingenious forms of shelter, protection or enclosure. I knew that I wanted to involve visitors to the farm in the process of making purposeful photographs and my visit made me confident that people would easily ‘get’ idea of photographing Shelter and probably have no difficulty in making interesting interpretations of the idea.

I used photos that I took on this first day to make a visual proposal:

It is important to me that people make a product that they themselves are proud of whether or not their product is selected for the finished set of six framed images. In order to make this possible I decided to take my whole home digital photography set up. This would enable me to make very high quality images quickly as well as allow a person to have a small print of their photograph in about 20 seconds.

My initial visit also allowed me to plan to use the Education Room which is just off the main farm yard. I measured it, checked for electricity, thought about the issues of being slightly hidden from view, worked out where I would put everything.

I was very pleased to get a call from Ania Bas one night while slumped in front of the TV saying that I would be doing the project.

Just before the project

I took a day’s holiday from work to prepare the computer automations that would speed up the process of making the small prints for each participant. I wanted each print to have the Project name, place, time and photographer’s name. I always struggle with the process and it seems to take all day to get a reliable system. As always, just as I thought I was finished I realised that the colour settings on one of the computers was mysteriously different to the other and I gave up. I would use one computer and risk getting very confused during the day, at least I knew the prints would be the right colour.

Really just before

I was all set, I had the frames made, the computers set up, I checked the cables once more, I had several different plans in my head for how to actually do the work, what if lots of people came, what if no one came? I decided that the visitors to Acton Scott were probably pretty trustworthy and so I decided not to go overboard on security. If I went off with someone to show them how to use the camera, the computers would have to look after themselves.

I rang Acton Scott to check it was all OK for the weekend and was told, very apologetically, that the Education Room had been booked for ages by the Model Wheelwrights Society and no one had noticed. I would have to find some other place, would the garden shed near the pond do? Since it didn’t have electricity it wouldn’t really. I decided that I had to take another half day holiday and go and see for myself where I should work.

Really, really, just before.

I turned up at the farm at 9 in the morning and it was pouring with rain. I didn’t mind because that was one of the main reasons why people needed shelter. I met Michael Turner and we chatted about possible solutions. All of a sudden Michael asked ‘How precious was I about my equipment?’ I said ‘Not particularly’ and he suggested that the old barn might be a possible place to work. The first time I visited I had walked through this barn into the farm yard and thought that it would be perfect, but then dismissed it. I thought that Acton Scott would find it a bit too weird for me to set up a high tech digital photo studio in a semi enclosed barn with straw on the floor with chickens and geese wandering in and out. Was there electricity? Yes! It was perfect.