Abstractions: Intimate Landscapes
My more recent photography has been veering away from views,
or vistas - wide descriptions of landscapes that represent what
my eyes see on human scales - and I've begun to hone in on the more abstract. I've started to explore
the interaction of light with form, shape, and texture; to try and find and present some kind of
order out of the seemingly random or chaotic patterns and structures found within the wider landscape.
In creating these 'macro-landscapes' I hope to connect the viewer more intimately with details of the
landscape which he or she may normally overlook, or at least not have seen or noticed in quite the same way. One of my favourite subjects is sand patterns; when the oblique golden light of
the evening sun casts shadows across a tiny piece of beach, can resemble alien planetoids photographed from orbit.
I'm only beginning my journey along this aspect of landscape
photography but it's currently what I find the most fascinating.
Elgol, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Elgol, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Elgol, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Pen y Fan, Brecon Beacons, Wales
Skara Brae, Mainland Orkney, Scotland
Trickle Patterns in Sand, Isle of Harris, Scotland
These tiny water channels were carved by a temporary water runoff after squally Spring showers. The low-angled setting
sun enhances the natural golden colour of this pristine Hebridean sand and accentuates the intricate troughs and ridges.
Sand patterns, Sussex, England
Sand ridges, Mainland Orkney, Scotland
Taken on an Orcadian beach at sunset.
Elgol, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Coastal rock formations, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Elgol Lichen, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Talisker Beach, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Aira Beck, Lake District, England
I was attracted by the autumn leaves pinned under the water, while multi-threaded streams cascaded over the
rocks dividing the image into two halves, one glassy smooth and reflective and the other white frothy chaos.
Dry Stone Wall, Cumbria, England
A blend of stone, lichen and moss.
Rackwick Beach, Hoy, Orkney Isles, Scotland
Rackwick Beach, Hoy, Orkney Isles, Scotland
Rackwick Beach, Hoy, Orkney Isles, Scotland
These ebony pebbles buried in the sand caused the receding tide to carve gentle channels around them as it went.
Tasman Glacier, Mt Cook National Park
Tasman Glacier, Mt Cook National Park
Shells and seaweed, Sussex coast, England
Or two volcanoes, forested valleys and a tectonic faultline on some distant planet?
Mewslade Beach, Gower, South Wales
Fallen Tree, Ashdown Forest, England
This fallen tree and its surrounding carpet of leaves were all covered in ice from the previous night's hoar frost. I had trouble
finding an image that I liked until, with the sun just risen and casting a diffuse red glow through the forest, I leant over the tree
and saw the simple symmetry created by centering the trunk. The end branches take on the appearence of antlers from this angle,
which is fitting given that just before we had reached this clearing in Ashdown Forest we'd startled a large group of fallow deer.
Deadwood, Denali National Park, Alaska
Although we were at Denali in late spring, the previous autumn's leaves still carpeted the floor of the boreal forest, perfectly
preserved under the winter's snow.
Hoar Frosted Tree, Wales
Finding a composition in this forest of hoar-frosted
trees took a little time. I wanted a simple image, showing the texture of branch and ice, and eventually found these two trees,
close together so that their branches are intertwined in each other.
Elm in morning light, Sussex, England
With the tree canopy in full light, the branches were dark and prominent as I looked up at this Elm. They took upon the appearance of
veins supplying nutrients to an organ, and I framed this image to try and emphasise the obvious parallel with human physiology.
Fern On Silver Birch, Sussex, England
Here I was attracted to the juxtaposition of textures: the simple beauty of a browned fern in its dying days, resting against a fallen
log of silver birch, all bathed in a soft silvery light.
Rock formations at Sandymouth Beach, Cornwall, England
The strong angled folds of sandstone and shale strata glow under a setting sun, contrasting red hues with the blue pebbles of the beach.
Quartz seams in granite, Strangles, Cornwall, England
My geologist friend tells me these seams used to be one continuous line, before millions of years of movement
resulted in the line fracturing to form these patterns which remind me of tiger stripes.
Strangles, Cornwall, England, England
What is this an image of? What is represented? Which way is up, and how big is it? Are the colours real?
Ambiguity of scale
lends mystery, as the viewer tries to work out what's being shown. If I'd stepped back and shown the full scene - this
subject in its context, perhaps with a horizon and sky included - the magic of the shapes and colours formed by the play of light and shadow would
have been diluted or even lost. This was my subject, and so I let it fill the entire frame. (And by the way, of course the colours are real!)
Sea froth
North Cornwall, England
Fractured Rock I, Cornwall, England
Fractured Rock II, Cornwall, England
