
Written by Alec Pain (Alastair Place)
I’m never quite sure whether I live in a town or a village. Apparently, I live in a town… but I like to think of it as a village. Charlbury is a very small, beautifully formed commuter [insert town or village here] in The Cotswolds in the UK.
Wherever you live, I would imagine you have the same issues as me – you don’t fully appreciate what’s there in front of you. You see the same sights every day; you bring the camera up to your eyes and look through the viewfinder… and either decide to put it back down again or take the same dull picture of the same shot over and over.
But inspiration doesn’t always strike when you need it to. We live in a permanent state of now. We must publish that image on Instagram today – or get our pictures up as soon as they are scanned. Or if you – like me – have a day job, and can’t just drop what you’re doing and head out when the weather is “just” right. Let’s face it, the weather rarely is.
So, I’ve put together these three essential tips for you to keep the faith and find inspiration in the place where you live or when circumstances aren’t ideal:

1. Always Take Your Camera With You
The first is seemingly obvious: always take your camera with you. Even on the greyest of days, even when you are going back past the same spot for the umpteenth time.
Whilst I can likely only count two or three opportunities when I have missed a shot that’s still three too many.
I like to take my camera to the shop every Saturday to get my morning paper. It’s a five-minute walk across the playing fields, but I’ve been rewarded with some of my favorite images.
These two are on the same day: the first facing the tree, the second standing underneath it:



Once I get to the local shop, there’s another smaller playing field which has park benches around it.
Waiting for the light to hit them has been crucial, but also wandering around the field looking for the best angle also reaps dividends:


2. Try a New Film Stock, Camera, or Technique
Trying different film stocks will also give you variety and something new. The same is true for a different camera or a new technique you want to try.
Here’s the same playing field with Kodak Gold:


And here’s some with the Holga 135PAN:


There’s a big country estate at the edge of town, called Cornbury Park.
Here’s my wife meeting one of the deer through the railings – again on the Minolta CLE:

Of course, there are times when you simply have the “wrong” film loaded in your camera.
You can’t magically add anything to your ISO when you’re taking the shot with the Holga, and you don’t have a tripod, but sometimes it can just about work in your favor.
The below are Kentmere 100 on the path outside Cornbury Park:


On a grey day, you could also try a Holgarama or a double exposure.
Here’s St. Mary’s church and a longer walk up to Ditchley on the outskirts of the village:


And here’s the kids playing area back at those larger playing fields and a multi exposure of the same swings:


3. Try Shooting at Different Times of the Day or Year
I once saw a quote from a photographer who said that he never took the same shot twice. He would never revisit a scene.
I disagree.
There are times when you have the wrong film in your camera, or the sky is grey – where you’ll never get the shot you wanted.
Take these two shots taken from nearly the same spot on a bridge at Cornbury Park. The first, taken with the Holga 120N is OK – there’s no sun but some nice thick clouds and some sense of summer.
The second was taken in in late September with Kentmere 400 – still with some clouds, but with a little bit of sunshine and a nice reflection on the water. Plus, it’s got a dreamy feel that the Holga GCFN has helped to dapple at the edges.


Again, different times of the day will give you a different look. Late afternoon sun and midday:


But by walking and re-walking the same journeys – and finding new ones, you’ll eventually strike on something that you’d not noticed before. Take these pines that perhaps had been cleared by the landowner.
This is on the walk back down the bridge at Cornbury Park towards home.

At other times, you just happen upon something… take this bizarre shop dummy sat in a White Van, a beautiful Alfa Romeo, or the local pub owner leaving his Land Rover outside The Bull.



Take your camera when it’s raining and you think you have no chance of getting a shot:

The yearly Wilderness Festival (also held at Cornbury Park) is also a great source, here’s an entire length of film from my entrance onto the site to seeing Arlo Parks on stage at the end of it:

Click to enlarge
I’m often up too late to capture the morning fog, and so finding it still hanging in the Autumn air at midday was a blessing.
There’s a couple of small woods on the outskirts, and these were all taken within minutes of each other:






I think there’s still plenty of images and events to capture – and perhaps I’ll work up the courage to ask to take portraits of Charlburians one of these days, but my motto is keep doing the work and the work will build.
I hope you enjoyed this journey around my neck of the woods.
Thank you so much, Alec! Alec is a regular contributor here at Shoot It With Film, and be sure to check out his other articles, like The Holga 135 Pan: Getting to Know Your Camera and Long Exposure Film Photography at Night: Learning From My Mistakes.
You can also check out more of his work on Instagram.
Leave your questions about finding inspiration in your hometown below in the comments!

Blog Comments
Gary
May 25, 2024 at 4:00 am
Wonderful shots, and good advice.
Alec Pain / Alastair Place
May 27, 2024 at 3:22 pm
Thanks Gary