NANTUCKET - SUMMER 2017
The name of this exhibition - Thin Places - seemed an apposite one, being a place where, according to ancient Celtic and Christian theology, heaven and earth are especially close. It is certainly something I feel when I am in these locations. I am particularly drawn to bodies of water for various reasons: as a huge reflector of the changing sky, as a generator and attractor of mist and fog, and as a magnet for birds, which have become something of a signifier in my images. If you wait long enough, one will usually come along!
The pursuit of a beautiful image has often turned out to be an almost spiritual experience for me. And trying to capture that for others is my ultimate objective - a unique record of a 'still space' that can provide a kind of spiritual refreshment whenever you look at it.
To view the gallery of images, please click HERE
In summer 2017, I held an exhibition entitled Thin Places - the result of many years of early rising. Most of the images are taken on Nantucket and are about the time of the day - just before and after sunrise - when extraordinary things seem to happen. And that is one of the reasons I particularly love landscape photography. As well as a good location and a chance of interesting conditions it also demands patience of the photographer. Quite simply it takes time to capture a good image. And that waiting requires a kind of stillness that we seem to have forgotten how to access. You are probably in a quiet place with no other signs or sounds of humanity, and your senses and awareness – sight, sound, smell – all become much more acute. You become attuned to subtle changes in light and colour, and you become aware of even tiny sounds and movements of the waking natural world. In our frantic modern lives, these moments are all too rare but I believe they are incredibly important to keep us balanced.
