On May 13th, I received an Associate distinction from the Royal Photographic Society. I’m planning a future blog post to describe why I applied for this distinction and how I went about it. (If you’d like to find out when I publish that, join the mailing list.) Here I’m just presenting the work itself.

Dawn & Dusk at the Roaches

Twenty years ago, during a difficult divorce, I retreated to Leek in Staffordshire. I was angry, and I found walking the nearby Roaches helped calm my mind. At dawn, before the walkers arrived, I could sense the mystery. At dusk, after the climbers had left, I understood why the Roaches attracts romantic legends and mysterious folklore. The furious, unimaginable, tectonic forces that shaped this landscape helped put my temporary difficulties into perspective.

My aim in this panel is to illustrate the drama, romance and mystery of this unique area of the Staffordshire Moorlands. The photographs were taken exclusively at dawn and dusk to use colour and texture to emphasise the drama of the location. I captured romantic, wide views to provide a sense of place. But I also wanted to emphasise the mysterious, sculptural rocks and boulders.

This panel is a love letter to the landscape that fixed me.

This was a print panel. The digital images presented here aren't a perfect reflection of the submission.