After 6 years off absence from Cornwall it was a great feeling to be heading South out of London at 4am. Cruising down the motorway, memories of my time as a student came flooding back.
With no real agenda other than visiting a few old haunts, feasting on Pasty’s and St Austells fine ale, it was a welcome break. The weather was not always on our side but that led to some subtle landscape studies.
Well… what does an architectural photographer get up to when he’s not trying to find an unusual angle on the latest contemporary designs? He slings his kit over his shoulder (or his assistant’s) and heads off to find dilapidated industrial architecture with a dramatic backdrop. Sicily provided the perfect location for this purpose. Hidden away on the far South East coast between Marzamemi and Syracuse lies Vendicari Nature Reserve. It’s about as remote as you can get in Europe these days and well worth the effort.
The ruins of a tuna factory from 1862 lie crumbling next to the azure blue Ionian Sea. The reserve has been established due to the range of rare birds that frequent the local lakes and marsh land. The factory closed during WWII and now functions as a museum where you can easily lose yourself and drift back to the days when immense battles between man and fish left the waters awash with blood. The traditional ‘Matanza’ (catching and killing of Tuna) which occurred in various locations all over Sicily has now been reduced to the island of Favignana, due to depleted fish stocks. This site stands as a testimony to the immense scale in which this activity took place.
HUNDVEN-CLEMENTS PHOTOGRAPHY 