A Very Happy Photographer
On Friday I received an email from Fotospace Gallery in Fife saying that I was one of 12 photographers selected to exhibit in their gallery in December. I had entered my pictures on the off chance and when we got to mid November had assumed that nothing was going to happen and then bang. Had to work this weekend to get the pictures ready to be mounted this week as they have specific requirements and use their own frames but it was worth it.
Exhibition Planning
There are 6 weeks to go until my first exhibition. If you take out 2 weeks for Christmas and two weeks for mounting and framing then I effectively have about 2 weeks left to do some additional work. As I said in an earlier blog having visited the space I can divide the exhibition into 3 themes. I have decided to have the same themes as my website Land, Sea and Abstracts. I have selected 15 pieces so far from historical and current year work but I still need about 5 images so I need to get my backside off the chair and get out in some early light.
Been out to the exhibition space, again, and drawn a plan. Now back in the studio and with small 4 x 6 versions of the photos started laying them out in possible combinations and sequences. Managed so far to plan the areas for each theme now its just a question of what order the photos fit the themed plan. Very exciting trying to visualise the finished article and I just need to get some photos to fill in the gaps.
Just got my hands on the latest book by Bruce Percy – Iceland http://www.brucepercy.co.uk/index.html
It is colour, unusual for me. but it is long exposure. Often taken at night these are wonderful understated images. The colours are muted and not over saturated. Many of the pictures have washed up pieces of ice in the foreground which provide a light glacial blue counterpoint to the darker, gloomier background.
A wonderful book, go and buy it.
Exhibition Time
Spent a lot of time this week thinking and planning for my exhibition in January 2013. Went to the exhibition venue and began sketching out some possibilities. There are 3 distinct areas that I can use so I have been thinking about using 3 themes. I can probably display 18 images. The themes that come to mind are
Seascapes, Coast and possibly Belgium for a bit of a european flavour.
So I have been printing out images and arranging them on the floor to get an idea of which ones to use. I have about 30 potential images but I want to be hyper critical and get the best ones out there. At the same time I want to use the event as an opportunity to define my style.
I have been thinking about how to develop my style quite a bit recently. I am clearer on where I want to go, quite sparse dark images, using long exposure and just hints of detail on the horizon. I will use this style extensively on my Morecombe Bay work and hopefully develop something up that I can exhibit as a sole piece of work.
Finally, tomorrow I am off to Sheffield for the opening of the Sheffield Photography Competition and month long exhibition. It will be interesting to see how my pieces look and compare with the oppostion.
I have been interested in photography for most of my life. I have owned a variety of cameras since I was a teenager. In the last five years I have switched to digital photography and begun to take it more seriously. Since July of 2012 I have decided to try and turn this passion into a business and earn a living from my photography.
I am mainly self-taught. In 2008 I went on a landscape photography course with Jonathan Chritchley in the south of France. In July 2011 I took a 6 month distance learning course also with Jonathan.
I am passionate about Fine Art Landscape and Abstract photography based around the sea, coast, mountains, rivers and lakes. Although I originally started working in colour, through my tuition with Jonathan Chritchley and inspired by the work of Michael Kenna, I have now moved to working predominantly in black and white. I am attracted to the patterns of light in the sea, land and sky. I often use a long exposure to soften and blur the boundaries between sea and sky and bring the focus on the play of light in these areas. Using long exposure and camera panning techniques I have begun to create abstract images based on the differences in light and shade in the sea and sky. With my landscape photography I like to work with dramatic skies or grey skies where you get the light providing a variety of shades to work with in the finished picture.
Since December 2011 I have been living and working in Kendal, Cumbria. This gives me a great opportunity to explore the surrounding hills, mountains and coastal landscapes. In July 2012 I moved into my studio as part of the Green Door Studios based in Kendal.

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