A photographer who travels the country with a vintage wet plate camera will document the lives of lifeboat volunteers in the north-east next month.
Jack Lowe founded the Lifeboat Station Project in 2015 with the goal of preserving each of the UK’s 238 stations and their volunteers.
And to date, he has photographed about 100.
He now hopes to add a few more in June when he will visit the crews of Buckie, Macduff, Fraserburgh, Peterhead and Aberdeen with his mobile darkroom – a converted ambulance he has dubbed “Neena”.
Last night, Mr Lowe said the journey to the north-east will be a “homecoming”.
“I was born in Aberdeen and spent the first few weeks of my life living out of a caravan in Peterhead,” Mr Lowe said.
“My dad was a deep-sea diver and I’m told he helped build some of the harbour in Peterhead.
“He also owned a boat, and I’ve spent some time with that in Buckie. The last time I was there was in 1997.”
The project has been lauded by the RNLI who uses his ancient-looking images to promote the work of the charity.
Mr Lowe, who lives in Newcastle, added: “It started when I was looking for a change of direction in my life, and I looked to my childhood passions.
“I’ve had a camera since I was eight, and I’ve had an interest in lifeboats since I was young.
“But this is about documenting the stations for future generations. In a lot of ways, the photographs are secondary to the story it tells.
“A lot of the people I photograph come and see the images being developed in the darkroom and say they look like the heroes of old.
“We put these men from the 1800s on a pedestal, and – sure – the equipment is different today, but there is still that core sense to drop everything and go out to help someone at sea.”
Ahead of his visit to the north-east, which kicks-off on June 10 at Buckie Lifeboat Station, Mr Lowe is hosting a talk about the project on June 7 at the Highland Council building, Inverness.
Tickets are available at www.bit.ly/2jk2JED
