FIRST FOCUS
PHOTOGRAPHY

Over the last 10 years or so I have had a fascination with the crumbling ruin’s of my old seaside hometown of Scarborough, North Yorkshire. I have many great childhood memories of the beach, swimming pools and outdoor theme parks, there was the South Bay Pool, Water splash world, Kinder land and Marvel’s Amusement Park all in their hay-day in the late 1980’s , but by the late 1990’s all had eventually become run down , disused, overgrown or abandoned. I don’t know about you but to me there is nothing more creepy or unsettling as an abandoned theme park or swimming pool. A place that should be full of life, laughter and families enjoying a day out reduced to empty hollow shells of their former glory. What makes it more poignant is that they were all my childhood places, and as I revisited them from 1996 to now 2009 I found that my memories have traveled with me. I want to present to you now a series of photographs of my own childhood playgrounds as they disappear forever.

Flyer’s for Marvel’s circa 1996

Marvel’s Amusement Park 1996 – Closed Down

Marvel’s Roller Coaster 1996

Marvel’s 1996

I then returned to the same site in 2008 to see how it had developed

Marvel’s 2008 – This is where the T-Rex stood

The remains of the chair lift

Marvels “Dark” Ride

I walked around the site for about an hour, nobody disturbed me, nobody was there and that’s what freaked me out the most I created the digital piece above based on my emotions from the day

The full set of shots can be seen in my Gallery

Also I have created a digital piece that see’s the return of the Dinosaurs.

I will tell you how I created this image in my Technique section!