Sustainable Development Fund:
Big Fish Photography & Snap School
For the 2022-23 funding year, Big Fish Photography & Snap School were awarded £3,500 from the Dedham Vale National Landscape Sustainable Development Fund for a project to engage local primary schools and children with nature and the landscape.
The Letters in the Landscape project aimed to develop and deliver walking photography workshops that would provide an opportunity to connect students to their local environment by exploring its beauty through photography.
The creative workshops in the Dedham Vale were led by freelance photographer Sadie Windscheffel-Clarke. First, pupils were taught how to use a camera and then headed out into nature to put their newly learnt skills to the test!
Working with six primary schools located within the Dedham Vale National Landscape, children took pictures out in the local environment and created prints using cyanotypes, a sun-printing process. The pupils placed leaves on photographic paper and left them in the sun to expose them to light. Next, they removed the natural elements andthen dipped them in water to leave a print.
Sadie Windscheffel-Clarke from Big Fish Photography & Snap School said: "It has been fantastic working in conjunction with the Dedham Vale National Landscape. With the funding that was provided, it was the perfect platform to deliver a fun, engaging and practical experience to a young audience.
The enthusiasm and excitement from the children for the project was inspiring, they loved exploring the subject matter and the result swere simply fantastic. All the children commented on how they wanted to do it again and that they noticed so many things they'd never paid attention to before.”
You can find out more about Big Fish Photography at www.bigfishphotography.com.