It was a warm summer afternoon, quiet, cloudless, with no wind. Camera with me.
I climb some stairs in the lovely little town of Bruton in Somerset (England). Nearby, Don McCullin lives and captures the surrounding landscape. The light in the stairwell is lovely. The pattern, the texture, the fine lines, and the structure instantly remind me of abstract paintings, particularly of Mondrian, Barnett Newman, and the light of Vermeer, with influences from photographers like Fontana, Penn, Weston, Evans, and Leiter. The image is captured, and I move on.
We are surrounded by many beautiful things, aspects, and vistas; historical art has guided us to what is picturesque. In contrast, the photographic eye does not linger like a painterly eye, yet we can work the image up from a sketch into an image that is very different and complex, yet simple. I reflect that digital manipulation enables the artist in one to be revealed, leaving the camera to take the image competently, the analogue darkroom was fun and absorbing, the digital world enables you to hold the electronic pen or pencil in exactly the same way and play, to create and adapt.
For me, the image is mainly about the color tones in the wall, the texture of the wood, the accent of the handrail, the light, and how they interplay. Edward Weston’s Church Door, Hornitos, or Walker Evan’s Color Accidents subconsciously resonate with my image; the intense rectilinearity that my work follows reminds me in hindsight of my love of the work by Harry Gruyaert and his color aesthetic, these being influences truly hidden.
The beauty is that this image was captured in a moment, and the moment became forever. This is the story behind my image.
What are the TWO most impactful features that make your image a good photograph? Don’t be shy!
The structure holds the eye as it reads the image and the aesthetic; the softness of the light brings out the texture and colors, making the image a pleasure for me.
If you could make this photo again, what would be the ONE thing you would like to do better or different?
The image is essentially in two dimensions and shot in natural light. What would have happened if I had used an off-camera flash to create the third dimension through shadow and contrast?
Richard Young shared this photograph with the FRAMES Facebook Group.
Photographer
Richard Young, Bath, England
Equipment and settings
I will decline; the camera is a tool; great writers don’t share the brand of typewriter, and great artists don’t share the brand of paintbrushes 🙂
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