An exhibition of ‘blue hour’ photographic studies of the West Pier by Alex Bamford
Blue hour is the time when the sun is sufficiently below the horizon for the ozone layer to block all other colours except blue.
I’ve been photographing the West Pier for 25 years now, always looking for a new way to portray what is widely regarded as one of the UK’s most photographed structures outside of London.
This latest series came about by chance. I was experimenting with a vintage, slightly battered 500mm Reflex lens, bequeathed to me by Brighton photographic legend Roger Bamber. It was a spring tide, extremely low, and I was on the exposed sand with hundreds of other Brightonians as the sun went down.
I was fascinated by the gnarled remnants of the landing stage to the east of the Pier, only visible at the lowest of tides. Reflex lenses are notorious difficult to focus, particularly in low light but I managed to get an interesting long exposure image, currently hanging in the West Pier Centre’s open call autumn exhibition.
https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/24581197.brightons-west-pier-realised-16-artists-exhibition/
Apart from the jagged teeth of rusty iron rising from the sea, the other thing that interested me in this image was the line of doughnut shapes on the horizon. The mirrored internal workings of reflex lenses render out-of-focus highlights, like the lights on the Rampion windfarm, into circles.
Using this photo as a launch pad I have revisited the pier a number of times and made a series of abstract images, breaking the pier down into stark black lines with rich blue backgrounds and the occasional red circle from the Rampion warning lights.
There is a sad melancholy to the West Pier but even in its current state, the beauty shines through.
I’m delighted to be able to show this series at the West Pier Centre, within sight of the pier itself.
About the artist
Alex Bamford is a creative and commercial photographer. He has exhibited widely in Brighton including a previous West Pier project Horizons, at the West Pier Centre in 2018, Lost and Found on the seafront gabions in 2020 and Murmuration Windows currently displayed on Brighton Palace Pier. His moonlit landscapes following a pyjama clad sleepwalker have been featured worldwide.
Exhibition 1/4/25-30/5/25 at West Pier Centre, Brighton.
