Galleries » River
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River
Wellingtons. Looking back on it now, it seemed such a simple discovery but wearing wellingtons transformed the way I photograph rivers and my connection with them. Now I actually get in the river and can sense its temperament, feel its pulse. Freeing myself from the confinement of the riverbank brings greater flexibility. Adjusting my eye to different levels means I really appreciate how the river's surface is constantly shuffling colours and shapes. Just a couple of inches up or down and the surface explodes with never-stationary colour, often reflected from direct sunlight hitting leaf foliage above or on the bank.
But a river does not reveal its riches readily. To reap the visual rewards you have to spend time, usually in the same place, letting your eye tune in to the ebb and flow of the water and how light plays upon it. The treats are not just visual. Flow creates music too, from the high-pitched shrill of the upper reaches to the smooth meandering tones close to the estuary.
For the landscape photographer a river's greatest appeal has to be one of mystery and uncertainty. Alchemy is created as the camera's shutter speed produces a unique rendition of its movement, moulding abstract shapes - often curved and sensuous - unseen to the eye. Rivers offer huge creative freedom. Experimentation can bring new subtleties or unseen colour combinations that delight. Rivers repay the adventurous photographer.