Hi Folks,
Shaun here.
Friday and Saturday 27th and 28th April, I ventured out to the wonderful world of Whitby Goth weekend.
For all of you budding “Goth Snappers” out there, here is what I learned.
1) People cannot predict the weather in Whitby. Maybe it’s the coastal location, maybe their weather equipment stuff doesn’t work in Whitby but the forecast just wasn’t right at all; even just 24 hours ahead. Lots of rain and clouds were forecast but it ended up quite sunny both days. Very windy and chilly though.
2) Goths are very nice people. Some photographers aren’t.
3) There were lots of styles of people there; not just goths. There were steampunks and many other genres of alternate lifestyle there too. Mike Lawrence has his own category I suspect. Some attendees had put huge amounts of time, money and effort into their costumes and they looked stunning.
4) You are very very unlikely to get a shot that no-one else has. Even if you set up a shot you like, swarms of photographers will descend on the model like rabid harbingers of “art” (see photo below). You really need to look at Whitby as a source of images to do something creative with later on in photoshop.
5) There were as many photgraphers as goths there.
6) There were many types of models there. From the prettiest girls to the dodgiest transvestites.
7) The coffee shops pack in so many tables, it is almost impossible to move around them.
8) The main street on route to the Abbey seems the most interesting. Crowded noisy, friendly and fascinating. Imagine Diagon Alley from the Harry Potter books with two hundred paparazzi added.
9) Book early and park early. Hotels and parking spaces are hard to find.
All in all, a fantastic weekend thing to do. You will wish you dressed up. I know I did.
Shaun