The year started with a wonderful commission by the charity that runs the City of Caves in Nottingham. The extensive revamp of the Broadmarsh Centre is due to start imminently and this means the usual entrance into the caves will have to be closed off for the next two years. So a new entrance has been constructed beneath the Nottingham Contemporary and that will need major signage to show exactly where the new entrance will be located.

I spent two days in the caves photographing the the most amazing spaces and people visiting and learning all about the fascinating history of these sandstone constructions that were used as dwellings, a tannery, hideouts, air raid shelter and even some mischievious goings on! I also had the pleasure of working with some actors who are regulars at dressing up and knowing exactly what to do to in order to illustrate the different uses of the caves over the years.

It wasn’t possible to close the cave down to visitors so I had to be patient and work around individuals looking round at their own pace and official tours which took place every so often. I was very grateful for my sturdy tripod and cable release as the light was challenging in some places and so I needed longer exposures but it was a small price to pay for the joy of being able to work on such an interesting project.