Water (2007) is a vibrant macro photograph of a water droplet. The leaf’s colours and structure in the background make it as though the water droplet is perhaps a microorganism. The water droplet would usually just be something that a viewer would simply ignore or think is mundane; however, turning it into the focal point and making it look as though it’s alive gives it a renewed interest in the droplet. We are thus studying the water droplet in this lens and entering into its quite microscopic world interacting with the plant, or perhaps the water is the dew from the plant, and it is a study of the plant’s biological process.
The pinkish colour makes the photograph feel as though it is examining the plant’s chemical properties and how it interacts with the water. Yet, there is still the more natural green that permeates through the right side of the image, keeping us grounded in the exploration of the natural world. Thus, the photograph creates a beautiful image not only artistically but also with a scientific appearance, inviting us to explore the more smaller details of the plant in which the droplet lies.
Erosion (2007) is set in a very monochromatic palette with a high amount of exposure that makes the photograph feel much more direct and gives it an abrasive texture. As a result of the extreme exposure, the lights and shadows contrast greatly and improve these textural elements in the photograph, which helps to isolate the centre region from the rest of the background. The black-and-white colour also helps to reduce the vibrancy of the natural landscape and reduce it to, as the title suggests, an eroded landscape.
The soil is gritty, and what is left of the grass tufts seem to look like they are dying, and the landscape looks polluted. We get to observe the process of erosion happening before us in this photograph as the vegetation seems to cling to the remains of what was there, yet it seems it is moving as it changes and shifts the landscape. We are stuck between a more lush scene and a more barren scene.
Lakeland Triptych (2024) is a wondrous panorama of the Helvellyn mountains- however, it is done in three different views, allowing for variation between each sequence. As each sequence is sudden and fractured, it allows for an elongated perception, as we see each part as slightly different. Being shot from a moving car’s passenger seat directly challenges the conventional idea of landscape photography being still and taken in the same place as this panorama was taken while on the move rather than in stillness.
As the car was moving, it created a sudden change and added chance to each segment of the composition—there may perhaps be blurs, reflections, and other randomness from the road, giving it more personality than the conventional landscape photograph. It merges human movement (or perhaps mechanical in this case, as the car is the vehicle) with the landscape, showcasing both as a constantly changing environment.
Fern (2007) is a soft photograph of an undamaged fern that leans forward towards the left of the photograph delicately. Despite being stripped of colour, the photograph is teeming with life as the entire composition is filled with ferns and other flora. By stripping it of colour, however, we are invited to explore more of the texture and details of the ferns: the serrated edges, the triangular structure of the fern itself and their gentle lean. Usually, ferns are so common in hedgerows that they would often be overlooked- so by utilising the fern as a subject, it is given much greater importance as a natural object of beauty.
The darker background allows us to focus on the fern presented before us, though the background being of the same subject gives importance to the one highlighted—as it is the only flora given providence. The light that hits the fern paired with the higher exposure improves the textures on the fern, as they appear more fuzzier from the dark, grittier parts of the fern.
Columbine in Blue (2023) is a set of two angles of the same Aquilegia flower separated into four composition parts. The flower’s colours have been inverted, turning the composition into a very abstract and contrasting work. The blossoms have changed from soft to metallic and ghostly, as though they have come from another world. The texture effect that seems to be applied to the set of flower blossoms looks like they have been digitally embossed, highlighting the flowers more out of the background.
Despite possibly being the same blossom, each section has been edited and changed to look like they are all unique blossoms despite the repetition. However, even if the repetition implies they are the same, the slight changes and variations in each one create a new, unique blossom. This could be linked to the fact that even if a plant is identical genetically, there are usually some subtle differences in its appearance that are unique to every blossom.
Morning Walk (2018) has captured a very nostalgic scene that is mundane yet feels as though it is a memory. This is furthered by the exposure of the sky, which has been reduced to a solid white. This gives the composition a feeling that the moment won’t last forever and is disappearing, giving an atmosphere of absence as though it is leaving and becoming lonelier as the memory fades away. The figure with their dog in the distance are noticed in this path down this memory however their identity is unknown as they have become a part of this landscape as a part of their daily routine.
The photograph’s sepia colour has not only removed the colour but also merged some of the shadows together and brings us to view the details of the forest itself – the textures and how everything feels like a silhouette against the bright heavenly sky. Furthermore, by putting the human and the dog in the distance and middle of the composition, the presence of people does not change the environment; rather, humans are a part of this environment and are not detached. This has successfully turned a mundane part of the day into a powerful scene and photograph.
Waterlily (2024) is another exploration of a botanical subject; however this time- it looks as though the flower (though duplicated) has been sliced into two. In these two sections- the upper section is much more mellow and dissolves into the background while the bottom section contrasts much more evidently and presents itself against the background. This helps to question the viewers sense of depth as both take two different forms and are both above the background layer- one more evident than the other.
Ironically, the top waterlily is slightly more submerged as the water should typically submerge the bottom half first. Furthermore, the top half is in a much more pastel colouration that gives it a much more dreamy aesthetic, while the bottom half is much more sudden. Yet, the textures that are embedded in the image are more visible, which creates a distraction to the bottom waterlily – despite it being more contrasting.
Woods (2021) tangles us in this dense forest of leafless dead trees in a very linocut print style. The colours are eliminated, and it seems mostly black and white without greys, giving it a distinct linocut stylisation. There is no softness to this forest in the winter nor any warmth that the atmosphere could have potentially provided. Instead, we are let into a seemingly endless world where everywhere we turn is a tree or branch, giving a claustrophobic atmosphere to the photograph as though we’re stuck in this forested maze.
Due to this linocut-like exposure, the bark of the trees looks rougher and scarred, while the branches seem to penetrate into the light. The scene itself is not welcoming or peaceful but feels as though it is ghostly, as if something has happened, but is haunting and unsettling.