By ALISON OLDHAM
Published in the Ham&High on 21st January 2008

Wedding photographers bear a heavy responsibility - to capture images to treasure at an event which can't be restaged. Dartmouth Park photographer Ruth Corney wears this "hat" as lightly, indeed gaily, as her many others. Her picture of a bride in a 50s outfit, chatting to her aunties aboard a boat on the Thames, has won the Lauderdale House Photography Competition.

Now in its 22nd year, the competition regularly attracts over 400 entries. The prize is an exhibition at the House, and Ruth's opened on Tuesday. Its title, Taking The Plunge, obviously refers to the winning shot and other wedding photographs including one at the Savoy, taken in a lift whose seats were recently auctioned. But also to the ongoing project for which Ruth is best known locally - her evocative photographs of the Heath swimming ponds and Parliament Hill Lido.

Several years ago she became a familiar figure among the bathers, with her equipment in a pushchair - a modern-day equivalent of Stanley Spencer with his easel in a pram. The exhibition has old favourites and recent shots focusing on atmosphere in different seasons. There is also her record of Amy Sharrocks's project Swim, where a party of swimmers toured London's bathing places, travelling between them in a double-decker bus.

This exhibition demonstrates the breadth of Ruth's interests, beginning with more personal work - still lifes. Documenting community-based projects is dear to her heart, such as a tapestry made by young and old at the Whittington Community Centre in Tufnell Park, organized by Rowan Arts.

Images from her most recent project, photographing elderly people in their gardens for Camden Council's Share My Garden scheme, are currently on display at Highgate Library.

The photographs in Taking The Plunge are for sale, with 10 per cent of proceeds going to Camden's Housebound Project, helping frail and elderly people to lead independent lives. An exhilarating exhibition and just reward for a photographer who has truly made her mark on north London.

Until next Sunday, January 27. Lauderdale House is in Waterlow Park, Highgate Hill N6. Open Tuesday to Friday 11am to 4pm, Saturday 1.30pm to 5pm and Sunday noon to 5pm. Weekend opening subject to private bookings so phone before visiting on 020 8348 8716 or visit the website www.ruthcorney.com.

From kite-flying in spring and summer picnics on the top of Parliament Hill, to autumnal rambles and wintry dips in the lido, Hampstead Heath is a year-round refuge for nature-starved city slickers. ‘Taking the Plunge’, a new exhibition of photographs by Ruth Corney, captures the life of the Heath through the seasons and is on display at nearby Lauderdale House.

The title refers to Corney’s focus on the 791-acre site’s watering holes – the art deco lido and the traditionally segregated ladies’, men’s and mixed ponds. Among the details captured, the artist picks out ‘the architecture and wonderful reflective qualities of the water at the lido’, and ‘the unique stillness of the ladies’ bathing pond’, from among the 50 or so images.

A shot of a subdued, snow-dusted lido is also particularly striking, while a summer downpour on the women’s swimming corner, and the Christmas Day race at the men’s pond illustrate the all-weather commitment of Hampstead Heath swimming fans. Incidentally, Corney’s ‘Lido Life’ exhibition of swimmers’ portraits is on display at Hampstead Heath Lido.

The photographs exhibited in ‘Taking the Plunge’ are for sale, with 10 per cent of the profits donated to The Housebound Charity, which provides health treatments and counselling to isolated Camden residents. Natash Polyviou, Mon Jan 7

Women & Health wish to extend their deep gratitude and heartfelt thanks to Ruth Corney for her generous donation of £855.00 to the Housebound Scheme.

The money that Ruth raised has gone towards subsidising 70 home visits, where isolated women in the community will be visited by a practitioner and given treatments in their home. The receipt of this money will enable Women & Health to expand this service by 40%.

Dive In
Hampstead Heath Bathing Ponds
Photographs by Ruth Corney

At the Everyman Cinema Club
January 22nd – February 22nd 2005

Photographer Ruth Corney has spent the last 5 years photographing swimmers at the Heath. Her atmospheric photographs are of swimmers and the environs of the ponds. “It changes throughout the year”, she said. “In the winter it’s beautiful, and I love it in the summer when it’s boiling hot and you want to jump in”.

The sights and sounds of Parliament Hill Fields’ Art Deco Lido are captured in a new photographic exhibition at the renowned outdoor pool on Hampstead Heath.

In Lido Life, Hampstead photographer Ruth Corney charts the past three years at the Grade II listed pool, including its recent £2.9million renovation with a selection of underwater shots that show off the lido’s new stainless steel lining and its wonderful reflective qualities.

In the café and in the foyer there are photographic portraits, architectural shots and images depicting the different weather conditions endured by the hardiest swimmers.

Ruth said: “I have always loved Hampstead Lido – the 1930’s architecture is fantastic and it is so spacious, which is a rare thing for swimming pools these days.

“One of the things I love the most is the variety of people who use the pool. It attracts different sorts of people at different times, from the really serious swimmers to families and groups of teenagers.”

Ruth’s photographs, commissioned by the Corporation of London which runs the Heath, are for sale and cost from £45.



****** see also Exhibition 2008 for more pictures

A book celebrating the life of the Princess of Wales containing photographs by Ruth Corney.

I visited Kensignton Gardens at seven o'clock on a beautiful sunny morning, the day after Diana's funeral. A peaceful stillness hung in the air as people walked by the gates, reading messages and adding their own thoughts and momentos. In amongst the flowers, the children's drawings shone out like bright rays.

After several more visits and photographs, I decided to approach a charity with the intention of using the material in a publication that would promote their cause and be a lasting tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales.

I contacted a charity called The Treehouse Trust, as I knew they were in the process of setting up a school for autistic children, and proposed that the charity benefit from the photographs, if used in the book. They responded with enthusiasm, and the book took off from there.

Click Here to purchase a copy!

Ruth Corney, photographer