A Path Not Far

Good evening everyone,

I hope your summer is treating you well, despite the weather misery, and you're atleast getting to spend some time with your families.

I thought that I would write - or type - some thoughts down on a project that I've been working on since 2013.  This project is my local woodland project, named A Path Not Far.

So what is the project? The project, or series of photographs are from the local area where I live, West Lothian.  West Lothian itself is quite a small county, geographically, in the central belt of Scotland.  It's not my home county - that is County Antrim in Northern Ireland - however its somewhere I know well, have met alot of wonderful people, and where I have chosen for my children to settle.

Scotland itself is well known for the drama it conveys through its stunningly beautiful landscape and the diverse weather.  It doesn't really have seasons, it just has 'weather.'  However the terrain of West Lothian is less eye-catching and one has to look more carefully for their images.

So why did I start this project? Well, to be honest, it was almost forced upon me.  Before its creation, I very much enjoyed chasing the larger scenes in the northern territories of the Scottish Trossachs and Highlands - the escapism and hugely obvious drama that greeted you every time you entered these areas created an excitement in me that was almost infection.  In fact, it was infectious... massively so.

However with increased workload at work, family and young children and the ever increasing fuel costs, I was almost driven to find work closer to home.  I'll be honest... I resented this greatly at the beginning.  I didn't want to drive or walk a mile from the house to see what I pass 10 times a day in the car.  I wanted to chase the light in areas I'm so lucky to live near to........ but I had to stick to the new plan.

Although the immediate grab wasnt there from the low key terrain, I began to notice that West Lothian had a number of little woodland areas, owned largely by the Woodland Trust and other conservation agencies.  I also began to notice that they offered their own little exploration and their habitats changed as the seasons, sorry weather, changed.  And within myself I felt at ease and increasingly absorbed with the subtle views that were so close to my front door.  And over the next two years, my whole mindset changed towards my natural landscape photography.

And so, here we are, two years down the line.  I have a real body of work created, consisting of approximately 35 images I am truly happy with.  All the images have been taken within approximately 10 miles of the house and have been taken in short outings to the woodland, often before or after work.  The support I have had for the work has been so wonderful, especially from ones that are masters in the field of woodland photography.  Without this continual support, would the series still be ongoing? Doubtful, as external 'drive' was greatly needed in the early days.

Will the project ever be finished? Maybe if I move house! However I very much doubt it.  Even when I visit a familiar scene, it is never truly the same as the previous time I set foot in the area.  Over the next 12 months, the plan is to create a small book to see if there is any interest on making a few more.. however lets see how that goes.  In the meantime, you'll catch me in some woodland, enjoying walking a path not far from here.

Packs a big punch

Good evening everyone.

Recently, I purchased a compact camera to sit alongside my medium format  film setup.  The purpose was for the digital camera to work alongside the film gear, and something that was a little lighter and easier to maneuver.

After looking at various models, I decided on the inch sensor Sony RX100 20MP compact.  I went for a used mark 1 version, purely because I could pick one up for a third of the price of a new, mark 3 version.  Reading the reviews prior to purchase made me feel confident in that I wouldn't be disappointed with the models first release.

Im not going to go into huge detail about the cameras performance as there are plenty of other reviews out there that will provide you with more concise information and results.  My only wish was for the camera to produce printable results from a small device.

Last week, whilst home in Northern Ireland, I took the camera out for its first proper outing.  The weather was miserable, obviously, as we are right in the depths of a UK summer - however, I managed to shoot all these images on a tripod with a bag for life over my head... 

From viewing the RAWS in lightroom, i'm extremely impressed with the sharpness throughout the image and the size of the files.  There is a bit of noise, even at low ISO, however nothing that harms the photograph.  Anyway, here are a few results from that afternoon outing.

Regards, John.

Peace Walls July '15 update

Good evening folks

I am writing this blog to provide people with an update on the project. This goes out to everyone who has supported the project through the crowdfunding scheme and also to anyone who is just interested in the project and the journey that it takes me on.

So what were the aims of the project when it was conceived? Well, there wasnt a primary goal - well apart from me having to enjoy the whole process for it to work. I knew that it needed to accurately portray what the enviroment is like living with these structures, either near your home or as part of daily life.

I also knew that I wanted to exhibit the work, in Belfast, on its completion, and for the work to be handed back to the communities that are contained within the photographs. I also knew that I didnt want to make it intentionally bleak. Sure, if thats how the landscape is at that particular scene then I will photograph that however if there is social or economic growth or hope within the surrounding landscape then I am going to do my best to capture that too.

The idea of the book was just a natural progression to the project and one which will summate the journey accurately. It'll let me write a few words, along with the words of others, but mostly to let the photographs do the talking.

Something that also changed slightly was the equipment... medium format film is still the setup im using however i've settled on 6x6 format for the bulk of the work - i'm going to do a separate blog post next week on my rationale for change.

Below are a few 'behind the scenes' images that ive taken on my phone, and are ones from the last 48 hours. I've been up quite early (4am this morning) to tackle some of the more tense areas and utilising the early summer mornings. This means im finished with my work by breakfast time and can look ahead at the next scene. I've visited another 12 or so locations recently so im confident I will be about the 45-48% completion mark by the end of this summer. There are scenes that i'd like to return to at different seasons - i've marked these for a possible revisit.

Most of the time spent within this project has been on researching possible scenes and making sure safety issues are addressed. However, i've had nothing but innocent curiosity from people so far and a bit of friendly local banter in between. :)

As mentioned, I want the work to return to the community and i've been in contact with an interface project so that they can use the work when possible when the exhibitions are complete.

So, we're still on track for the 2016 completion dates for both the exhibition and the book and I thank you all for your support to date. The crowdfunding has finished but the project most certainly hasn't.

John