Newcastle-based photographer Jack Lowe is been a lifelong enthusiast and supporter of the RNLI, and is now pursuing an extraordinary project travelling the UK in a converted ambulance photographing lifeboat stations, coxwains and crews using the 19th century wet plate collodion method.
The result is an extraordinary collection of striking photos that have more than something of the look of old photos of Victorian lifeboatment – but with the twist that these folks and places are in the here and now.
Part of the aim is to raise money for the RNLI, but Jack also intends to create something that will involve and unite the RNLI community, and finally to create an exhibition in which the glass plates are hung in geographical in order around a huge room to create a sense of seeing the entire coastline of the British Isles.
It’s worth checking the Jack’s weblog posts at the bottom of the home page. These are full of his personal take on his journeys. Entertainingly, the one about his trip to Teddington on the Thames includes a series of family and friends photos including his grandfather Arthur Lowe and the cast of Dad’s Army, among others.
My thanks to Malcolm Woods for spotting this one!