Photographer Dan Gardner releases new zine Once Upon a Time in Medway

Dan Gardner has lived in Medway all his life. A new exhibition of his photography seeks to capture the untold stories, forgotten spaces and old landscapes that make Medway what it is today. This photographic record aims to reflect the diverse character, community and comforting familiarity found in the towns. On display at the Medway Archives Centre in Strood until December 15th, Once Upon a Time in Medway has also been made into a zine, compiling five years of photography. We caught up with Dan to find out a bit more.

Can you remember the first time you picked up a camera?

I remember taking my first disposable film camera on holiday to Spain at around the age of 11 and carefully clicking those 36 frames. After sending them off for development, it turned out something had gone wrong and almost every shot came out dark grey. I was quite devastated!

What was your journey into becoming a photographer?

I’ve never really considered myself a ‘professional photographer’ if I'm honest. I have never taken on commercial work and don’t often make photographs for others. It’s primarily my own personal photo projects that I pursue, and 90% of those will probably never be seen. I make photos as a way of telling stories, expressing and articulating the things I feel in the way only a photograph can. It’s a therapy, really. So, I guess ‘the journey’ until now has been one of self-discovery (if you like), with much trial and error along the way.

What type of camera do you use?

In recent years I have been shooting more on film than digital, but I still use both. At present I use an Olympus OM20 for shooting film, and for digital I use a Fujifilm x100v, which is ideal for street photography.

What do you look for in a picture? What elements mean a picture makes it past the delete button?

When I’m wandering the streets with my camera, it’s about finding a feeling in the fleeting moments I observe. It could be a scene I find myself in front of that just resonates with me, or it could be an expression, gesture or form that catches my eye. More often than not, though, it is simply the need to capture a moment in the way I saw it, and I never question that instinct. In relation to photographs I feel may have potential, I often think about the quote from Robert Frank, who said “When people look at my pictures I want them to feel the way they do when they want to read a line of a poem twice”.

Tell us about Once Upon a Time in Medway. Was it something you’d always planned, or is it a build-up of years of shots in your hometown?

I started intentionally photographing areas of Medway back in 2018, but I had no plan in mind. It wasn’t until 2020, when I spent time specifically walking around my old neighbourhood, in Strood, and photographing the spots I spent a lot of time in as a youth that I started to see this body of work as a real project and connected with it on a whole new level. From then on, it naturally built into something I felt people may like to see.

What is the narrative behind the exhibition?

The work is an attempt to reflect the diverse character, environment and atmosphere that is felt and observed on the streets of Medway. Finding pockets of beauty inside the deprivation that lingers. I wanted to capture scraps of untold stories within the ordinary lives, forgotten spaces and old landscapes that make Medway what it is today. As someone who has grown up here, I hope to paint an honest and heartfelt picture, an endearing photographic record of this place. I hope Medway folk can connect with it on some level.

Do you have a favourite shot from the exhibition and, if so, why is it your favourite?

My favourite from the project is a photograph of an elderly gentleman sat outside a coffee shop on Rochester high street. There is a look in his eyes that just always gets me. That particular photograph won’t be part of the exhibition, but it can be found inside the photo-zine on sale.

INSTA: @bydangardner

INFO: www.bydangardner.com