Romney Marsh Saga

Camber Sands has always been one of my favourite places in the entire world. Ever since I was a kid, I have always loved it there. When the tides out it looks like another planet- particularly to a geeky 8yr old with a lively imagination, and high tide conjures up the rather disagreeable memories of actually swimming there.

So now Camber Sands has become a fairly regular destination for shoots, I decided to explore the area a little more.

Now, the fact is that Camber and it's surrounding area are...well, horrific. Occasionally fabulous in their horrificness, but always breathtakingly horrific. Dungeness for example looks like some post-apcolyptic dystopian beach hut resort. In a good way.

Romney Marsh has a similar eery feeling to it, and the tiny little abandoned church in the centre of the marsh adds to the surreal quality of it all. The complete isolation of the church makes it a tricky location, particularly for a fashion shoot, but I have been desperate to shoot there since I discovered it, and this film project provides the perfect excuse!

So, the plan was to shoot sunset over the church. Perfect! Eery, romantic and surreal. So a few weeks ago I set off with my camera, tripod and trusty Cinquecento to shoot. I figured an hours worth of footage was perfect; 50mins before actual sunset, 10mins after. Problem- the camera only made it for 40mins. I wish I had known that... So this trip resulted in 40mins of rather dull footage of the sun sinking behind clouds, and- once the footage had been sped up- the horrific Disco Sheep. See sheep might not look like they do much..but when you speed a 40min clip up into a 5min one, you start to notice them a little more. End result; the most exciting thing about the footage was the techno sheep.

New plan; shoot sunRISE instead. Sheep will be sleeping and more or less still, and the footage should be generally more spectacular than the pathetic sunsets at this time of year.

Now I'm not one to rehash the details (particularly when they are liable to induce tears), but I managed to lose the footage. It was perfect. But I lost it. Not that I'm bitter...but I cried solidly for say, 2 hours?

Nevermind, today I decided to give the 2am start another go. Weather forcast; clear. Sunrise; 5.44. Camera fully charged (!) All set. I even bought my housemate to keep me company. What could go wrong?

You know what can go wrong? Clouds. I mean really, if BBC tells you it's going to be clear, you expect it to be clear. Not clear except for the EXACT spot when the fucking sun is rising. Bastards.

Attempt 1. The lost footage day, *sob*

Attempt 2. Fuck you BBC Weather.