FMP: Superseed : Allotment Recce

On Sunday Will and I went over to the Street End allotments in Chatham. Before this I had not been there or met anyone from there and didn't know what to expect. I was also having difficulty visualizing our shots and how different aspects would come across (imagine all the plots to look the same.

These allotments are AMAZING. There's so much diversity in what is grown, the people who grow, the heights things are grown at etc. It's just so fantastic. We met Alison Cooke who has been helping Will organize his meet ups and she really helped us by gathering some people into their communal plot- which is sheltered with garden furniture. We met Bryan- who seems to be in charge of the site (newly appointed) and he is also in charge of the waiting list, so he will be a key person to talk to.

Audrey who is an older lady and has had her plot there since 1990! She told stories of how she was introduced to gardening by her father who encouraged her and her sibling by getting them involved.

Theresa who is an asian lady and her 2 asian lady friends, they are all FANTASTIC characters and really lovely people. It would be great to shoot them interacting together because they are so animated.

Doug who is a very friendly and informative gentlman who hated gardening until an elderly neighbour asked for help building her shed and other things. He caught the gardening bug.

We were given a tour of the allotments and I felt really inspired. Theresa showed us her plot first as she thought we might want to shoot her picking her grapes as she was about to pick the last of them. She has an amazing plot with an arched walkway with grape vines all the way over it and loads of high plants and trees.

We also saw Bryan's plot which is super need with beautiful flowers.

We saw Alison's plot which is also super neat and she has quirky decorations. Her plot was vandalized a little while ago.

We saw Doug's plot which he was digging. He didn't want us to see it initially because he hadn't finished.

I then hiked up a hill to try and get a wide of the allotment site which was difficult because the site is so big and I couldn't get to a good angle.

I also took some video footage which I will try to upload.
It's going to be tricky in some places having both the 7d and the sony.
Definitely need a tripod for the 7D.
Zooming while filming is difficult to do without jerkiness.

Will took phone numbers and we will be arranging times to go and film.