The Allotments
Photographer Denise Maxwell documented local people in their Wednesbury allotments during lockdown; the photographs below were taken at Woden Road, Friar Park Road and Barlow Road Allotments.
“[Having an allotment] is therapeutic for me, I can just forget the world, with everything going on, I can still go to the allotment and do what I need to do. I can forget myself. You are at least 50 yards or more away from anyone so there is no risk. […] I grow green beans, I mostly go for things we eat regularly, french beans, potatoes, parsnips, cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli. We grow for the table, what we eat. So we will harvest it all, eat what we can fresh and freeze the rest. It’s better knowing it’s all been freshly grown.
I got into gardening through my dad, he used to love his garden, dad won awards in Coventry for the best kept garden. So it wasn’t growing in the same way, but I saw him grow flowers from bulbs and plant beds. When I got my allotment, it wasn’t just an allotment, I wanted it to be good and make it look presentable. Dad was into flowers, and wild flowers, rather than veg.” – Dave Collins
Denise has been a full time Owner and Photographer at Lensi Photography for 11 years. She started in event and portrait photography after leaving a full time job in the NHS, her portfolio has now expanded to cover genres including sports, fashion, weddings, photojournalism, music and corporate PR / marketing. Her work has been published in Vogue, The Independent and The Guardian, and her art exhibited at The Mac Birmingham and Harris Museum Preston.
Denise is part of the leadership team for UKBFTOG, which was formed in 2018 by Jemella Binns of Mellz Photography after being a part of multiple other groups and wondering where all the other creatives like herself were. It is centred around an online community providing a safe space for black female photographers based in the UK, after having isolating experiences in other groups.
