Three years ago I attempted to gain my 'Associate of The Royal Photographic Society' (ARPS) accreditation........ and failed miserably. At the time I felt very disappointed and wondered what the heck I had to do to achieve this next stage of my photographic journey.
The dust settled, the wounds were licked and it was time to take on board the feedback that the awarding panel had given me. To this day I still do not agree with 100% of their comments, however I did realise that my panel simply wasn't good enough, wasn't consistent enough, wasn't uniform enough and wasn't thought provoking enough.......... so it was time to go back to the drawing board with all this learning and experience.
My first panel was a travel panel which tied in with my love of travel, the only issue with travel is that it is hard to get the best shots when my time at any one location is extremely limited.
So, I decided to do something in my own back yard and this time I would try and tell a story by entering a documentary panel of images. Ok, so I now understood that uniformity is important and my 15 images had to look like a body of work with a specific narrative.
For a considerable time I have noticed that Guernsey is looking more and more tired in terms of its general appearance. This saddens me as it is not representative of the place where I grew up, and I felt it important to document my feelings.
Therefore I have to apologise in advance, my panel of images is depressing and highlights the more forgotten aspects of our island. Some might say that I have ignored the beauty and targeted tiny pockets of degradation, but this is certainly not true as I have taken over 150 images on this theme and, to date, still have numerous neglected areas which I have still yet to document.
Luckily for me the RPS panel of judges recognised the story that I was trying to convey, and on this occasion I was successful in gaining my ARPS accreditation. I don't expect you to like the images, I haven't taken them for anyone to like, on the contrary my aim is to draw some attention to the 'elephant in the room' that Guernsey needs some much deserved TLC.
Below are my images and my statement of intent which sets out my objectives. Next stop, the big one......... FRPS........ once again this will be an enormous leap in what needs to be done to achieve this top accolade.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and look at my panel.
Statement of Intent for ARPS Submission – James Machon
15 November 2023
Guernsey Unloved
I have lived on Guernsey for 53 years and its gradual degradation is noticeably depressing.
This once vibrant island had a thriving tourism industry filled with hotels, restaurants, parish pubs, extensive retail outlets and numerous visitor attractions.
We had a successful growing industry with flowers and tomatoes being our biggest exports. The offshore finance industry grew rapidly, and Guernsey really was an amazing place to live.
Nearly all those industries have now disappeared under the burden of regulation, competition, and a lack of investment. Guernsey’s buildings and general appearance have become unloved, unkept, functional and ugly.
Many parts of our once beautiful island are now neglected, and if something isn’t linked to the ‘self-important’ offshore finance industry, then appearances are consistently overlooked.
I feel it is important to document this degradation, and my panel aims to convey my sad observations of the place that I call home.
