28 22 June 2019 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113
new landscapes
TheGraveyard’sGraveyard’.
Unlikethemonths-long
exposuresofSolargraphs, these
imagesweretakenina millisecond
on‘a nearlydead,oldNokiamobile
phone’.Again,thiswasa project
‘thatwasnevermeanttobe
anything;it wasjustsomethingI
enjoyeddoing.’Theideacameabout
ashewalkedhissontoschoolevery
morning,theirroutetakingthem
througha windsweptgraveyard
‘blastedbyalltheweatherfromthe
PeakDistrict’.Here,hiscuriosity
wasdrawntotheplasticflowers
discardedinthecemeterybins.
‘Theseflowershavebeenblown
aroundforyearsandI justenjoy
thatweatheredeffect.Theyno
longerrepresenttherelative’slove
forthedeceased,sothey’reputinto
thebin,’hemuses.‘Lookingatthe
bins,it teachessomethingabout
yourownmortality,I think.It just
interestedmeasa conceptsoI
startedphotographinginearnest.’
Instinctiveresponses
AlBrydon’sworkmaybefarfrom
traditional‘calendarlandscape’
photography,butit is noless
relevanttothegenre,becausethe
images represent the artist’s
response to his surroundings.
‘You’re trying to make your own
interpretation that can’t be copied
by anyone just by turning up,‘ he
says. Like Valda, he is led more by
instinct and emotional response
than a compulsion to repeat what
has been done before. Speaking from
her latest workshop in Bilbao, Spain,
Valda explains: ‘It’s not prescriptive
what we do. We’re making images
using multiple exposures and each
timeyouputdownanimageyou
havetoaskquestions.“Doesit work?
Whydoesn’tit work?”Eachdecision
thatyoumakeaboutthesettings
employedforanygivenimageinthe
sequenceis dictatedbywhatthelast
imagehasgivenyou,soyoucan’t
writea recipeforit.It is instinctive
inthatway,andyoumusthave
a curiosityandimaginationand
certainlynofearoffailure.’
Instinctandimaginationare
importantfactorscontributingto
themethodologyofTedLeeming
andMoragPaterson,thelandscape
andfine-artphotographerswhose
latestworkis partofthecurrent
‘PenniesfromHeaven?’exhibition
inDumfries,Scotland.The
culmination of a Creative Scotland-
funded residency programme called
Energise, the couple experimented
with a multitude of photographic
techniques and processes,
sometimes as a spontaneous
response to what was immediately
at hand. The creation of Morag’s
giant installation, The Watershed,
a cyanotype map of the waterways
of the Galloway glens, was a prime
example. ‘There was acetate lying
around, black Sharpie markers andI found myself tracing all the
waterways out for the region,’ she
explains. The cyanotype process was
one that had always intrigued her,
but the opportunity to create such
an image hadn’t arisen until the
residency. She continues: ‘I wasn’t
strictly using photography because
I didn’t use digital negatives, I was
actually hand drawing and tracing
all the elements and using direct
objects placed onto sensitised paper
and fabric.’ Like the veins of a leaf,
the white tracings of the water-
catchment area against the dark
blue folds of fabric mimic a satellite
image of this corner of Scotland.Political messages
The Watershed represents a
departure from their previous
depictions of the Galloway glens
and hills, so sensuously conveyed
in their 2014 book, Zero Footprint- but recent changes in the political
landscape have had a significant
impact on how Ted and Morag
see their roles as photographers.
‘The focus is increasingly towards
projects, to becoming visual
storytellers, immersive in the
landscape,’ Ted stresses. ‘Everything
l Bailey & Chinnery
Photography: Seeking
the Unseen. http://www.
baileychinnery.com
l Solargraphs by Al
Brydon, JW Editions,
£30, 104 pages,
hardback, ISBN 978-0-
9930892-2-0. http://www.
al-brydon.com
l Pennies From Heaven?
Exhibition on until 29
June at Gracefield
Arts Centre, Dumfries,
Scotland. http://www.
leemingpaterson.comDiscarded flowers in cemetery bins
inspired Al Brydon to explore mortality
© Al BryDoN
© Al BryDoN