AUGUST 2023 · ROAM
Worthing in monochrome
West Sussex coast, England
I brought two lenses to Worthing and shot both in black and white. The Helios 44-2 is a Soviet-era 58mm, soft in the way vintage glass is soft — a slight dream to it, edges falling off, circles of confusion doing something the modern glass won't do. The 24mm is sharp and flat and direct. Same town, same day, same overcast sky, two completely different opinions about what Worthing is.
The Helios found the town's older rhythms. Two elderly women with prams on the promenade, looking back at the crowd behind them — the image has a softness that the subject requires. The elderly couple on mobility scooters overlooking the sea, side by side, easy in each other's presence. People wading at the shoreline, four of them, the pier faint in the distance behind. The vintage lens makes Worthing feel like the seaside town it has always been, not the one being rediscovered.
The dialogue between the lenses was the point of the day.
Worthing — August 2023
The 24mm found the working edge. Fishing boats beached on dry land in the harbour, hulls at angle, the geometry hard. Weathered wooden groynes extending into the sea at low tide, the shale beach bare and specific. A vintage military Jeep parked near the seafront, towing rope attached, registration plate legible. The Tarring News & Wine on a corner, the kind of shopfront that hasn't moved in decades. Massive sculptural metal pipes on the promenade, people and dogs arranged around them, the 24mm making no concessions to atmosphere.
A street procession appeared mid-morning — colourful costumes, a bass drum player, patterned outfits, the works. The Helios would have made something soft of it. The 24mm clocked it directly.
The dialogue between the lenses was the point of the day. Both true; neither the whole picture.
The groynes in the 24mm frame, dark and parallel, extending toward the grey sea.
Two elderly women with prams walking on the promenade, looking back at the crowd
Fishing boat beached on dry land surrounded by other vessels in the harbor
Spectators watching sports cars at a seaside event with Tudor-style houses
Dogs and people standing by massive sculptural metal pipes on the promenade
Bay window of residential building with gridded panes and interior reflection
Historic corner storefront for Tarring News & Wine and village shop
Elderly couple on mobility scooters overlooking the seaside promenade
Four people wading in the sea at the shoreline with pier in distance
Weathered wooden groynes extending into the sea on the shale beach
Vintage military Jeep with registration plate and towing rope attachment
People with dogs gathered by harbor wall on shale beach
Woman on mobility scooter with busy promenade crowd and sea behind
Street procession with colorful costumes, patterned outfit, and bass drum player