To celebrate the Coronation of King Charles, Sidmouth held a street party in the centre of town on the afternoon of Sunday 7th May. Tables went on sale weeks ago and people were encouraged to bring along decorations, food, drink – oh, and most importantly chairs! Even on the day, we weren’t sure what the weather would do, but by half three the skies cleared and the sun came out…right on cue! Within an hour you couldn’t move for all things red, white and blue – it was fabulous to see everyone making such an effort. And the cakes…to die for! I did consider pretending to judge a street party cake competition, just so I could sample them all, but without a clipboard, felt that I wouldn’t have been taken seriously!

Rosemary and I had planned to photograph the street party as soon as we knew one was being held and for our “homework”, we studied the work of Martin Parr at a recent exhibition of his, to understand how he managed to conjure up the essence of “Britishness” without taking just record shots. It’s far, far harder to do than you would imagine.

An image that particularly stood out to us, was one he’d taken during a year long project at the village of Chew Stoke. He managed to evoke the mood of a tea party, just by capturing the act of pouring tea. The jam on the scones perfectly matches the dresses…and not a head in shot! Which absolutely doesn’t matter, as all the information you need to know about the ladies can be gleaned from what they are wearing and doing. He is a master at focusing in on the action, with his subjects framing the photo. Another signature trait is his use of bright, saturated colours – which would make a coronation street party the perfect environment for the Union Jack colours to be the stars of the show.

With just over an hour in which to capture the mood of the party, Rosemary and I set to, trying to hone in on small details and mannerisms that could tell the story of the celebrations and the quirkiness of the British public. My photos from the Platinum Jubilee street party last year were a total non-starter, as I think I just got overwhelmed by all of the colour and activity in front of me. Having a clear goal this time, really enabled me to use the short timeframe to the fullest and led to images that even a few months ago I probably wouldn’t have seen. Anyone who dabbles in street photography knows that trying to pre-empt a shot about to happen, ensure there’s nothing distracting in the background and frame your image correctly within a few milliseconds is no mean feat…and practice definitely makes, well maybe not perfect, let’s just say better!

We left the party in full swing and I was so pleased to have been part of such a special celebration – great memories and a few photos to boot! My particular favourites being the Union Jack waistcoat & cup and the balloon hiding the guy’s face (couldn’t believe my luck when the balloon finally drifted across, after standing there willing it for ages!!).

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