Tuesday 17 April 2012

Tatton 365


Mark Williamson Tatton Park ©

Hello, my name is Mark Williamson and I am currently shooting a photographic project on Tatton Park, called Tatton 365.

The aim of the project is to document all aspects of life at Tatton Park. My background is in advertising photography, so this project is a little bit of a departure for me, in the sense that most of my work is constructed photography, normally working to a very detailed brief. The only brief for the Tatton 365 project is self appointed, and is to present a detailed and personal insight into life at Tatton. I started shooting in the summer of 2011 and will finish around October of 2012, with some of the work going on display in the mansion from 6th October. Details are on the Tatton Park events listing webpage
I shall try to post monthly on the build up to the exhibition, with a few images thrown in to give a taste of some of the work.


Mark Williamson Tatton Park ©

So March is my first post and as the days get longer, life on the estate is getting busier. The gardens are starting to come to life, with the trees and shrubs packed with buds biding their time before they burst open. The farm is gradually welcoming new arrivals and lambing week is just around the corner. It's always hard driving through the estate at dawn, with the silhouettes of deer herds slowly emerging from the morning mist. The urge to take "just one more photo of the deer" is always hard to resist.


Mark Williamson Tatton Park ©

These events and hundreds more are just some of the sources of my inspiration for this project, and hopefully I will be able to convey my passion for this subject matter over the coming months.





Friday 13 April 2012

Wonderland and the White Rabbit...

If you were in the Gardens at Tatton over the Easter Weekend you may have thought you were seeings things with a White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, Queen of Hearts and other slightly mad characters but it was of course quite real! well, I think it was...

The Queen of Hearts & White Rabbit
©Margaret Clark
  

Alice at tea
©Margaret Clark

The weather was a bit chilly but the Rabbit did tell me that at least the fur coat kept him cosy, and perhaps the way everyone was running about kept the rest of them warm too, along with the tea...you can’t have Alice in Wonderland without the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.

The visitors joined in (with a bit of encouragement) with singing, dancing, juggling and anything else the children persuaded their parents to get up and perform!

It looked very busy in the Stableyard with a Magic Show, Punch and Judy and Hat Making...a quiz in the Mansion and a trail in the Gardens. Lots going on at the Farm too with storytelling with the Queen of Hearts and following the Cheshire Cat trail...not forgetting the main event with lots of new born lambs and chicks.

As well as the amazing characters and the madness of the Alice in Wonderland story, there was the real magic of all the plants and trees bursting into flower and blossom and new life with the baby animals...a proper Easter!

Margaret Clark, Interpreter Guide