Roadside cafes

Vanessa at Old Sodbury, South Gloucestershire

One important lesson I have learned when planning projects for my college course is that there is no easy route to success. You have to be prepared to work hard for your pictures.

Last year, I carried out a project focusing on Bristol's Spanish community. It involved lots of travelling round to introduce myself to people, before staging several shoots. I lost count of the number of individual visits I made overall.

The reason I say this is because the project I mentioned in my last post has proved extremely difficult to get going. I've been firing off emails to potential subjects, but it looks as though I am going to have to work a lot harder than that to get my foot in the door. The response has been abysmal.


Today, in my frustration, I brought forward another project I had been planning. And, thankfully, I have managed to get a few decent shots in the bag.

I am fascinated by lay-by cafes, the people who run them and the places where they are located. I know of several in the region where I live, so I set out early this morning to capture a couple of them. Forget emails, the only way to get this material is by turning up at the scene and persuading the cafe-operators to help you.

I get edgy in these situations, half-expecting to be told where to go! But all the people I met were lovely, and they were happy to have their photos taken.

It's a breath of fresh air to meet people for the first time and learn about their lives. And it was a treat to get out into the countryside - some of these cafes are in quite spectacular places.

I have a good feeling that the lay-by project could blossom into something special.