Camera club monthly assignment: Photographing the recession

Two women enter Margate Discount Store. A low shutter-speed captures a sense of their movement Photograph: Alicia Canter for the Guardian Boarded-up shops in the arcade at Arlington Square Photograph: Alicia Canter Dave's Hamburger Bar is one of the arcade's few surviving shops Photograph: Alicia Canter for the Guardian A close-up of Calum (right), the owner's stepson, and Ian, a regular customer at Dave's. Try to talk to people in the town you visit – they might be able to give you some insight into the situation there Photograph: Alicia Canter Photograph: Alicia Canter for the Guardian The joke shop is one of the arcade's last few shops. In this shot you can see open and closed premises side by side Photograph: Alicia Canter Photograph: Alicia Canter for the Guardian Tamburlaine Robb-John's family have run the joke shop for 40 years. Look for reflections like the one in the window Photograph: Alicia Canter Photograph: Alicia Canter for the Guardian A wide-angle lens and the blue sky adds drama to this photograph Photograph: Alicia Canter Photograph: Alicia Canter for the Guardian A wider shot shows the town in the background Photograph: Alicia Canter Photograph: Alicia Canter for the Guardian Some repeat pattern in a straight shot of the bay windows Photograph: Alicia Canter Photograph: Alicia Canter for the Guardian More repeat pattern in a close-up, with a sticker in the bottom-left to add interest Photograph: Alicia Canter Photograph: Alicia Canter for the Guardian The richer colours of the doors and frames complement the metal window-shields Photograph: Alicia Canter Photograph: Alicia Canter for the Guardian A lock on the door of this abandoned pub. Details like this can make for great shots Photograph: Alicia Canter Photograph: Alicia Canter for the Guardian Dreamland is an amusement park first opened in 1920. It was once a popular attraction but its fortunes, like the town's, have suffered. The sky offers negative space against which to balance the dark scaffolding Photograph: Alicia Canter Photograph: Alicia Canter for the Guardian Supergift, a closed shop on Margate's seafront. This picture is split into near-thirds, making it look layered Photograph: Alicia Canter Photograph: Alicia Canter for the Guardian The view through the muggy windows of an old amusement arcade. Only five machines remain inside Photograph: Alicia Canter Photograph: Alicia Canter for the Guardian A closed-down arcade on the seafront allows for some repeat pattern and the use of the doors to create a vanishing point Photograph: Alicia Canter A charity shop remains closed through the winter Photograph: Alicia Canter Photograph: Alicia Canter for the Guardian