Postcards from Home Project
Messages have been sent on pieces of card since the beginning of postal services in the 17th century but their popularity increased enormously in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when they became available as picture postcards with drawings or photographs of landmarks, scenic views, notable events and celebrities. Collecting picture postcards rapidly became quite a craze and even had a name, derived from the Greek for writing tablet – deltiology.
To most of us though, picture postcards are associated with holidays and days out when we buy them to send to family and friends to show them where we have been. That was the concept I used for my images for the RPS Frontiers project during 2021-22 and which became the inspiration for the Landscape Group’s Postcards from Home project.
My images recalled the once important and largely forgotten lead mining and limestone quarrying industries in my hometown of Prestatyn in North Wales and because the town is now best known as a seaside holiday resort, I arranged them as composites in a postcard format.
Researching my local area was fascinating. Displaying the photographs in an unusual format was challenging! But it was all very enjoyable which is what photography should be.
Postcards from Home will run during 2023 and is open to all members of the RPS. Photographed views need not necessarily be places or subjects of beauty and so can feature any subjects that are of interest to the photographer. At the end of the project we will be producing a book featuring the work of all participants. Because of this, participation is limited to 100 people and there is a registration fee to cover the cost of the book.
I do hope you will want to take part and I look forward to your postcards being delivered through my virtual letterbox!
Sue Clark LRPS, Project Manager
You can find the details of the project on the webpage, https://rps.org/groups/landscape/projects/postcards-from-home/.