"My name is Rebecca Lee Honour and I'm 19. Currently I am finishing my HND in photography at Salisbury College, and going on to complete my BA Hons Degree in Photomedia next year to become a Bournemouth University Graduate. The areas of photography I want to specialise in are Documentary and Photojournalism, although hopefully I will become a Photo Editor when I graduate.

My idea behind the documentary of the allotments was to create something, which people would not recognise or relate to an allotment site. I created three series of images; the first resembled a poverty-stricken country; the second was reminiscent of a carpet sample book; and the third concentrated on perspective and objects. Originally I did not intend this to be how the final documentary would look; I had intended it to focus on the people and their stories of why they had an allotment. But on arriving for the first day of shooting I noticed that many of the plots were covered in carpet, so this allowed me to take the documentary in a different direction."

A visit to Woodside Allotments took a rather unusual twist for local photography student, Rebecca Honour, who imagined she would be focusing on people and their plots.

Many plots that should be under full cultivation at Woodside Avenue lie vacant in the wake of the Borough Council’s ban on letting at this site.  Instead of lush rows of vegetables and stories of home-grown, Rebecca was confronted with tens of vacant plots covered with carpet by remaining plot holders to suppress the weeds.  Far from being put off, Rebecca was intrigued and inspired.  The resulting images captured on film by this budding photographer form a stunning portfolio of artwork that has earned her a distinction for her HND in Photography.

An exhibition of her work was seen at Eastleigh’s Swan Centre Library from 18^th June to 7^th July 2007.

Rebecca can be contacted at

rebecca_honour@hotmail.co.uk