June Gloom: Summer Around the UK in 35mm

Photography by Freddie Payne

Peckham (a neighborhood in London)-based photographer Freddie Payne trains his lens at amusement parks, water slides and some good old gloomy UK summer “fun.” Don’t let your eyes deceive you. That one shot of the Porsche is not LA and also that Porsche was stolen from that very spot.

Freddie shared his thoughts on the shots and filled us in on what he was pointing at the summer scenes. Turn up the Morrissey and enjoy.

First a bit about Freddie, from himself:

“I’ve been shooting on 35mm for around 7 years. Initially drawn to the feel and mechanical sounds of my dad’s old Olympus OM-10. I’d stand there winding the film lever and pressing the shutter. Eventually I thought I should probably get a roll of film, stick it in and see what happens. I remember telling myself ‘If this first roll doesn’t come out well, I won’t bother with another one.’ What a dreadful defeatist attitude! To my surprise I was happy with the photos so carried on and haven’t stopped since.”

Look, Ma, No Tan Lines

Bantham Surfers – Shot at Bantham Beach (South Devon, UK) on a Canon Sure Shot A1 (underwater camera) on Ilford XP-2 35mm film. Shot while balancing facedown on a surfboard. I’ve owned 3 of these cameras and ended up flooding each one. Not a good advert for Canon you might say.

Retro Photobooth. Shot at ‘Dreamland’ Amusement park. Margate, UK.

Shot at ‘Dreamland’ amusement park. Margate, UK. After capturing the shot and turning to walk away, I heard a kid say to his mate ‘there’s nobody even on there’. Don’t question me kid! Shot on Kodak Ultramax 400.

Chinese Supermarket. Peckham High Street, London. Local to where I live, I’d wanted to get a photo of this place at dusk for a while. I think I was drawn to the ‘Green-ish’ light coming from inside. I composed the shot and just before pressing the shutter noticed the two girls on the bike coming down the road. I thought it might look pretty cool to include them. Thankfully I got the timing right. Not sure what caught their eye and made them look inside while riding by…perhaps the same thing that caught mine?

Shot on Brighton Pier, UK on a gloomy December afternoon. Shot on Kodak Ultramax 400 using an Olympus OM-10.

‘Turbo’ Rollercoaster. Brighton Pier. England. UK
Shot on Kodak Ultramax 400

Shot at The Kirby Estate. Bermondsey, London. Organised by a resident of the Kirby Estate, there were more than 300 flags. Captured during the summer of 2018 while the Fifa World Cup was in full swing. England were playing well and football was ‘coming home’. Shot on Kodak Ultramax 400.