Visions of Eden. Evening calm - Limited Edition of 10 Print

With the Lake District Fells to the West, the Pennines to the east and the Howgill Fells to the south, the beautiful Eden Valley is a peaceful oasis of lush green countryside This work is part of my Images of Eden series - location photography inspired by the ever-changing landscape of the part of Britain where I lived for many years – the Eden Valley in Cumbria. The collection is a depiction of the Cumbrian landscape as a union of the picturesque, the sublime and the magnificent. The images are an attempt to convey the beauty of this landscape throughout the seasons and in ever changing light, portraying the effects of changes in weather, light and time of day. I wanted to convey the elemental aspects of the landscape and the ephemeral nature of our views of it, attempting to record an impression of how a landscape or a part of it appeared at a precise moment in time. I paid less attention to the detail of the landscape and more to the ever-changing effects of light and colour This view, looking north-east across the valley to the North Pennines, taken at 7.50 p.m. on a fine August evening, is bathed in the gentle blues and pinks of the evening sky, seeking to capture the l effects of light to convey the fleeting nature of the moment. The tops of the fells are suffused in a golden glow that infuses the whole scene, so the subject is not so much the physical landscape itself but the enveloping warmth and colour of sunlight and the impression it makes on the senses at a certain moment in time. The sparseness of the scene ensures the dominating effect of the sky and hills. The top of the fells is profiled against the sky with no distractions or embellishments, to create a contemplative sense of quiet and balance. The landscape is unpopulated to heighten the focus on the natural world without any distractions. From my house there were magnificent views across the verdant river valley to the high fells of the North Pennines – an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. As the seasons passed and the light and weather varied, the views and the colours were ever-changing and I set out to capture this, To do this I took a serial approach to the subject matter. So, this image is part of a cycle of work depicting the same view or parts of the view at different times of the day and during different seasons, emphasizing the ways in which light and atmosphere shifted in time specific ways It was always a question of having a camera ready and just looking, waiting for the right moment – magical when it happens but it could evaporate before I could even get out of the house. I was particularly interested in the creative capture of sunrise and sunset on the fells and I would often get up in the early hours of the morning when the light was often at its best as I did for this image. Most of the work is a response to the ever-changing light and changing images of the natural world, often blurring the boundaries between the descriptive and the abstract. In doing this I was exploring through photography the idea that the works of the great English landscape artists, Constable and Turner, were the precursors of Impressionism, Modernism and ultimately photographic composition This work is available as a limited edition of ten, Giclee printed onto heavyweight fine art photo paper with a one inch border. The image size is 24 inches by 16 inches (with border total print size is 26” x 18”). Each comes personally signed, numbered and titled, together with a signed certificate of authenticity. Also available as an unsigned open print in various sizes and materials from Saatchi.