CLASSIC BOAT JANUARY 2018 45
DEN PHILLIPS: 30 YEARS OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Den Phillips was at art college and experimenting with black-and-white photography when she
started taking photos of the barges she sailed on in races on the UK east coast. A hobby became a
career and three decades later she has taken some of the iconic images of the classic yacht revival.
Always shooting in her signature black-and-white, inspired by the turn-of-the-century photos of
Frank Beken, Den’s images inevitably conjure up times past, yet more often they illustrate the
vibrancy and fun of today’s classic boat world. Celebrating three decades of her popular calendar
this year, we asked Den to choose her favourite photos from her time behind the lens.THROUGH
DEN’S LENS
Dogwatch
and Deadeyes.
Ship’s dog Matey
(owned by east coast
stalwart Lena Reekie)
aboard Whitstable
smack Emmeline at the
Mersea Oyster
Dredging Match, 2003.
It took quite some time
to get Matey to pose,
and the crew were also
busy dredging oysters,
but we got there in the
end. This too has
become a popular
image over the years.