Peak Perseverance Documentary

Hi, I'm Simon Riddell, and I am raising money to fund a feature-length documentary film called Peak Perseverance. The documentary will be filmed during the winter season of 2022 on the Isle of Skye, in the Highlands of Scotland.

The film has two main aspects, one of which is focused on mental health and my recovery from PTSD. The other aspect is centred on Victorian wet plate collodion photography. I tell my story intimately, including footage of the therapy I have gone through, such as EMDR, and an interview with my therapist, which goes into unique detail about what PTSD is, what symptoms I have suffered with and how therapy aims to help me recover. Peak Perseverance is a story of resilience, which aims to inspire positivity surrounding mental health and will hopefully encourage others to reach out for help.

I delve into the cathartic nature of my primary photographic initiative called Mental Collodion, which has been well-published since its start during the COVID-19 era in many analogue photography magazines and forums. The documentary will show how art can aid self-discovery and healing, and I will explain the concept behind each wet plate I created during that horrific time.

Wet plate collodion is the most technical of photographic techniques, with only around 1000 people in the world currently practising. You will see me overcome various forms of adversity, including when the film takes a drastic turn, and I take wet plate collodion to the infamous Cuillin Ridge, which is undoubtedly the most revered section of U.K. mountaineering. Essentially, I take the hardest photographic discipline to the most brutal, and unconducive environment. Explosive chemicals, open flames, 1851 alchemy out in the harsh environment of the Cuillin Mountain! There is a high risk of failure within this project, but I aim to challenge people to push themselves, to not get too comfy, to embrace failure and to continually improve.

Peak Perseverance explores my psyche and explains why I continually step out of my own comfort zone and how I overcome challenges physically, mentally and technically. The latter part of the film sees me team up with expert mountain guide Adrian Trendall from All Things Cuillin, where we make our initial journey to make wet plates at the crash site of an American fighter jet in December 2022. Thereafter, we will spend multiple overnight expeditions, isolated and exposed up on the ridge, in an attempt to make more wet plates using the same methods invented by Frederick Scott Archer in the nineteenth century at locations such as the Inaccessible Pinnacle and Sgurr Alasdair (the highest peak in Skye).

The majority of the funds will go towards purchasing chemicals (wet plate collodion is extremely costly) and some essential outdoor filming equipment, as well as being allocated to logistics such as travelling and post-production.

Any person or organisation who donates more than £100 will be entered into a prize draw to have the chance of winning one original wet plate created on the mountain as part of the documentary; in addition to this, they will receive a print of one of the plates. Any person or organisation who donates more than £20 will receive a signed postcard of one of the plates created on the mountain.

Phases one and two of the project are now complete, which took some considerable time and effort. I have created plates at locations such as the Quiraing, the Old Man of Storr, Fairy Pools, Glamaig, Marsco, and the Cuillin Ridge (from the base) to date. All of these can be viewed at my official website: SRFilmPhotography

Many thanks for taking the time to read through, and I hope that you enjoy this journey with me.