Web links

A misguided notion among some photographers is to resist looking at other photographers' work. They believe it is an offence to be influenced by others, remaining true to purity of mind and idea. Not me though! I spend huge amounts of time looking at images made by the masters of landscape photography, and also painters, sculptors and writers on the natural world. I don't do this purely out of devotion to photography. Yes, I gain great inspiration from those who have a unique voice and set the standard, but I also simply enjoy looking at art.

For a photographic subject to be successful it must be like no other, so I am not suggesting repetition. But spending time as a viewer of photography, gauging your own response to the work of others and trying to understand their thought processes does have a value. It can then be transferred out on location into your own selection of subject and composition. Much of this eventually becomes intuitive, but how much of that unconscious decision making evolves (and continues to develop) through the inspiration of others? A lot, I would suggest.

The unique approaches of Eliot Porter and David Ward continue to have the greatest influence on my photography, but all the photographers included here inspire me enormously. I am also grateful to them for increasing my enjoyment and appreciation of the natural world.

Photography's true alchemy is expressed superbly in Michael Kenna's ethereal images.

Michael Kenna

Garry Brannigan - From River to Ridge - Links

"To most people, I am sure, the beauty of nature means such features as the flowers of spring, autumn foliage, mountain landscapes, and other similar aspects. That they are beautiful is indisputable; yet they are not all that is beautiful about nature. They are the peaks and summits of nature's greatest displays. But underlying and supporting these brilliant displays are slow, quiet processes that pass almost unnoticed from season to season - unnoticed that is, by those who think that the beauty in nature is in its gaudy displays. Yet, how much is missed if we have eyes only for the bright colours."

ELIOT PORTER, The Colour of Wildness