Women in the sea pictured in photographic project by Shepherdswell photographer Charlotte Broster
13:05, 21 July 2021
updated: 13:07, 21 July 2021
A photographer from Dover has begun a project of showing women in the sea.
Charlotte Broster, of Shepherdswell, has just begun the task and hopes the work will be eventually publicly exhibited.
The photos show women on the Kent coast in places such as Deal, Whitstable, Dungeness and Botany Bay in Broadstairs.
The images have been taken during a so-called golden hour, before the sun sets when the light is at its best.
Dover itself will be used as a location shortly.
Mrs Broster explained: “It started by accident.
"I’d been spending a lot of therapeutic evenings on Kent beaches with my camera, enjoying the sunsets and thinking of creative ways to photograph this wild landscape.
"One evening in Botany Bay I asked my friend to paddle out into the waves in her yellow dress and there it was – my first portrait!”
Some of Mrs Broster's portraits have been taken as part of family photo sessions.
Others have been commissioned by self-employed women who want something different to promote their businesses.
For Mrs Broster the allure of the sea started in the New Year when she relocated with her family from Hampshire to Kent.
She said: “After the big move, I felt very unsettled, but the sea provided a lot of consolation, solace and direction.
"I felt compelled to explore and exploit it for creative purposes. I even started swimming in it every week.
"The sea a liberating place to be photographed and is synonymous with certain themes like adventure, freedom and identity, all of which I weave into my brand.
“These sea portraits are becoming more and more iconic. I’m receiving lots of enquiries from women who want to be photographed in this way.”
Mrs Broster, a married a mother-of-three, is an outdoor portrait photographer.
She is part of a hashtag group called #mumventure encouraging wives and mothers to go out on their own to take on outdoor pursuits such as 5k running, paddle boarding or exploring new country footpaths.
Last year she walked all 184 miles of the Thames Path from source to sea, in 20-miles at a time.
To find out more about Mrs Broster and her work visit her website theoutdoorstudio.co.uk
