Refelections on another Whitby Goth Weekend.

Twice a year i'm asked "You'll have been photographing the goth's this weekend have you ?" When i answer that i havn't, people are most surprised. So with that in mind, here's the reasons why:

When the Goth's started coming to Whitby en masse 20 years ago, the town had never seen anything quite like it, but as a consequence for simply dressing differently, they endured a lot of abuse - getting thrown in the harbour & the local clergy declaring them evil devil worshippers being just two examples. Yet they still came & as word filtered out it became more & more popular. It was of course, a photographers' paradise, which i fully embraced for a few years, even getting involved with The Northern Ballet Theatre's Dracula production & the postal stamp launch. Having felt i covered the event pretty throughly, it was time to move-on.

As the years rolled by, it was interesting to note a slow but steady increase in both "Fancy Dress Goths" ( more Dowton Abbey than Goth )  & "Photographers" ( guys with camera's more interested in displays of flesh than interesting pictures ) . Fast forward to now & most proper Goth's i know, many of whom moved here because of the Goth connection, avoid the whole weekend entirely, as the vibe is all wrong. That's why i don't take any pictures of it anymore.