alan frost photography

My first exhibition as part of The Festival of Chichester

I was invited a few weeks ago to be one of five artists to exhibit their work at the Courtyard Studios near Chilgrove, just to the north west of Chichester. The title of the exhibition is ‘New Art of the South Downs’ and has been curated by Terry and Nicola Hancock. I am delighted to have been asked and to have the opportunity to display some of my work. I will be showing several A2 signed and framed prints of my ecclesiastical images, all of which will be for sale.

Sanctuary by Alan Frost

The Exhibition runs from Saturday 1st July until Saturday 8th July; 11am – 5pm each day, but closed on Monday and Tuesday.

The South Downs has long inspired art and creativity and the exhibition is located in the heart of the National Park near Kingley Vale. Each of the five artists offer a fresh interpretation of what it is to live and create in this beautiful area. Original paintings, prints, sculptures and of course my photographs will be on show and available for sale.

Nicola Hancock

Shelagh Wilson

Alan Williams

Geraldine Barton

This opportunity came about as a result of a meeting with Terry Hancock who runs Reframe, a picture framing business, which all forms part of the gallery and studio space at Courtyard Studios. I had asked him to frame my work for what I had thought would be my first exhibition in The Oxmarket in November, which has now been overtaken by this event.

The exhibition is part of The Festival of Chichester which started on the 16th June and ends on the 17th July. During this period the City is staging over 200 varied events, including all forms of music, exhibitions, talks, theatre, book events, in fact anything connected to the arts is being celebrated.

If you plan to visit the exhibition, the address is Courtyard Studios, The Courtyard, Crows Hall Farm, Chilgrove, Chichester, West Sussex PO18 9HP.

Inspired by the Master photographer, John Blakemore – and my 300th post!

Woodland on Ulva

I am a keen collector of books about photography and naturally the vast majority are by authors whose work I greatly admire. I find both the written word and the images can be inspiring, often providing little pearls of wisdom which might just help my own photography. One such person is John Blakemore, a true master of the craft of black and white photography. Born in 1936 in Coventry, England he has been practicing his art since 1956, and in that time has built a portfolio of work which of its type is unlikely to be surpassed. Much of this work has now been archived at the Library of Birmingham.

He is probably best known for his landscapes and still life photographs. He is widely acknowledged as one of the finest monochrome printers, using the zone system to make some truly beautiful images – his use and control of tonality in a black and white photograph is quite superb.

I only have one of his books, titled – ‘John Blakemore’s Black and White Photography Workshop’. Whilst much of what he has to write relates directly to the traditional darkroom, his thoughts on tonality and printing can equally be applied to the digital darkroom as well. The book contains many of his best known photographs and if like me, you wish to improve your knowledge of black and white photography, this book is well worth adding to your collection.

So how did this book inspire me? How could his approach be applied to my own work?

One area where I have always struggled is trying to photograph woodland. From a composition point of view I find the subject matter very challenging. You could say I find it hard to see the ‘wood from the trees’, an old cliche perhaps but in my case a very true one. Even when the composition looks right I haven’t known how to process the image in a way which I find pleasing.

Recently I started reading through John Blakemore’s book and I came across a number of woodland landscapes which I very much liked. I enjoyed their treatment and this encouraged and inspired me. Having studied these images more closely I selected a few frames taken on my recent trip to Scotland to see whether or not I could emulate the ‘look’ of his work and process my pictures in a similar fashion.

Boulders of Moss, Ulva

The tone curve in these four photographs is very different to the outcome from my normal processing methods and as a consequence this set of images work for me. Whilst there is a full range of tones, the mid-tones dominate each picture. Strong darker tones are my usual style, resulting in an image which has far more contrast. The images in this post are much softer and more restful to the eye. As a result I believe the viewers attention is held for longer so that the composition, the texture and form is more readily appreciated. A high contrast image can be quite punchy and dramatic but the eye can quickly tire when looking at an image of this type. These are far more subtle images and an approach I can see myself using again in the future. I will also be interested to see how they print on various types of paper.

Eas Fors Waterfall, Isle of Mull

Tree by a stream, Wester Ross

Your feedback and comments are very welcome and as this is my 300th entry, it’s an opportune time for me to thank all my followers who read, like and comment on my work. It’s very much appreciated and it’s one of the reasons I will continue sharing my images and thoughts in the future.

Lastly my thanks to John Blakemore for his inspiring approach to this art form.

As always these images are best viewed large, so do click on any one of the photographs and it will open in a new window.

Llynnau Mymbyr, Snowdonia – another one from the archives

A few days ago I posted an image taken back in 2015 during a trip to Snowdonia in Wales, which I had not processed or shared before. Whilst searching the Snowdonia folder in Lightroom I also came across this picture. This shot of the Snowdon Horseshoe was taken looking down a lake called Llynnau Mymbyr. The obvious appeal to this image is the early morning mist hanging in wait for the sun to rise and its reflection in the calm waters of the lake. I clearly remember this scene and can recall that within a few minutes the mist had been burnt away and the very reason for taking the photograph in the first place had disappeared.

Early morning dew in Snowdonia – one from the archives

Having posted a few images taken in Pembrokeshire recently, I thought I would return to a Lightroom folder named Snowdonia, which I visited back in November 2015. I stumbled across this photograph which I had never processed before. It had just been sitting on my hard drive but I am rather glad I found it.

I remember the morning it was captured. The tree was backllit and the early morning light glistened on the heavy dew which had formed on the grasses overnight. The dark background was the perfect foil for the solitary tree.

There is always the temptation to process images soon after they were taken but there is also an argument that you should let images mature, untouched for many months and then return to them at a later date before processing. Something which was dismissed at the first edit, is re-discovered and what a pleasure this can be. Not only finding a ‘lost’ image, but in the process remembering the visit, the location and the conditions…….. a very worthwhile exercise in my view.

Pembrokeshire – A ‘letterbox’ view

As I write this post the sun is shining and Summer is almost here but these four images depict a very different time of year. They were all taken on the same day back in February. Some may say a typical late winters day in Wales, when nobody in their right mind would be out with their camera. Mist, drizzle and poor visibility. However these conditions can be ideal for the monochrome photographer.

In all cases the native 3 x 2 crop of the 35mm sensor included too much sky, and with little or no interest in this part of the picture I have cropped each image to what might be described as a ‘letterbox’. The aspect ratio is about 3 x 1, but what really matters is whether or not the crop works compositionally, and I believe it does. Photography is often about what you choose to exclude from the frame to strengthen a picture, not just about what is included already.

In the first shot taken at Newgale Sands, I focused on the foreshore which has softened the figures, the sea and distant rocks. This has helped to emphasize the misty conditions. The couple and their dog are an essential part of the image. The provide scale and as they are the only people on the beach they serve to reinforce the fact that the weather was so poor keeping most sensible people indoors, but for dog walkers and photographers!

After taking the first shot I looked behind me only to find a swathe of mobile homes which overlook this section of coastline. Very quiet at this time of year, and only coming to life when the weather improves and the holiday makers return.

Moving further along the coast I stopped at Little Haven. Conditions remained the same and this time I wanted to capture the tidal movement of the sea. Resting the camera on a wall I used a ND filter to give me a slow shutter speed, about 1.6 seconds. Several exposures where necessary to give me the look of the movement in the sea water I was after.

Finally a shot of what I assume is a farmhouse taken at Marloes. A typical dwelling in this part of the world but what appealed to me was the telegraph poles and how they could be used to create what I think is a pleasing composition.

Each picture looks better larger, so do click on an image to view a larger version which will open in a new window.