Revenants and Remains at Furness Abbey

During this project I learnt a lot about the history of the local area. I loved testing out new things with my photography: for example, putting some cloth over the lens to give the photograph a ‘vintage’ look. The thing I am most proud of is how I successfully found other ways to present my work which wasn’t just printing it out.

During the two-day experience of working with an artist, I learned a variety of different techniques to build into my knowledge. I enjoyed learning new ways to think about my images and how to portray them to create a story. I am proud of my outcomes as I feel like they tell a ghostly story.

During the workshops, I learned more about the Abbey and got to experiment with my photos by using props and having an interesting place to take the pictures. I am very pleased with how all my images turned out: I think they all match the same tone, and I really like and angles and composition of each photo.

By doing the workshop at the Abbey, I learnt more about the history of where I come from and the surrounding areas. I approached the task by thinking about the big and small. I wanted the Abbey to look powerful to show that even though it is in ruins now, it used to hold great power across England. I am most proud of the image outcomes as I think they really show the magnificent beauty of the Abbey ruins.

Participating in this workshop has given me the great opportunity to learn how to take photos of architecture. Hearing the ghost stories was incredibly inspiring.

The workshop at Furness Abbey helped me learn more about my heritage, my skills in gothic/ghost photography, and how to use other materials in my future work. I also learned how to do origami work with my final images. I’m proud of how well my images came out overall, before and after using Photoshop. In our work, we used things like torches, veils and mirrors, and we also played around with shadows and movement to create ghost-like figures in our photography. We also learned the history behind Furness Abbey, which not only helped my photography and ideas, but also enabled me to learn more about my own history and the place I live.

I’ve learned about the amazing history of Barrow and the Abbey, which was really interesting. I’ve enjoyed hearing about the stories of the Abbey and taking creative pictures – I’d love to have this experience again!

I really enjoyed our photography workshop at the Abbey. I liked working with different props to achieve effective and spooky end results. The technique of using a long exposure and a white sheet worked really well to create ghostly figures. It was also interesting to learn more about the history of the Abbey, which was such a perfect location for the workshop