A Picture of Port Isaac: Photographer Doon Williams

If you’ve visited our booking office, or if you’ve browsed the properties on our website, then you will already be familiar with the work of talented local photographer Doon Williams. Doon lives in neighboring Port Quin, and her photography can be divided into her personal work focussed on the ocean, coastline and wildlife, prints of which we are proud to have exhibited on our walls here, and her commercial work photographing properties and interiors, food and events.

We’re delighted to work with Doon, who produces the beautiful interior photography for our new properties, and also to exhibit her stunning art on the walls of our space on New Road.

At the end of July, as the school summer holidays started in earnest, we caught up with Doon to find out more about her connection to Port Isaac and this coastline, and her photography.

Can you tell us about how you came to be practicing your art in Port Isaac?

I am originally from North Cornwall which is where I grew up, and then I moved away to London where I was working in film and television as an art director. I loved my job more than anything but I always wanted to come back to Cornwall. I got to the end of my twenties and I felt like I needed a change of scene. Even though my job was going really well and I was working on some amazing projects, I decided it was time to come back to North Cornwall.

I got offered a job through a friend in Rock, taking pictures for a property company. I had used a camera a lot when I was art directing, so I said yes and decided to become a property photographer. I had been working in set design for a long time so interior photography came quite naturally. My brother is a wonderful commercial photographer, and he helped me to get my head around the technical side of cameras which was a huge help.

Now many years later and I'm still here, my kids are growing up here and I have my family close by so it has worked out really well.

Your photography is a celebration of the local area, from Port Isaac around to Rock. What is it that you find so special and inspiring about this varied coastline?

My love of the ocean goes back a long time. I grew up around boats and on the beach.

My mother is an ocean person and we spent a lot of time sailing when we were kids. We did a lot of Tall Ship sailing adventures which was I was very lucky to do.

From a very young age I was completely at home in the water and loved spending my time in and around it. That love never went away and it was the thing that always drew me back to Cornwall when I was living in London.

No two days are the same by the sea, and being able to photograph that and to photograph the ocean in every form and how it changes as the seasons change, particularly on this stretch of coastline, it's just a never-ending fascination. I could happily photograph the Cornish Coast for the rest of my life because it's so beautiful and raw here and the light is magical.

I love photographing it from above with my drone, I love photographing it from the cliffs, I love photographing it up close; it's just such a beautiful part of the world and it changes every day.

Your photographic output ranges from commercial work, such as photographing properties and events, through to your personal and artistic output photographing wildlife and the local landscape. Do you treat it all as a singular creative effort, or do you actively separate how you approach the different subjects?

This is an interesting question! I think I do now treat everything that I do as one creative effort and as a collective thing, because I think my style has developed over the years and whatever it is that I'm photographing, it tends to have a similar style running through it.

My personal ocean and coastal photography is my passion, but I also really love photographing people and events and interiors. When I'm out photographing the ocean it's the most relaxing time for me and I treat it as downtime away from the intensity of commercial work.

As time has gone on, I've tied it all together because I do enjoy all of it equally and I think I've got a kind of a similar approach to all of it these days. I try to make it all feel like “me” as much as I can, I guess!

What message or feeling do you hope that viewers take away from your work?

I feel like the message I want people to take away from my work is a kind of memory of a place and how it actually feels to have been there.

I hope that people look at my work and feel a little bit of escapism, or it reminds them of a certain thing or a feeling. I try to make my work warm, welcoming, and hopefully sometimes beautiful to have around. I want people to have a sense of love for a place, or a room, or whatever it may be. Many collectors of my prints live out of the county and take my images as a reminded of good times had by the sea, which is lovely.

What’s your favourite thing about Port Isaac, in particular?

I love the cottages. I've really enjoyed photographing the cottages. I think they're just so interesting and different, and every one of them is completely different to the next one, and I love that. I also love the ocean wildlife around Port Isaac; it's magical and I would happily go out on a boat every single day and watch the wildlife.

For an area that’s so familiar to so many people, and that has been photographed and filmed countless times, how do you choose to present Port Isaac and are you always looking for new perspectives or ways to showcase our village?

I like to photograph Port Isaac through my eyes. I'm very into the wildlife and nature side of it. I'm also really into garden photography, which is something that I've done a lot of in the last couple of years and I love the flora and fauna in Port Isaac throughout the year, but particularly the spring and summer. I know Port Isaac has been photographed a lot, so some of the views that I've taken recently, especially the drone photography, has been looking directly down onto the water and the rocks and studying the formations of rocks and reefs. It's not necessarily looking at that chocolate box view of the village and yes, I could do that, but I feel like I'm slightly more drawn to the patterns of the ocean around it.

There is some really wonderful food to photograph around Port Isaac too, with some amazing restaurants and cafes. There are some very cool things happening in the village and I hope I can represent it through my eyes and that people like it.

Do you have a favourite view of Port Isaac? And is it the same as your favourite view to photograph?

I live in Port Quin so I'm right next to Port Isaac, and I love the coastline between Port Quin and Port Isaac, and towards Lundy. It's just amazing. But I'd say one of my favourite views of Port Isaac is looking up the coast towards Trebarwith; it's such a massive curve and expanse of cliff line, and that whole coastline is magical. I spent so much time on the beaches to the North of Port Isaac in my childhood so that view is pretty special.

I also love photographing Port Gaverne, because there're so many rock formations there that look really beautiful from above.

How do you keep things interesting for yourself as a photographer and artist?

My work is pretty varied these days. I work for a lot of different people, I do some music and events, skincare, and then feasts and restaurants, as well as interiors.

I try every year to develop and focus on a new subject area, alongside my existing clients.

Photographing food has been my development focus this year and that has been amazing. There's so much to learn with photography always so I don’t think it will ever not be interesting to me.

As far as my prints are concerned, I think they will always excite me because every year everything changes and there’s always the opportunity to see something differently or from a completely different angle or in a different light, and I love that.

I'm looking outside at the sky right now - it's sunset and it looks beautiful, and if I wasn't exhausted probably be heading out with a camera to try and get a picture because the wind has switched to North Westerly this week so there's more cloud and more dramatic sunsets to be had. Photographing nature is an ever-evolving adventure and it never gets boring, and I'm really lucky that I absolutely love it, so long may it last!

What is your favourite season or time of year here, and why?

I love the summer and the crystal clear water that you get in May and June. The water being crystal clear just blows my mind. I also love the autumn and winter months because the low light is magical. So I love them all - I love the water in the spring and summer then I love the light in the autumn and winter. It’s magical all year round!

Can we get a few of your Port Isaac favourites and recommendations please?

Having a swim around Port Isaac is something that you've got to do if you’re able to. Even if it’s a bit wintry and cold, you never really regret it and I feel like having a swim in a sheltered cove is a really lovely thing to experience.

The coastline between Port Quin and Port Isaac is absolutely beautiful, although the coast path is pretty challenging so I wouldn't recommend it for everyone, but if you're fit and able then I really do encourage you to check it out because it is so beautiful along there with the views towards The Rumps.

You could very easily fill a day just wandering around Port Isaac and then finish with a beer or a glass of wine somewhere. I love a restaurant so if you can go to Outlaws Bistro then definitely do because it's great and he's a legend. Also I think that just seeing a sunset whilst you’re here too would be a high recommendation.

So a swim, a walk and a nice supper would be my recommendations for the perfect day in Port Isaac.

You can view a selection of Doon’s limited edition photography prints (all available to purchase for your own walls) in our booking office at 29, New Road, or if you’re not in Port Isaac then visit www.doonwilliams.com