Dimbola lodge looks out over Freswater Bay on the southern coast of the Isle of Wight. For 15 years between 1860 and 1875, it was the home of Julia Margaret Cameron, an early pioneer of photography. It was on my list of things to do that I’ve missed on the island over the years. As it turned out it was not the best of days. I should perhaps explain that the Island appears to be mostly closed until easter. All National Trust properties are closed, same for English Heritage, they were just waking for the spring, the week I was there. Worse, half of the roads seem to be closed, so a journey that should have been a pleasant half hour coastal drive, turned into a totally ridiculous, nearly two hour journey, half of it stuck behind a large 50 seater coach that was too large to navigate the multiple road closures, diversions on un-known routes, so at one point I ended up in a driveway! When said coach got stuck again, in a small hamlet somewhere – I don’t know where, as it was yet another un-known diversion, I lost it. I am ashamed to say that I blew the horn in an angry manner and both swore and shouted very loudly at a lady who was in reality just trying to help. I turned in the road and screeched off back in the direction I’d been travelling for the last hour and gave up on the day, now in a foul mood. All of this of course I regretted immediately, nothing ever good comes from losing one’s temper. As I had no idea where I was at this point other than “The Isle of Wight”, I drove until I reached a sign. As it turned out it was pointing to Freshwater Bay one way, where I was staying was the same distance in the opposite direction. I’d calmed down enough to decide to try again, and recuse something from the day!
And so it was I arrived at Dimbola Lodge. First of all I visited the coffee shop, a coffee was more than required at this point. Everyone at the lodge was very pleasant, coffee enjoyed, me calmed down, ready for some photography! Dimbola lodge has it’s own website, link here, which tells both the story of Cameron herself and the lodge. No need for me to re-type it. I accept that my mood may well have cast a shadow over the experience, but ultimately I found it rather disappointing. Above is one of the main rooms, below the other side of the room, this space dedicated to Cameron’s work. To my eye they all looked like ink jet prints. Not really what I’d come to see. The camera shown above is “like a camera” that she may have used. In reality it’s an 11×14 with wrecked bellows.
In what was her bedroom, a small glass cabinet with a small collection of random cameras, that equally have no connection to Cameron, she was dead 33 years before Kodak made 127 film! Sadly no darkroom either, or indeed any explanation that I could see of the process she used (Wet Collodion).
There are other rooms, one bigger one was between exhibits, another a permanent exhibition of the Isle of Wight Music Festival – think “small Woodstock”. Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Doors, Joni Mitchell, Miles Davis, Leonard Cohen, and Jethro Tull, and many others have appeared and many of them featured in the photo’s. Unfortunately I’ve been in bigger bathrooms and some of the photo’s were hung at knee level!! Frankly all rather disappointing. I’m glad I took the time to see the exhibition at the Portrait Gallery in London “Victorian Giants” of early photography by Cameron, Carroll and others. Luckily there was a church around the corner!
Chatter: Canon EOS 30, Canon 40mm STM, loaded with Delta 100 (bulk loaded) and developed in home made FX21.
S.H.O.U.T. 