Gail McGarva | Photography of Britain’s only female master boat builder.
I documented Gail’s work on two boats, Tempest and Black Venn; built between 2012 and 2015, with professional commercial photography. Britain’s only female master boat builder. I documented Gail’s work on two boats, Tempest and Black Venn; built between 2012 and 2015, with professional commercial photography.
Black Venn was built beside the Lyme Regis Boat Academy, close to The Cobb in Lyme Regis, Dorset.
‘From Tree to Sea’, Gail over saw everything, selecting the trees then into the required timber.
Tempest was built in a shed, which is now the club’s boat house beside Monmouth beach in Lyme Regis, Dorset.
Commercial Photography for Britain’s Only Female Master Boat Builder
Here is my photographic journey documenting Britain’s only female master boat builder, Gail McGarva, and the gig boats she has created for Lyme Regis Gig Club in Dorset.
How was the Photography executed?
All the work was shot with a Nikon D3 and a range of Nikon lenses. I also used a medium format Pentax 645, with Pentax prime lenses, shooting on black and white Kodak film. These professional commercial images were shot almost entirely in natural light, due to the lack of space restricting the use of additional artificial lighting equipment.
The resilience of these boats is amazing. The front end disappeared under water and leapt back up into the air; nearly half of the boat was ‘airborne’.
Dressed warmly, for it did get cold in the sheds, Gail often wore a neckerchief. When she would change that neckerchief for another she would tie it onto the boat or support somewhere.
I never did ask her why, but contended myself that the sweat of the day’s labour was soaked into the wood of the emerging craft. This captured, for me, an idea of how this builder became one with her labour of love.
It was a remarkable journey for me, a friendship forged, and a privilege to have documented the builds through my professional photography of Gail’s business and craft.
Delighted by the boats, the club made a further commission of Gail for a training boat and, in her honour, named it ‘Gale Force’. Gail McGarva BEM
