On Sunday the 12th of June I visited three local photography exhibitions that were part of Dorset Arts Weeks.
The first artist that I visited was Charles Hallsworth. This display of works was set in the beautiful grounds of Mangerton Mill, exhibited in Charles’ working studio area. Charles is a full time artist and photographer and has been for over ten years. He was taught to use a camera by his grandfather who was a keen photographer and his father’s pastime of ornithology gave Charles his knowledge and love of nature. Each of Charles’ pieces are a personal response to the landscape around him.
I enjoyed Charles’ black and white photography greatly. His use of light I find highly evocative and compelling. Many of his images involve natural light as the subject in the frame or in the bathing and defining of the subject matter. In the series there were no people or figures, only man made structures and machines, – a shed, a rooftop, a tractor and the varying levels of light and shadow. Charles’ work is very still and quiet, it denotes a point somewhere between full nature and the buzz of human activity. As someone who enjoys less crowded environments I feel a sense of calm when I view the series. For me personally the set seemed to depict a break from the bustle of everyday life, some solace and quiet, a time to reflect and enjoy one’s surroundings.
Of the displayed work I felt most drawn to “Mangerton Mill 4”. The photograph is in black and white and is square in dimension. The image depicts a long outbuilding in deep shadow under a band of young trees. There is a large area of grass between the viewer and the outbuilding and a late evening sun bathes the grass in soft light, throwing the shadows of the slim tree trunks across the foreground. I like how long the shadows are, and how they form the subject, taking any of the glory away from the black detail-less buildings. The whole scene is in focus, yet the eye is ever drawn back to the long black shadow poles, looming and distorted.
I would use Charles’ intuitive light play in my own work and I would also like to have a go at shooting some scenes whereby human interaction is a presence but is not directly in the scene at that time. Something about the absence of the machine’s operators and the house’s inhabitants invites the viewer to feel something, whether it be loneliness, nostalgia, calm, forbearing or a mixture of them all and it leaves a lot to be imagined and interpreted – who are the people that these man-made objects belong to?
The second artist that I visited was Paul Taylor. Paul is an art photographer based in Bridport, Dorset. His work explores the mundane and less obvious in the South-West of England using colour, texture and humour.
I found Paul’s work greatly inspiring, especially on the bare brick walls around me. I like Paul’s style, how he finds an interesting image in the most unusual places such as scrap yards and old run-down areas. I think that lots of his work has a kind of man-made/natural connection as the wilderness around abandoned vehicles, sheds, buildings etc takes over. I also like the colours, Paul finds very vibrant colours in nature and there is always a good contrast between the different colours. Lots of Paul’s images are very abstract and these I found less intriguing on postcards etc but more interesting on the walls of his bare studio – it gave them a new meaning, they were rectangles of differing colour and texture both complimenting and clashing with the bare red brick walls. I would use Paul’s style in my own work, his work has inspired me to look for images in areas where I wouldn’t think to look -there is always a picture to be found.
The last photography exhibition that I viewed was the work of Sally Davies. I wasn’t particularly interested in Sally’s style but it was good to view another style all the same.
Most of Sally’s work is very abstract and still-life, such as vibrant purple petals and perfection in nature (the picture perfect, flawless flowers/plants). Sally often manipulates her images digitally by adding extra saturation and vibrancy, mirroring, enlarging and the addition of other elements to the frame. One image that I did particularly like was an autumnal woodland scene, orange beech leaves line the floor of the wood and the tree trunks stand out like big bendy statues, the green from lichen complimenting the brassy orange of the leaf fall. Sally had added a small robin to the woodland floor and I felt quite confused by this. I don’t personally think that the superimposed robin was necessary, I think the image said a thousand words about the area that it was taken and the time of day/year, the weather, the natural light, possibly the smell of the place and the feel and I felt that the little robin was taking something away from the honesty of the shot. Overall I think that Sally has a great eye and a good imagination but her style is not one that I would necessarily use in my own work.
Expressing Your Vision 