I have decided to create my first structure within my garden as it is my most accessible environment. I thought it would be a really good place to start to get back into den making as i could take my time building the structure and not have anyone staring at me in some random environment. It also means that i don’t have to transport my materials anywhere to build the den and so can consider exactly what materials would work best within the environment and the space.

I have decided to build the den in the same area that the dens within my garden were commonly built. I think this is because i know from experience that this area has  three tree structures which work well to begin my structure from. The area has actually changed significantly in the last 5 ish years since i was making dens as it is a bit more over grown because my sister and I don’t play in that space anymore. The massive tree we always used to use as a part of our den was also cut down. I still however think it is the best space in my garden for a couple of reasons. Firstly as we haven’t played there loads the overgrown nature of the area would work really well in the photographs to convey a wild jungle like feel. The den will look hidden with in the environment which could be a really interesting photograph to create. Secondly while i do want the environment to convey it is a garden i want to avoid having really man made object obvious within the frame. This particular area can be photographed from angles which show the fence and houses in the background but doesn’t include cars. Depending on how well this shoot goes i might then consider another den in my garden which revolves around a more man made environement.

I have decided for this shoot that i want to choose a day which is sunny so as to experiment with the blankets becoming see-through in the light. I think in my garden is the best place to work out whether the idea of the light through the material is going to work and i can also experiment with using different materials. I also want it to be slightly windy so i can have some movement to my structure. The area i am photographing however has no cover to it and so if its too windy this may become problematic as the structure wont stay up.

The next thing to consider is exactly which materials i am going to use. I need at least two very large blankets as these are to make up the roof and the back wall. The rest can be of varying sizes and i can patch work them together. Below are the photographs of the materials i’m planning to use. I think 5 blankets is about average for what i used to use to create when i was younger. I’m thinking about the fact that i need to have 4 walls and then a roof. I decided to choose blankets which blended into the environment to an extent. I choose blankets in colours of green and blacks but then also choose a vivid yellow blanket to incorporate. I think having this one really brightly coloured blanket might be quite interesting as wherever it is is going to stand out more vividly. The yellows will also bring out the yellows and oranges from the environment which are still left over from autumn. As well as choosing colours which match the environment the colours also compliment each other. I think this will be my first experimental shoot where i can see whether my ideas really work and come together. I might later do a shoot in which i use all clashing colours of blankets but as the area I’m photographing is overgrown and the den is going to appear like its hiding within the environment i wanted it to blend in.

I have also photographed some rope from in the shed and some pegs to hang the washing. Whenever we would create our dens in the garden we would use whatever we could get our hands on in order to  create our dens. I therefore simply looked around the garden to consider what was available to hand which i could use to build my dens.

I think this shoot is going to be a lot of experimenting to get back into how to build dens and whether my ideas are going to translate into a good photograph. I think i might end up changing a few elements after this initial shoot but i will need to consider this later.