I then went on a drive through Newhaven on the way to Piddinghoe. I decided to go this way as from previous experience of driving this way I had seen a lot of roadkill before. The first bit I came across was indistinguishable, it probably used to belong to a rabbit or fox. It was also in quite a dark wooded area and as there was nowhere proper to pull over we had to stop in the road, which was quite tricky and I didn't have to long to shoot! As a result, the image is quite dark.
Further on down the road we encountered a dead pheasant. Again this had obviously been there a while as it was very squashed. At this point we were actually able to pull into a farm track so I managed to get a few shots from different angles/perspectives. I also quite like the shadows cast from the trees, I feel it kind of adds a poignant loneliness to the place. Later that day when we drove back past the pheasant we saw a crow picking from the carcass. As we approached it flew away with a piece in its beak - if only we'd been a few minutes earlier I could have got a great shot!
As our journey down the road progressed we found the best roadkill of the day - a dead rabbit. This was quite hard for me to photograph as I love rabbits and hate seeing them lying dead in the road. However I persevered, and we were able to pull up and I took quite a few shots from different angles, and close up etc. The first one is probably my favourite. We were lucky as it must have been fairly recent as it wasn't too mashed up and was pretty much intact.
We then encountered another poor rabbit, again fairly intact, and we were lucky that it was near the drive to someones house as we were able to quickly pull up and take quite a few shots. Again I like the shadows cast on the road.
Being unable to find any ghostbikes remaining in Brighton - they tend to stay for 12 weeks then get taken away by the Highways Agency - I decided the next best thing to shoot was another form of roadside tribute - flowers. You see a lot of these on the roadside, and I was able to find a nice bunch up near the racetrack. The sky was a brilliant blue that day which really contrasts well against the orange of the flowers.
I decided to experiment with both landscape and portrait shots to see which worked best. In the end I think the landscape ones look better with a bit of empty space next to them, as it kind of illustrates the soilitude and emptiness around them.
This next image is one of my favourites as I unintentionally caught a car going past. I think it makes quite a poignant image and again signifies solitude. By the point the sun was starting to set so it has come out a little dark - which, on one hand, feels works quite well. I intend to go back and re shoot this image to see if I can get it better.
I also decided to look at more unusual road signs rather than the usual ones you get in town, as I was able to find a few animal related ones which would tie in well with my roadkill shots. It was getting dark at this point but I quite liked the effect the light had on the signs.
I tried shooting all the signs both portrait and landscape to see which worked better, and in this instance I feel that the portrait ones did.
I feel this image could maybe do with being a little lighter, or even using flash to really bring the sign out.
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