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Kingdom of the East Angles

A Film Project of the East Anglian Landscape

David Hawkins-Weeks @hawkinsweeks.eurosky.social

Oct 24, 20265 min read

ast Anglia in the east of England, where we moved to 14 years ago, stretches from Norfolk and Suffolk in the east to Cambridgeshire in the west. It is mainly low-lying with large parts of it bounded by the North Sea and a far cry from Yorkshire where we moved from. Large parts of the land were originally marsh, with significant coastal erosion causing alluvial deposits and isolated spits of land, until the drainage of the fenlands in the 17th Century.

A black and white, square-format photograph captures a wide, desolate beach under a vast, pale sky.
The shoreline curves gently from the left side of the frame toward the distant horizon. Gentle waves lap at the dark, wet sand in the foreground, where the texture of pebbles and small stones is visible. To the right, a long, dark dune or cliffside slopes upward, running parallel to the beach. In the middle distance, a solitary figure walks away along the sand, adding a sense of scale and solitude to the expansive, quiet landscape. The image features a soft, slightly grainy texture with dark vignetting around the edges. — A black and white, square-format photograph captures a wide, desolate beach under a vast, pale sky. The shoreline curves gently from the left side of the frame toward the distant horizon. Gentle waves lap at the dark, wet sand in the foreground, where the texture of pebbles and small stones is visible. To the right, a long, dark dune or cliffside slopes upward, running parallel to the beach. In the middle distance, a solitary figure walks away along the sand, adding a sense of scale and solitude to the expansive, quiet landscape. The image features a soft, slightly grainy texture with dark vignetting around the edges.

Dunwich Beach, Suffolk #2, 2025

I started this landscape photography project in 2025 as a way of interpreting these flat lands, its history and subtle variations. Because most of the geography is very flat, it lends itself to sweeping landscapes and, in the famous words of the 18th Century painter, John Constable, who described it as ‘the land of big skies’. I also love Noel Coward’s pithy quote from his 1930 play Private Lives, “Very flat, Norfolk".

A gritty, black and white photograph captures the stark silhouette of a large, bare oak tree standing against a pale, overcast sky.
The intricate, twisting network of branches forms a dense canopy in the centre of the frame. Smaller, out-of-focus trees form a dark, solid horizon line along the bottom. The entire image has a heavy film grain, heavily textured dust spots, and a dark vignette around the edges, giving it an atmospheric and antique quality. — A gritty, black and white photograph captures the stark silhouette of a large, bare oak tree standing against a pale, overcast sky. The intricate, twisting network of branches forms a dense canopy in the centre of the frame. Smaller, out-of-focus trees form a dark, solid horizon line along the bottom. The entire image has a heavy film grain, heavily textured dust spots, and a dark vignette around the edges, giving it an atmospheric and antique quality.

Winter Tree Silhouette #2, Norfolk, 2025

To give historical context, the Kingdom of the East Angles was a small independent kingdom of the Angles dating from the 6th Century during the Anglo-Saxon period. The kingdom consisted of the now English counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and part of Cambridgeshire and was one of seven kingdoms until it was absorbed into the Kingdom of England in the 10th Century.

A black and white, square-crop photograph captures waves crashing onto a dark, pebbly shoreline under a heavy, overcast sky. The image has a grainy texture, with prominent dark circular spots scattered across the upper portion, resembling a vintage pinhole camera effect or film defects. The shoreline extends from the bottom left corner diagonally towards the distant upper right, where the land meets the horizon line. White foam from a receding wave dominates the lower right foreground, its edge cutting sharply against the dark pebbles. The sea stretches out to the right, showing slight texture from waves further out.

Shingle Foam, Dunwich, 2026

One of my favourite cameras is actually one of my cheapest, my Holga 120N, which uses 120 film in a square format. Because it is made of fairly rudimentary plastic, including the fixed lens, it has a ‘hit and miss’ operation with each frame, with aberrations, blurring and vignetting from the lens, and the occasional light leaking from the camera body. All of this together, means it has a certain vibe or aesthetic and produces some beautiful and, often surprising lo-fi results. I wanted to try to represent the East Anglian landscape from a much more lo-fi, smaller scale and intimate way than heading for hi-res digital or medium format film cameras.

This black and white photograph captures a serene and deeply atmospheric lake landscape. In the centre, a bare, thin tree branch sticks out of the calm water, creating a clear, dark reflection that mirrors its intricate, twiggy shape. The stillness of the lake creates a flawless, glassy mirror effect, forming a nearly symmetrical silhouette against the water.
In the background, a soft, out-of-focus treeline traces the horizon under an overcast sky. The image features a strong, artistic vignette with heavily darkened corners and a grainy texture reminiscent of classic analogue film. The high contrast between the deep blacks of the wood and the muted greys of the water evokes a moody, quiet, and contemplative atmosphere. — This black and white photograph captures a serene and deeply atmospheric lake landscape. In the centre, a bare, thin tree branch sticks out of the calm water, creating a clear, dark reflection that mirrors its intricate, twiggy shape. The stillness of the lake creates a flawless, glassy mirror effect, forming a nearly symmetrical silhouette against the water. In the background, a soft, out-of-focus treeline traces the horizon under an overcast sky. The image features a strong, artistic vignette with heavily darkened corners and a grainy texture reminiscent of classic analogue film. The high contrast between the deep blacks of the wood and the muted greys of the water evokes a moody, quiet, and contemplative atmosphere.

Lackford Lakes, Suffolk, 2026

I concentrate now almost exclusively in black and white because I love shifting the focus to shapes, geometry, textures and tones and, for this project, have used a mix of Ilford HP5 Plus (400 ISO) and Formapan Creative (200 ISO), depending on the lighting conditions. Both of these have a strong grain structure which works well with the Holga and gives the right lo-fi vibe I am after for this project.

An atmospheric black-and-white photograph of a weathered stone cross headstone standing in a churchyard. The grave is surrounded by tall, unkempt meadow grass that reaches halfway up the cross, with dark, blurred trees forming a somber background.

The Cross in the Grass, Bungay, Suffolk, 2026

The camera and vibe give me the opportunity to view aspects of the East Anglian landscape from a more intimate perspective and to pick up the smaller details that could be missed using larger and finer cameras.

A moody, black and white photograph captures a wooden telegraph pole standing prominently in the landscape against a cloudy evening sky.
The dark pole is positioned on the right side of the frame, with power lines stretching away towards the top right. In the far distance, a low, dark hill line spans the horizon, featuring another much smaller pole silhouetted against the light. The sky is filled with soft, scattered clouds, and the entire image has a grainy, atmospheric quality with a heavy dark vignette blurring the bottom edge. — A moody, black and white photograph captures a wooden telegraph pole standing prominently in the landscape against a cloudy evening sky. The dark pole is positioned on the right side of the frame, with power lines stretching away towards the top right. In the far distance, a low, dark hill line spans the horizon, featuring another much smaller pole silhouetted against the light. The sky is filled with soft, scattered clouds, and the entire image has a grainy, atmospheric quality with a heavy dark vignette blurring the bottom edge.

Lines, Norfolk, 2025

This project is ongoing with a lot of locations and details still to cover over the next few years. You can find the complete works to date on my website: Kingdom of the East Angles - Hawkins-Weeks Photography.

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Hawkins-Weeks Photography @hawkinsweeks.eurosky.social