As this project is suppose to be referring to the clubs across the UK closing down though (the most often cited reasons) the lack of younger people joining due to Sky TV and cheap alcohol from the supermarkets, which has led to financial problems for many clubs, I specifically chose two clubs that had been privatised.
The set of images produced in this project work together as a series even though they are so different in their colour schemes because the project is about the people, although the images are uninhabited, as much as it is the space. With the aim of exploring the history and privatisation of former C.I.U. affiliated clubs in the Blackpool area, the images try to reflect the communities built over several decades within the clubs and what those communities are now based around.
Whilst the wider shots provide context and a setting for the project the detail shots highlight the previously mentioned communities. In the two clubs I have been focusing on the main thing that brought the members together was the pool and snooker leagues that take place between the clubs. There is a lot of organisation goes into the running of a league and this is evidenced in the details by the various notices, tables and fixture lists displayed around the clubs. In the wider shots the clubs affiliation with pool and snooker is obvious through the predominance of pool and snooker tables in the clubs.
Whilst I would not say there is a particularly dominant style coming through in the detail shots particularly I tried to frame them fairly consistently, and tried to make sure the rest of the shot was not too clustered to distract. Whilst I have moved quite close in for a lot of the detail shots I tried to maintain a slight distance between the view and the focus of the images so that the viewer can view the club and it’s values without being there. Inclusion through exclusion.
I have tried to keep bold colours through out the images, which has been maintained to some extent I think. I struggled to fit together or balance the very bold and bright colours found in Waterloo Social Club with the paler and less ‘in your face’ creams and subdued greens found in The Blackpool Trades Club.