I love this photographer and other Kentish things

Photographer Sarah Smith takes photos around Kent near where we took many family holidays. I've found the different landscapes of South Kent inspiring for many years: from the cliffs of Dover and St Margarets, to the flat expanse of shingle beach and beautiful conservation area houses and shops at Deal, out to the flat open landscape of Romney Marsh and the emptiness of Dungeness.

These are the photo's that I would have liked to take if only I'd been capable! 

I'm signed up for an Open University digital photography course T189 Digital photography: creating and sharing better images, which starts in May 2010, so I hope to be able to add some of my own 'better images' to this blog over the summer. 

above: St Margaret's Bay captured as I've never seen it before.

above: Deal beach towards Kingsdown

above: Deal Pier at sunset

above: Langdon Cliffs

For more details please visit Sarah's website Sarah Smith.

On the subject of photography and Kent, I really like this book about Derek Jarman's garden in Dungness. I've previously taken some pretty amature pictures of his garden as it is now, but I'm hoping to go back with my dad in the spring/early summer to take some more.

While we're there, I'm sure after we've refreshed ourselves at the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch railway cafe we'll pop into the tiny Dungeness Gallery, which is housed in a small wing next to the kitchen of one of the old fisherman's houses which dot the landscape of Dungeness. Every time we've been there we've been greeted not only by the friendly hospitality of the photographer Chris Shore and his artist partner Helen Taylor, but by the smell of freshly baking cake, which has only added to the appeal!